Accountability

Accountability Resources

The Center for Assessment partners with education leaders to design, refine, and evaluate accountability systems that balance equity, transparency, and technical rigor. Grounded in research and best practices, our work ensures these systems address local priorities while meeting high standards for validity and utility. We provide thought leadership on reimagining accountability frameworks to better support educational equity, improve outcomes, and enhance stakeholder trust. Whether building new systems or optimizing existing ones, we collaborate to create solutions that drive meaningful, sustainable improvements in schools and student learning.


Recent Accountability Projects

Accountability Documentation

The New Mexico Public Education Department is developing technical documentation of the state’s accountability system. The goal of this work is to increase transparency and ensure year-to-year consistency in implementation of the accountability business rules.

Setting Accountability Performance Standards

The Arkansas Department of Education is designing a process to establish new standards for the state’s school accountability system. It will consider a school’s performance across multiple prioritized measures and allow grades to be reported for overall school performance and for two or more priority indicators.

Modeling Growth In Delaware

In state accountability systems, it is important that each indicator provide valuable and independent information about schools. A team from the Center—Senior Associates Will Lorié and Damian Betebenner and Executive Director Scott Marion—is working with a Delaware advisory group to investigate ways to model student academic growth.


Recent Accountability Blog Posts

Designing Accountability Systems That Comply With NCLB

This presentation at the CCSSO Large-scale Assessment Conference examined the federal No Child Left Behind accountability requirements from the perspective […]
June 23, 2002

More Than Just A Number: Qualitative Systems in Accountability

This presentation at the 2002 CCSSO Large-scale assessment conference discusses how and why states may use methods other than a […]
June 22, 2002

Designing School Accountability Systems

This document presents an elaborated framework, a concise checklist, and examples to assist states and others in the design, modification, […]
December 31, 2001

2001 Reidy Interactive Lecture Series

Implementing an Accountability System that Improves Schools October 4th – 5th Agenda Session I Defining the Correct Criteria for “Quality” […]
October 5, 2001

School Accountability Systems: Framework and Examples

A presentation to the U.S. Department of Education, sponsored by Council of Chief State School Officers. It provides a framework […]
August 29, 2001

North Carolina’s ABCs Accountability System

PowerPoint presentation of a North Carolina Assistance Team’s efforts to improve elementary school tests of reading and math in grades […]
July 24, 2001

Some Considerations of Multiple Measures in Assessment and School Accountability

Presentation at the Seminar on Using Multiple Measures and Indicators to Judge Schools’ Adequate Yearly Progress under Title I, Sponsored […]
March 22, 2001

The Reliability of California’s API

Reports an empirical analysis of the reliability (decision consistency) of California’s school accountability system API (Academic Performance Index). Reports standard […]
February 15, 2001

2000 Reidy Interactive Lecture Series

Technical Issues Affecting State Accountability Systems October Agenda Session I Reliability: To What Extent Would Accountability Labels and Judgements About […]
October 6, 2000

Common Problems with Accountability Systems

Presentation at the Conference on Policy and Measurement Issues in Large-scale Science and Mathematics Assessment, sponsored by RAND and NSF; […]
March 22, 2000