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Accountability Systems and the Persistence of School Segregation: Research Evidence and Future Directions. Research Brief 16

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Accountability Systems and the Persistence of School Segregation: Research Evidence and Future Directions. Research Brief 16
Language: English
Authors: Noonan, James, Piazza, Peter, National Coalition on School Diversity
Source: National Coalition on School Diversity. 2023.
Availability: National Coalition on School Diversity. 1200 18th Street NW Suite 200, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 202-906-8023; e-mail: school-diversity@prrac.org; Web site: http://www.school-diversity.org
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 22
Publication Date: 2023
Sponsoring Agency: National Education Association (NEA)
Document Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Descriptors: Elementary Secondary Education, Public Schools, School Segregation, Accountability, Educational Research, Evidence, Educational Legislation, Federal Legislation, Educational Trends, School Desegregation
Laws, Policies and Program Identifiers: No Child Left Behind Act 2001
Abstract: Passed in 2001, the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) codified the use of educational accountability systems that rely on largely quantitative measures -- standardized tests, especially -- to assess student learning outcomes, rank order districts and schools according to these outcomes, and prescribe sanctions for schools and districts not meeting achievement targets. At the same time, American public schools have rapidly resegregated (Frankenberg et al., 2019) since reaching the height of statistical desegregation in 1988 (Orfield et al., 2014). A 2022 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that more than one-third of all K-12 public school students attend a school where at least 75 percent of the enrollment comes from the same racial background. This brief examines recent empirical research to consider what, if any, relationship exists between systems of accountability and the persistence of school segregation. It attempts to answer the following questions: (1) What does empirical evidence suggest about the relationship between contemporary accountability systems and trends in school segregation? and (2) How, if at all, might accountability systems be refined in order to contribute constructively to real integration?
Abstractor: ERIC
Entry Date: 2023
Accession Number: ED627089
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:Passed in 2001, the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) codified the use of educational accountability systems that rely on largely quantitative measures -- standardized tests, especially -- to assess student learning outcomes, rank order districts and schools according to these outcomes, and prescribe sanctions for schools and districts not meeting achievement targets. At the same time, American public schools have rapidly resegregated (Frankenberg et al., 2019) since reaching the height of statistical desegregation in 1988 (Orfield et al., 2014). A 2022 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that more than one-third of all K-12 public school students attend a school where at least 75 percent of the enrollment comes from the same racial background. This brief examines recent empirical research to consider what, if any, relationship exists between systems of accountability and the persistence of school segregation. It attempts to answer the following questions: (1) What does empirical evidence suggest about the relationship between contemporary accountability systems and trends in school segregation? and (2) How, if at all, might accountability systems be refined in order to contribute constructively to real integration?