Lessons for Education from Other Sectors

EDITORS The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from RAND. Organizational improvement and accountability : lessons for education from other sectors / Brian Stecher ... [et al.]. p. cm. " MG-136. " Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-8330-3500-2 (paperback) 1. Educational accountability—United States. 2. School management and organization—United States. 3. Organizational effectiveness—Evaluation. Preface Educational accountability became the law of the land with the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. As states rushed to develop accountability systems that met the requirements of the new law, the Hewlett Foundation asked RAND Education to undertake two tasks. The first was to write a paper that delineated carefully the provisions of the new law and the underlying assumptions on which the new test-based accountability systems are based, and to disseminate it broadly to experts and practitioners. With help from a group of experts who participated in an Accountability Forum held at RAND in 2002, we produced a RAND Corporation White Paper, The second task we undertook was to examine models of accountability in sectors other than education. The goal of the investigation was to understand how such models work and their applicability to education. This monograph documents the results of that examination. It should be of interest to educational policymakers, educational administrators, and others who are interested in improving the effectiveness of schools. In December 2001, the U.S. Congress approved a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and renamed it the " No Child Left Behind Act " (P.L. 107-110, H.R. 1). The cornerstone of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is a performance-based accountability system built around student test results. This increased emphasis on accountability represents an important change from past federal educational initiatives, which focused primarily on the provision of services. Supporters of NCLB argued that previous educational reforms were unsuccessful in large measure because they ignored student outcomes. Borrowing from successful private-sector management practices, they made the case that student achievement would only improve when educators were judged …