The Political Legacy of School Accountability Systems

Abstract

The recent battle reported from Washington about proposed national testing program does not tell the most important political story about high stakes tests. Politically popular school accountability systems in many states already revolve around statistical results of testing with high-stakes environments. The future of high stakes tests thus does not depend on what happens on Capitol Hill. Rather, the existence of tests depends largely on the political culture of published test results. Most critics of high-stakes testing do not talk about that culture, however. They typically focus on the practice legacy of testing, the ways in which testing creates perverse incentives against good teaching. More important may be the political legacy, or how testing defines legitimate discussion about school politics. The consequence of statistical accountability systems will be the narrowing of purpose for schools, impatience with reform, and the continuing erosion of political support for publicly funded schools. Dissent from the high-stakes accountability regime that has developed around standardized testing, including proposals for professionalism and performance assessment, commonly fails to consider these political legacies. Alternatives to standardized testing which do not also connect schooling with the public at large will not be politically viable.

Retention and special education referral practices before and after the implementation of high-stakes testing

“…Learning standards and the way to assess the attainment of those standards was no longer just a local concern. (Dorn, 1998).…”

“…For school systems. entire instructional programs could be judged based upon the performances of the children under their jurisdiction (Dorn, 1998).…”

“…The results of standardized assessment are powerful and are perceived by the public, at least, as being objective and legitimate indicators of students' mastery of state standards (Airasian, 1988;Dorn, 1998). Accountability test results have become the primary way in which the effectiveness of entire school systems, individual schools, teachers and students have been judged (Dorn, 1998).…”

“…Accountability test results have become the primary way in which the effectiveness of entire school systems, individual schools, teachers and students have been judged (Dorn, 1998). Because of the popularity of the accountability movement, other ways of judging schools and students have been lost.…”

“…As highstakes assessments are administered only once a year, they cannot provide appropriate feedback adequate to guide everyday classroom instruction. However, as long as performances on the state accountability measures are acceptable, few questions appear to be asked about classroom instructional practices (Dorn, 1998).…”