Educational Accountability in an
Era of Global Decentralization
William G. Huitt
Valdosta State University
Last Revised: April 2006
Movement to the Industrial Age
Importance of Schooling
• Preparing a educated citizenship has
never been more important
• 20th century economy
– Agriculture-based
– Industrial-based
– Information-based
Schooling to the Industrial Age
• Standardization (interchangeable parts)
– Outcomes (effectiveness)
– Process (efficiency)
• Leadership (new opportunities)
• Management (established opportunities)
Schooling to the Industrial Age
• Standardization (interchangeable parts)
– Outcomes (effectiveness)
– Process (efficiency)
• Exemplified in Carnegie units &
standardized testing
• Leadership gave way to management
Schooling in the Industrial Age
• High school graduation
– 10% in 1900
– 75% in 1975
• Accompanied by substantial increases in
productivity
Adoption of the Automobile
Source: Alexander, M. (2001). The innovation wave and secular market trends. Retrieved November 2004, from
http://www.safehaven.com/article-71.htm
Information-Age Megatrends
• Importance of technology
– Computers
– Internet
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Speed of change
Global economy
Customized economy
Decentralization
Decreased importance of manufacturing
Increased importance of distribution
Decentralizaton
• Important decisions made at level of
implementation
– Standards
– Curricula
– Evaluation
• Adopt prepared or develop own
• Schools must demonstrate value-added
• Outside agencies audit performance
Customized Economy
• Consumers select product or service that
best meet their needs
• Who is/are the consumer(s) of schooling?
– Students
– Parents
– Society
• Making good choices requires reliable and
valid data
Rapid Rate of Change
• Requires change in goals and activities
• Must simultaneously maintain or
renegotiate values and principles
School Choice
• School choice is increasingly becoming an
option for parents and students
– By 2003, 25% of K-12 students in the US
were not attending neighborhood public
school
– Neighborhood public school attendance
decreased 7.5% in 10 years
School Choice
• Use of vouchers declining
• Private schools (2001)
– 29,273 schools
– 5.3 million students
• Homeschooling (2003)
– 1.1 million students
• Together accounted for 13% of schoolaged children
School Choice
• Magnet schools (2001)
– 1,736 total schools; ~ 1.4 million students
– Decline from 2400 schools and 3200
programs within schools in 1992
– Over 25 themes
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Business and finance
Ecology and the environment
Justice and the law
Travel and tourism
School Choice
• Magnet schools (2001)
– 11 of 100 largest school districts have more
than 20% of students attending magnet
school
– 3 have more than 40%
School Choice
• Charter schools (2004)
– 2,996 total schools
– ~700,000 students; 37 states
– 28% increase from 1997
– 73% in 10 states
• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Florida
• Michigan
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• North Carolina
• Texas
• Wisconsin
School Choice
• Magnet and Charter Schools
– ~ 4% of total enrollment
• Open enrollment
– 32 states enacted legislation
– ~ 4 million students; 8% of total enrollment
Accountability
• Accountability has always been a major
challenge
• Four major methods of accountability
– Bureaucratic
– Professional
– Performance
– Market
Accountability
• Bureaucratic and Professional dominated
school accountability systems throughout
the 20th century
• High school graduate rates increased
– 10% in 1900
– 70% in 1975
– 74% in 2003
Accountability
• Movement to information-age
– Decentralization
– Customized economy
– Rapid rate of change
• Increased emphasis on
– Performance
– Choice/Market
Accountability
• Every school needs to have
– Philosophy and identified values
– Vision and mission statements
– Curricula and performance standards
• Minimum, passing
• National, proficient
• Global, world class
Accountability
• Every school needs to have
– Identified learning and developmental
theories, methods of instruction, lesson plans,
etc.
– Formative/process assessment
• Educators
• Students
– Summative/product assessment
• Qualitative
• Quantitative
Accountability
• Every school needs to have
– Staff training and development
– Records of
• Financial transactions
• Training and certifications of professional and nonprofessional staff
– Method of communication with students,
parents, agencies
New Opportunities
• Develop simple, workable approaches to
strategic planning
– Philosophy
– Vision
– Mission
– Values
• Use technology as appropriate
New Opportunities
• Develop simple, technology-based
approaches to developing and sharing
– Curriculum standards
– Performance standards
– Processes of assessment and evaluation
– Producing annual reports
– Communicating with students, parents, and
other stakeholders
Summary
• Diversity and choice will continue to grow
• Federal and state agencies should
facilitate development
– Curricula
– Pedagogy
– Accountability systems
– Means of communication and networking
Summary
• Diversity and choice will continue to grow
• Teacher training institutions should
facilitate
– Educator training to implement different
curricula
– Communication and networking within their
geographical area
Summary
People take different roads seeking
fulfillment and happiness. Just because
they’re not on your road doesn’t mean
they’ve gotten lost.
H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
Life’s Little Instruction Book
Make A Great Day!