Accountability Development of an Accountability

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. Curriculum The curriculum is an essential component of any accountability program. The curriculum must be designed and administered in a manner that enables students to achieve proficiency in all aspects of their education.

It should also be designed in a manner that allows teachers and administrators to fulfill their goals with regard to student learning (Webb & Norton, 2002). Though curriculum is often considered the primary component of an accountability program, for it to be successful it must be considered in conjunction with all the other factors described in this accountability program. Evaluation Method curriculum and mission is only as good as the outcome it produces.

Thus teachers must utilize an evaluation and assessment method that accurately measures student achievement to see whether or not the curriculum and current teaching methods are accomplishing what they set out to. Regular or annual student evaluations are necessary to assure the success of any educational program. Along with this is the idea that teacher evaluations may be helpful in analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of an educational program.

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.