sirotnikbook.qxd 2/18/2004 1:07 PM Page iii Holding Accountability Accountable What Ought to Matter in Public Education K A. S ENNETH IROTNIK Editor Teachers College, Columbia University New York and London sirotnikbook.qxd 2/18/2004 1:07 PM Page iv Published by Teachers College Press, 1234 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10027 Copyright © 2004 by Teachers College, Columbia University All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or trans- mitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photo- copy, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the publisher. Portions of the Introduction and Conclusion have been adapted from Kenneth A. Sirotnik, “Promoting Responsible Accountability in Schools and Education,”Phi Delta Kappan, 83(9), 662–673. Used with permission. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Holding accountability accountable: what ought to matter in public educa- tion / Kenneth A. Sirotnik, editor. p. cm. -- (Series on school reform) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8077-4465-4--ISBN 0-8077-4464-6 (pbk.) 1. Educational accountability—United States. 2. Public schools—United States. I. Sirotnik, Kenneth A. II. Series. LB2806.22.H65 2004 379.1’58--dc22 2003066895 ISBN 0-8077-4464-6 (paper) ISBN 0-8077-4465-4 (cloth) Printed on acid-free paper Manufactured in the United States of America 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 sirotnikbook.qxd 2/18/2004 1:07 PM Page v Kenneth Sirotnik died on January 29, 2004, at the age of 61, following a brief struggle with cancer. He had completed most of the work on this book at the time of his death. In sorrow and sadness, the publisher and the contributors dedicate this book to his memory. sirotnikbook.qxd 2/18/2004 1:07 PM Page vi sirotnikbook.qxd 2/18/2004 1:07 PM Page vii Contents Acknowledgments ix Introduction: Critical Concerns About Accountability Concepts and Practices 1 Kenneth A.Sirotnik 1 Looking Through the Rearview Mirror at School Accountability 18 Larry Cuban 2 Moral Errors and Strategic Mistakes: Lessons From the History of Student Accountability 35 Nancy Beadie 3 What Ought to Matter in Public Schooling: Judgment, Standards, and Responsible Accountability 51 Harvey Siegel 4 Standards for What? Accountability for Whom? Rethinking Standards-Based Reform in Public Education 66 Pedro A.Noguera 5 Accountability for Adequate and Equitable Opportunities to Learn 82 Jeannie Oakes,Gary Blasi,and John Rogers 6 The Double Bind of Civic Education Assessment and Accountability 100 Roger Soder 7 Strange, Yet Familiar: Assessment-Driven Education 116 Linda Mabry vii sirotnikbook.qxd 2/18/2004 1:07 PM Page viii viii Contents 8 Responsible Accountability and Teacher Learning 135 Patricia A.Wasley Conclusion Holding Accountability Accountable— Hope for the Future? 148 Kenneth A.Sirotnik About the Editor and the Contributors 171 Index 175 sirotnikbook.qxd 2/18/2004 1:07 PM Page ix Acknowledgments This work would not have been possible without funding from The Rockefeller Foundation and the support from Fred Frelow of the foun- dation. The foundation, however, does not necessarily endorse the views expressed in this book. I also wish to thank the editors and staff at Teachers College Press for their willingness to publish this work, and for their editorial support in bringing it to print. Many thanks also go to my immediate colleagues on Project PRAISE (Promoting Responsible Accountability in Schools and Education)—Paul Heckman, Roger Soder, and Pat Wasley; and to many other colleagues in the College of Education who have provoked my thinking and fed me many relevant articles and web site addresses over the past several years. And finally, I express my thanks to my research assistant Shawn Olsen-Brown and to two talented undergraduate students, Zach Savich and Judy Yee, for their assistance on various phases of the project. ix sirotnikbook.qxd 2/18/2004 1:07 PM Page x sirotnikbook.qxd 2/18/2004 1:07 PM Page 1 INTRODUCTION Critical Concerns About Accountability Concepts and Practices Kenneth A. Sirotnik January 9,2003 Dear Ken, I was visiting Susan Ohanian’s web site after our talk,and I saw the following quote:“It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do a little.Do what you can.” (Sydney Smith) I have reconsidered taking that other job in the private sector after reading that quote.Unless you happen to be in a classroom at this time, it is impossible to describe how awful the environment is.The testing mania is so pervasive that I feel that my contribution in the next few decades will be minimal,if not zero.Should I continue in education, knowing that my ability to contribute will be negligible? Another thing that concerns me is that in the current environment, the worst teachers are the ones who appear to be doing the best job. Those who refuse to teach to the test are seen as the worst teachers, because their students won’t be prepared to score highly.Do you think teachers such as me will remain in education,given the current climate? Do you know how frustrating it is to know that you are doing a better job than everyone else,but that they are getting evaluated as a better teacher? The teacher I am replacing has got to be the worst teacher I have 1