Scaling Up Standards-Based Accountability

Rand Corporation, Santa Monica CA

Investigators

Abstract

Arguably the largest scale-up of an educational program occurring in the United States at the present time is the implementation of standards-based accountability (SBA) in all 50 states as a result of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). SBA involves several elements including content and performance standards, aligned assessments, and a set of consequences tied to assessment results. The utility of standards-based accountability was demonstrated in a few pioneering states in the 1990s, and a number of studies suggest that SBA systems may influence both student learning and instructional practices. The government cited the success of these accountability systems as justification for requiring SBA in all states. This investigation is designed to identify factors that enhance the implementation of SBA systems, foster changes in school and classroom practice, and promote improved student achievement. It addresses four broad questions: What strategies are used in implementing SBA at the state, district, and school levels? Which state, district, and school implementation strategies are associated with changes in classroom practice? How valid are the standards-based test scores as indicators of changes in student achievement? Which features of SBA implementation are associated with student attainment of academic standards? The study involves three states that vary in their approaches to SBA. Data will be collected from state and district officials, principals, and teachers using a combination of questionnaires, interviews, and artifact examination. The data collection approach is longitudinal, and is designed to provide information on SBA implementation at all levels, as well as on factors that influence implementation, such as the clarity of the standards and the methods for promulgating them, teachers. and principals. understanding of the SBA policies, and the professional climate of the school. Student achievement data will also be collected to address the third and fourth research questions. The evaluation of the validity of standards-based test scores involves examination of the content and format of test items as well as a comparison of score trends on the standards-based test and on other tests such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Relationships among implementation, practices, and student achievement will be explored using longitudinal multilevel modeling techniques. Answers to the four research questions will help policymakers, educators, and researchers understand the ways SBA policies are implemented at all levels of the system; explain relationships among implementation, instructional practices and student achievement; and identify successful practices that can be promulgated to make SBA function more effectively. Over the next three to five years, SBA will affect every public school student in the country, so insights gained from this research will have wide applicability.