The Article
Professor David Plank and his colleagues at the Education Policy Center at Michigan State University have produced a handbook for educators and policymakers in an effort to contribute to the development of an effective accountability system for schools and students throughout Michigan.

Discussion
Throughout the handbook, the researchers emphasize that an effective accountability system must have three key features. First, it must be focused on teaching and learning. Second, it must include both pressure and support. Finally, it must elicit the understanding and acceptance of those who work within it. The authors state that an accountability system “that does not incorporate these critical elements is destined to fail.” The handbook reviews the evolution of Michigan’s present accountability, noting that educational leaders and others have been wrestling with the problem of holding schools accountable for more than three decades. The handbook also deals with accountability of school board members, superintendents, principals and teachers. The goal is not to assign or prescribe responsibilities, but to provide the basis for discussion within these groups about what they can do to improve the performance of schools and students in Michigan, and for what they are prepared to be held accountable. In examining some of the groups, the authors provide probing questions that might lead to a deeper discussion. In their analysis of school boards, for example, the authors ask: “How often do board members, individually or as a group, go out into the community to speak about important district issues and to listen to community concerns?” and “Has the school board studied the organizational environments of the district and the schools within it and compared them to models of effective schools and other organizations?” For superintendents, the questions include: “Which roles and responsibilities in my district are clearly assigned and accepted, and which need to be better defined and acknowledged?” and “Do the agendas of school board and staff meetings reflect a commitment to student achievement as the district’s highest priority?”

What It Means To You
How does accountability play out in your district? Is there a shared vision in your district about who is accountable for what, and to whom?

For More Information
To order copies of Meeting the Accountability Challenge: A Handbook for Michigan Educators, you can contact the Education Policy Center at (517) 355-4494. The handbook is also available on the center’s Web site at www.epc.msu.edu.

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