Accountability Systems and Reporting Consortium

PURPOSE/INTENT The Accountability Systems and Reporting (ASR) state collaborative project has been assisting states to develop and improve statewide systems since 2000. Currently 28 state education agencies are participating members in ASR, including states with well-developed statewide accountability systems as well as states developing and improving statewide systems of accountability and reporting. Recent priority activities of the ASR Collaborative have focused on four areas: (1) state planning for accountability systems that adequately meet requirements for determining adequate yearly progress (AYP) of schools and districts under the No Child Left Behind Act, (2) establishing standards for the essential components of state accountability systems, (3) improving accountability reporting models and use of data to guide school improvement, and (4) sharing strategies and research-based evidence to improve the validity of accountability systems. CURRENT COLLABORATIVE PRODUCTS The ASR Collaborative currently is working on four areas of product development for member states: Reporting on State AYP Plans. The ASR collaborative has provided an annual analysis and report on state plans for accountability systems to determine adequate yearly progress (AYP) of schools and districts. ASR and CCSSO have also supported development of a 50-state accountability profiles system by which states can review plans and strategies for adequate yearly progress under NCLB. Members consulted with each other on ways to strengthen state systems. In 2008, CCSSO will disseminate the sixth annual report, Statewide Educational Accountability Under the No Child Left Behind Act - A Report on 2008 Amendments to State Plans. The report summarizes requests submitted by states in 2007-08 to amend their educational accountability plans under the No Child Left Behind Act and the decisions of the U.S. Department of Education. Standards for Accountability Systems. A number of reports, analyses, research papers, and recommendations have been produced over the past decade that can help substantiate state decisions about developing and improving accountability systems. The 2007 report Key Elements for Educational Accountability Models identifies the sources of evidence across a range of essential elements and components of systems and specifies where further research and analysis work is needed. Growth Models have become a prevalent approach for improving state accountability systems and method of reporting on school and district results. The ASR Collaborative has developed two papers to assist states. The first paper Policymakers’ Guide to Growth Models for School Accountability: How to Accountability Models Differ? (2005) addressed questions education leaders may have about the differences between status models and growth models. The second paper Implementer’s Guide to Growth (2008) describes the theoretical and practical issues that staff face in designing and implementing growth into a statewide accountability system, using examples of growth models currently in use. Validity of Accountability Systems is of central concern to states. Are the right schools being identified and does the state have the system in place, with the appropriate checks and balances, to answer that question? The ASR collaborative has produced several papers and shared strategies for improving validity of data and the accountability decisions based on data. A recent paper specifically addressed high school graduation data, Quality Assurance Practices Associated with Producing Cohort Graduation Rates . For newly emerging information management systems, significant fiscal and time resources will be needed to ensure the publicly reported rates are defensible. Other papers from ASR in this area include: Validity Threats: Detection and Control Practices for State and Local Education Officials (2006); A Framework for Examining Validity in State Accountability Systems (2004); and Making Valid and Reliable Decisions in Determining Adequate Yearly Progress (2002). For more publications and information on our projects, please visit us at http://www.ccsso.org/projects/accountability_systems/Resources/ For more information on any of these working groups or the products, please contact Lauren Stillman (lstillman@ccsso.org). STAFF CONTACTS Rolf Blank 202-336-7044, rolfb@ccsso.org Lauren Stillman 202 336 7049, lstillman@ccsso.org PARTICIPATING STATES Members: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, DODEA, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming

Council of Chief State School Officers
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document last updated 3/20/2009