Rethinking Accountability
Federal and state accountability systems have historically been praised by some and criticized by others. But one thing that state education agencies and local school districts around the nation agreed upon was how the pandemic exposed the inequities of the current accountability system. The American Rescue Plan (ARP) aimed to address these pandemic-related issues but the lack of real measurements of impact has fallen short. The authors of this memo view the Plan as an opportunity to meaningfully address the long-standing pervasive inequities that exist in the current accountability system as well as the effects of the pandemic. Our memo addresses this dilemma by making four recommendations that can mitigate the effects of COVID while also equitably fulfilling the promise of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESSA). Therefore, we urge the United States Department of Education (US DoE), state education agencies (SEA), and local education agencies (LEA) to conduct impact studies that are designed to demonstrate the efficacy of a comprehensive, interdependent approach to mitigating gaps and improving student academic and social outcomes. The results could be used to inform the redesign of a more accurate and equitable ESSA accountability system that recognizes the potential of every student. The four interdependent recommendations include:
Academic Recovery in reading and math
Student attendance and engagement
On track for graduation
Facilities and operations
Background
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) ushered in the opportunity to rethink what it meant to ‘educate the whole child’ via a holistic approach that meaningfully differentiated state and district accountability. State plans aimed at providing all students, regardless of background and circumstance, access to the right resources and support at the right time, so that every child could manifest her/his potential. Yet despite the aspirational goals of ESSA, students at the margins have continued to fail without too much urgency. Then the pandemic hit. The federal, state, and local education agencies sounded the alarm that help was immediately needed, or else the nation would lose an entire generation of students. The federal government rightly responded by sending an estimated $123 billion distributed broadly but with little to no metrics for the return on their investment. There was little guidance on how the funds could be spent so in the absence of any such guidance, state plans included everything from cleaning products to procured commercial products, air filtrations systems, to teacher salaries and other financial incentives to address educator shortages (Roza, 2022). Yet despite the urgency, the federal ESSER tracker reported just under 5% of those funds have been disbursed to local districts (Roza and Silberstein, 2022).
Recommendations
To address the structural inadequacies described above, the authors have made the following recommendations that should be implemented at the local level in order to inform state and federal policy that would promote an equitable and fair accountability system. Each interdependent recommendation contributes to mitigating the effects of the pandemic and demonstrates the efficacy of practices over programs and better meets the holistic intent of the Every Student Succeeds Act.
First, the US DoE would support the use of impact studies to demonstrate the efficacy of a comprehensive, interdependent approach to mitigate gaps and improve student academic and social outcomes. Second, the US DoE in coordination with the SEAs would provide the parameters, format, and measurements to evaluate the impact on effective practices for each of the four foci of study to assist LEAs in its implementation. Third, the US DoE would use the results to inform the design of the ESSA accountability system.
Academic Recovery in reading and math. Implement efficacious practices for academic recovery in reading and math, emphasizing pre-k to fourth grade. Impact studies should focus on phonics and instructional strategies, intervention, and acceleration within the classroom by the classroom teacher. Encourage the use of responsive teaching universally rather than by the artificial structures of a three-tiered model. Specifically, highlight the implementation of professional learning communities (PLCs) and the adult practices that ensure students learn and not merely that they are taught (Hattie, 2012).
Student attendance and engagement. Implement a coordinated strength-based system that specifically targets the improvement of student attendance and engagement. Impact studies should focus on creating sustainable community partnerships that bring physical and mental health resources inside the district. Focus on removing the barriers that keep students from attending school. Focus on building adult knowledge and skills to implement equity-based social and emotional adult learning and responsive teaching strategies within academic content.
On Track for Graduation. Implement a program for rising ninth-grade students that would provide a bridge of support from middle to high school. The program could include the creation of student cohorts that remain together throughout high school. Each student cohort would have a team of adults which would include a success coach, academic leaders, counselors intentionally focused on social-emotional learning (SEL), and community members who are interested in providing a variety of wrap-around support. The team would emphasize standards reform focused on SEL such that academic progress and success would be viewed holistically. The results of the impact studies could be used to measure the retention rate for ninth-grade students who participated in a supported cohort and used to inform recommendations to state and federal policy.
Facilities and Operations. Conduct impact studies that measure causal relationships between air filtration systems and the rates of attendance, visits to the school health clinic, and health-related accommodation plans could be used to inform how responsive districts and schools are to provide the requisite physical and mental health services that lead to improved academic outcomes for students. Plainly stated, when one’s physical needs are met, accessing social-emotional and mental health services becomes obtainable. The results of the impact studies would better inform the use of community partnerships by bringing the right mental health services into schools.
Conclusion
A dilemma is defined as any difficult or perplexing situation or problem. The authors view the current situation as a dilemma and thus urge the US DoE to leverage the power of impact studies to meaningfully mitigate the effects of COVID while also equitably fulfilling the promise of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESSA). The four interdependent areas of focus should include the following:
Academic recovery in reading and math
Student attendance and engagement
On track for graduation
Facilities and operations
Examining each area will identify the most efficacious practices that can mitigate the effects of the pandemic as well as inform a reimagined accountability system that is comprehensive, and equitable. Accomplishing both outcomes have the potential to change the trajectory of a student's life.
