The International Observatory on Academic Achievement - Documentary search

File number :
POEE-ISC-10e

Bibliographic reference :
Douglas, N.H, & Carolyn, D.H. (2006). Accountability, Standards, and the Growing Achievement Gap: Lessons from the Past Half-Century, American Journal of Education, 112(2), 209–238.

Abstract :

Historical Background
During the post-Second World War period in the United States, there were widespread concerns about providing ethnic minority students with the same access to educational resources and content as white students. In fact, the achievement gap between these two groups considerably narrowed from this period on. But in the early 1980s, a new social pressure emerged. Average SAT scores were on the decline. Some people believed that this problem was the result of lower academic standards meant to increase equity. Therefore, greater attention was paid to academic content taught in schools, as well as teaching time during the 1980s.

Later in the 1990s, several accountability policies were established primarily to obtain a better measure of student and school outcomes. In addition, the application of sanctions to low performing schools was introduced. At the same time, the academic achievement gap between white and ethnic minority students widened, based on National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results. Through a review of a large body of literature, the authors of this article sought to shed new light on these findings.

Different Types of Policies
The authors documented four types of educational policies:
(1) Higher curricula and teaching time standards;
(2) Government-based accountability, i.e., implementation of measures to assess student and school outcomes coupled with sanctions handed down based on negative results obtained;
(3) Market-based accountability, providing parents with greater choice in the schools their children should attend, leading to competition among schools; and
(4) Capacity/resources building, where schools strive to increase their capacity and resources to improve their performance.

School Capacity
The capacity of schools to close the achievement gap among different groups of students is measured by the resources on hand. In recent decades, a significant increase in resources directed at underprivileged schools has helped to close the achievement gap. However, inequalities persist among schools on the issues of teaching staff quality and turnover rates.

Literature Analysis Findings
Educational policies aimed at ensuring access to more rigorous curricula and increased teaching time have helped mitigate educational inequalities. An increase in resources allotted to schools also revealed as being a determining factor to counter inequalities.

The single element of accountability policies that seemed to have a positive effect on mitigating inequalities was the type of assessment used, such as the Promotion/Graduation Exam. The positive outcome of this mechanism seemed based on the condition that students be provided with rigorous academic content to ensure their achievement. Policies implemented in the 1980s shared the same characteristic. As for market-based accountability policies and the application of sanctions given to low performing schools, there were no positive effects on the mitigation of inequalities.

The literature analysis highlighted a major shift of perspective in educational policies. Policies established prior to the 1990s involved the allotment of resources to schools to help them provide students with conditions conducive to higher achievement. The pressure to achieve was then applied on students. By the early 1990s, this logic was reversed. Instead, it was assumed that schools needed to be pressured to ensure student achievement. In this context, low performing schools were viewed as being unable to make adequate use of their resources; it was no longer a problem of resources, but a problem of effectiveness. According to the authors, accountability policies could help to close the gap among different groups of students if the shift in perspective is given ongoing support.

Links :
This journal is also available in electronic format. Publisher’s Website Address: http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/AJE/home.html"

Key Words :
Equity, Ethnic Minorities, Resources, Curricula, Temps Teaching Time, Standards, Accountability, Imputability, Market Laws, Literature Review, Newsletter8

Monitored Countries :
United States