District and School Accountability Systems

No education policy area has experienced greater tectonic shifts over recent years than districts and school accountability. For over a decade, California operated under a dual accountability model. Parents, educators, policymakers, and even realtors measured school quality using the state’s Academic Performance Index (API), a tidy three-digit score ranging from 200-1000. Meanwhile, the federal Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)—a central component of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)— determined whether or not a school or district was “failing” based on English and math results and graduation rates. Failure to meet AYP results in a series of escalating interventions called “Program Improvement.”

In 2013, California adopted new accountability provisions as part of the Local Control Funding Formula And then in December of 2015, President Obama signed into law the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act originally signed by President Johnson in 1965 and replacing NCLB as federal education policy. ESSA gives flexibility to states while still retaining crucial civil rights protections and federal oversight for historically underserved students.

As California continues the process of redesigning our accountability system, ESSA, and the recently-released final ESSA accountability regulations provide the necessary information for our state to ensure we have one, federally-aligned system that also adheres to requirements of the Local Control Funding Formula.

For more on ESSA, and California’s next steps on accountability, see our Equity & Accountability: What You Need to Know page. 

 

Share:

More Posts

Send Us A Message

Karla Fernandez

Communications Manager

Karla Fernandez (she/her/hers) joins Ed Trust–West as a Communications Manager with over 11 years of experience advancing social impact initiatives.

Karla started her career as a teacher at Chicago Public Schools and UIC College Prep. After teaching, Karla joined United Friends of the Children to support LA County’s youth in foster care as a college counselor. Through Leadership for Educational Equity, Karla also served as a Policy Advisor Fellow for the office of a Los Angeles Unified School Board Member. She solidified her interests in policy analysis and quantitative research during her time with the Price Center for Social Innovation, the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, and the USC Presidential Working Group on Sustainability. Before joining The Education Trust–West, Karla was the Associate Director for the Southeast Los Angeles (SELA) Collaborative, a network of nonprofits advocating for communities in SELA.

Karla holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology from the University of Chicago, a Master of Public Policy from the USC Price School of Public Policy, and a Graduate Certificate in Policy Advocacy from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Karla is based out of southern California and is passionate about using data analysis, communications, and digital strategies for policy advocacy and social justice efforts.