A core premise of state school report cards is that publicizing information about how well schools and districts meet specified goals will incentivize school improvement. However, for report card rating systems to be potentially beneficial as a school improvement policy instrument, they must provide fair and valid indicators of school performance.

The Education Accountability Act of 2009 requires the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) to evaluate all districts and schools based on their level of attainment on four key State performance indicators: academic achievement, academic growth, extent of gaps between student groups and postsecondary readiness. Prior to finalizing the DPF and SPF reports, districts had the opportunity to indicate if they disagreed with any of the Department's initial...

Award-winning author, public intellectual, and former Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch critiques a lifetime's worth of school reforms and reveals the simple--yet difficult--truth about how we can create actual change in public schools.

Higher education institutions have experienced a sharp increase in demand for accountability. To meet the growing demand by legislators, accreditors, consumers, taxpayers, and parents for evidence of successful outcomes, this important book provides higher education leaders and practitioners with actionable strategies for developing a comprehensive data culture throughout the entire institution. Exploring key considerations necessary for the development...