Test-Based Accountability: Making It Work Better

Fifty states will be struggling with accountability requirements, and they have been given very little guidance about how to proceed.

By Brian Stecher and Laura Hamilton

Now that President Bush has signed the "No Child Left Behind" Act of 2001, states will soon be implementing reading and mathematics tests for all students in grades 3-8 and imposing tough sanctions on schools where students do poorly. Will the strict accountability provisions included in the law promote student achievement and improve poorly performing schools? Researchers who study test-based accountability know that the new state systems are likely to produce some less desirable results. And they know some ways that states can make their systems work better.

What are the likely results? Although there are still many unanswered questions about high-stakes testing and accountability, there is a body of evidence drawn from Vermont, Florida, Kentucky, Texas, California, and other states about what will happen as states implement the new, tougher testing policies.

First, we can expect average scores on these accountability tests to rise each year for the first three or four years. Teachers and administrators at both low- and high-scoring schools will shift their instruction in ways that result in score increases. States that implemented test-based accountability have all seen their scores rise, and in some cases the...