Accountability requires oversight

In his  article, “Stay the Course on Standards and Accountability”, Mike Petrilli suggests that the Every Student Succeeds Act is already spurring states to raise standards, create curriculum and tests that assess higher-order thinking skills, and create more fair accountability systems. He and others (including Kevin Close, Audrey Amrein-Beardsley, and Clarin Collins, and Sara Dahill-Brown) believe decentralization of control to the states, and more importantly, to the local level, will lead to more rapid improvement in schooling than the previous NCLB regime with tighter federal oversight.

While the theory of action of decentralization has some appeal, our concern is that decentralization absent oversight will weaken accountability systems, not strengthen them. States differ considerably in their oversight capabilities. Petrilli hopes state education agencies will “find constructive ways to engage in new areas, such as by helping local districts identify and implement high-quality curriculum.” Maybe. But despite a strong economy and booming state treasuries, few legislators have taken up the cause to strengthen SEA capacity; indeed, most SEAs have endured dramatic cuts in the past two decades, cuts that have shown no signs of being reversed. While we are reluctant to overestimate the federal government’s ability to accomplish anything, we fear that devolution on its own — absent oversight, accountability, and capacity building — is a recipe for exacerbating inequity.

It’s unclear whether state lawmakers have the political courage and will to hold districts accountable for poor student performance. The uneven quality of many state ESSA plans suggests that tough, results-based accountability with continued attention to subgroup performance is not a top priority in many states. We agree with Petrilli that “if we do indeed stay the course on standards and accountability, do the work, and help every student succeed, it will be quite a legacy for ESSA.” However, our reading of state ESSA plans and knowledge of state education politics suggests a different conclusion. Hopefully, we will be proven wrong.