Giving Stakeholders a Voice

“If states seek to build truly public accountability systems, they must give stakeholders a voice in what a given school or district is accountable for.  Whether through polling, focus groups, or civic deliberation, the public must have greater power over the way that school quality is conceptualized and tracked.”  This is one of the major conclusions reached in a well written and timely article in Phi Delta Kappen titled, “Putting the public back into public accountability.”  Initiatives are currently underway in several states to create accountability systems that include more than end-of-year test scores in key subject areas.