Standards-Based Accountability in the United States:

Abstract

Standards-based accountability (SBA) has been a primary driver of education policy in the United States for several decades. Although definitions of SBA vary, it typically includes standards that indicate what students are expected to know and be able to do, measures of student attainment of the standards, targets for performance on those measures, and a set of consequences for schools or educations based on performance. Research on SBA indicates that these policies have led to some of the consequences its advocates had hoped to achieve, such as an emphasis on equity and alignment of curriculum within and across grade levels, but that it has also produced some less desirable outcomes. This article summarizes the research on SBA in three areas: quality of standards, ways in which SBA has shaped educators’ practices, and effects on student achievement. The article identifies lessons learned from the implication of SBA in the United States and provides guidance for developing SBA systems that could promote beneficial outcomes for students.

Key Words:

• Accountability
• Assessment
• Standards
• Education policy
• United States

Notes

* Material in this paper has been adapted from a paper commissioned by the Center on Education Policy: Hamilton, L.S., Stecher, B.M., & Yuan, K. (2009) Standards-based Reform in the United States: History, Research, and Future Directions. Washington, DC: Center on Education Policy. Portions of this work were supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. REC-0228295. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.