Holistic School Quality Measurement and the Future of Accountability: Pilot-Test Results

Abstract

School accountability systems in the United States have been criticized on a number of fronts, mainly on grounds of completeness and fairness. This study examines an alternative school quality framework—one that seemingly responds to several core critiques of present accountability systems. Examining results from a pilot study in a diverse urban district, we find that this alternative system captures domains of school quality that are not reflected in the current state system, specifically those measuring opportunity to learn and socioemotional factors. Furthermore, we find a less deterministic relationship between school quality and poverty under the alternative system. We explore the policy implications of these findings vis-à-vis the future of accountability.