Measure for Measure: How Proficiency-Based Accountability Systems Affect Inequality in Academic Achievement

Autor/inn/en	Jennings, Jennifer; Sohn, Heeju
Titel	Measure for Measure: How Proficiency-Based Accountability Systems Affect Inequality in Academic Achievement
Quelle	In: Sociology of Education, 87 (2014) 2, S.125-141 (17 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0038-0407
DOI	10.1177/0038040714525787
Schlagwörter	Academic Achievement; Accountability; High Stakes Tests; Standards; Urban Areas; School Districts; Equal Education; Mathematics Tests; Low Achievement; Educational Policy; Social Stratification; Teaching Methods; Federal Legislation; Scores; Grade 8; Institutional Characteristics; Student Characteristics; Achievement Tests; Limited English Speaking; Minority Group Students; Special Education; Economically Disadvantaged; Longitudinal Studies; Educational Indicators; Texas; Stanford Achievement Tests; Texas Assessment of Academic Skills + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Schulleistung; Verantwortung; Standard; Urban area; Stadtregion; School district; Schulbezirk; Unterdurchschnittliche Leistung; Politics of education; Bildungspolitik; Soziale Zusammensetzung; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Bundesrecht; School year 08; 8. Schuljahr; Schuljahr 08; Achievement test; Achievement; Testing; Test; Tests; Leistungsbeurteilung; Leistungsüberprüfung; Leistung; Testdurchführung; Testen; Special needs education; Sonderpädagogik; Sonderschulwesen; Longitudinal study; Longitudinal method; Longitudinal methods; Längsschnittuntersuchung; Educational indicato; Bildungsindikator
Abstract	How do proficiency-based accountability systems affect inequality in academic achievement? This article reconciles mixed findings in the literature by demonstrating that three factors jointly determine accountability's impact. First, by analyzing student-level data from a large urban school district, we find that when educators face accountability pressure, they focus attention on students closest to proficiency. We refer to this practice as "educational triage" and show that the difficulty of the proficiency standard affects whether lower or higher performing students gain most on high-stakes tests used to evaluate schools. Less difficult proficiency standards decrease inequality in high-stakes achievement, while more difficult standards increase it. Second, we show that educators emphasize test-specific skills with students near proficiency, a practice we refer to as "instructional triage." As a result, the effects of accountability pressure differ across high- and low-stakes tests; we find no effects on inequality in low-stakes reading and math tests of similar skills. Finally, we provide suggestive evidence that instructional triage is most pronounced in the lowest performing schools. We conclude by discussing how these findings shape our understanding of accountability's effects on educational inequality. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10