Developing a K-12 accountability plan for student learning and achievement

Accountability

Development of an Accountability Plan for K-12 Students

An accountability plan for student learning and staff responsibility must take into consideration several key factors. As society constantly changes so too do the methods which staff and educators use to enhance student learning and assure the best possible outcome for students in the K-12 environment.

In general when considering any educational environment staff has an unspoken responsibility to manage and enhance student learning to the best of their ability. There are many approaches to enhancing student learning. Generally an accountability plan will assure that students demonstrate at minimum grade level proficiency in all aspects of their education (Howenstine, 2004). To do this teachers and staff must adopt several different approaches to learning including curriculum analysis and development and student evaluation and assessment. These factors and more are described below as part of a comprehensive accountability program for student performance.

Basics of an Accountability Program

There are many factors which must be evaluated with regard to an accountability program. Within the K-12 educational environment specifically staff must assure that the develop a strong curriculum, adequate method for evaluating student performance and achievement and method for assuring adequate teacher certification and training throughout the course of a teacher's tenure with the school environment. Each of these aspects of an educational environment may support or detract from student learning depending on how they are approached.

A strong accountability program will focus on establishing a cooperative environment, one where teachers and administrators work together to enhance student achievement and outcomes. For this to happen teachers need to develop lesson plans and a curriculum that coincides not only with classroom goals but also organizational and educational desired outcomes.

For administrators and teachers to collaborate in a manner that best enhances student performance in K-12, the following should be considered: (1) the school's mission, (2) the curriculum of students, (3) the evaluation method for assessing student achievement and attainment of goals, (4) methods through which teachers will evaluate and monitor student performance, (5) manner in which student and school performance information will be utilized to gauge successful outcomes (Charter, 1998). Each of these criteria impact a student's performance and ability to achieve a positive outcome.

School's Mission

It is important when developing an accountability plan to identify the school's mission, as this will often be translated into a workable strategic plan for performance for both teachers and administrators. In order to teach students what you want them to know you have to first assess what the mission of the school is (Charter, 1998). A well developed and carefully crafted statement will relay to all members of the staff what the vision is and help them shape lesson plans, goals and evaluation programs to measure their progress toward accomplishing their mission and goals.

Methods for Evaluating Student Performance

When evaluating student performance, a uniform system of analysis and assessment must be applied to all students within a select age group or grade to assure accuracy and fairness. Tied to this should be a designated schedule (whether annually or bi-annually) for evaluating student performance and measuring actual outcomes vs. expected outcomes and the goals that teachers set at the beginning of a school year. There are numerous standardized tests that can be utilized for this purpose.

Information Utilization

The information gathered through a successful implementation and evaluation program must consistently be utilized to gauge a teacher's and staffs success at educating and enhancing student performance. The best way to utilize information is to compare actual student achievement with predicted outcomes.

If there is a large gap between the two, adjustments can be made whether to the mission, goals or curriculum to assure better student performance.

Teacher Training

Teacher training and continuing education is a critical component of any accountability program. Society is consistently changing as are the needs of students attending K-12 educational facilitates. More and more for example computers are being introduced and utilized within schools. Because of this it is critical that teachers and other members of faculty keep updated and continually educate themselves with respect to any educational or technological advances that may impact their ability to enhance student performance. Consistent evaluation of teacher protocols is also warranted under this method of accountability.

Conclusions

Many factors need to be considered when developing an accountability program. The most important aspects of these have been highlighted above. A solid accountability program will incorporate a mission statement, solid curriculum, evaluation and assessment programs as well as teacher training and continuing education to assure the best possible outcome for students in the K-12 environment.