N.Y.C. Chief Unveils New Accountability Plan

Schools will be evaluated, receive grades.

Signaling a new phase in the reorganization of the country’s largest school system, New York City Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein unveiled plans last week to grade all of the city’s 1,400 public schools on student performance and the quality of instruction.

Under the accountability plan, schools that fail to measure up could face leadership changes or restructuring, Mr. Klein said. At the same time, he pledged to continue efforts already begun to give principals added decisionmaking authority and to give educators more data with which to gauge student progress.

British consultants, paid for by private donors, are helping pilot the initiative this spring by visiting schools to evaluate how well they make decisions about instruction. Those kinds of reviews, along with achievement data, will be used to give all schools new performance ratings in...