Can State Accountability Systems Drive Improvements in School Performance for Children of Color and Children from Low-Income Homes?

Abstract

States and school districts throughout the nation have developed or are developing accountability systems to spur improvement in student achievement. Researchers, policy makers, and practitioners have both praised and criticized accountability systems, particularly concerning their impact on children of color and children from low-income homes. Do accountability systems harm the education of children of color and children from low-income homes, or do these systems drive educational improvements for these students? Few state accountability systems have been in place long enough to help answer this question; however, the Texas public school accountability system has been in place for several years, providing a useful case for analyzing the impact of accountability systems on student achievement. Additionally, Texas is a useful case for study because of the wealth of disaggregated student achievement data available through the state education agency. If the accountability system in Texas were driving improvements in student performance (particularly for children of color and children from low-income homes), one would expect to see substantial increases in student achievement over time on multiple measures of student performance, including the state's Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS). One would expect to see increases for children of color and children who meet low-income criteria. Furthermore, one would expect to see those increases result in a narrowing of the achievement gap when their performance is compared with that of White students and students with typical family incomes. One would expect the improvements to be a fair reflection of the performance of all students without the omission or exclusion of significant populations of students. Furthermore, one would hope that the results would represent real improvements in student achievement, as opposed to artificial indicators of success. Finally, if the accountability system were to be considered at lea

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