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RLA Home Designing a System Elements of a System District Practices Table Index Local Systems Fed & State Systems Resources |
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This section offers: new resources on a variety of topics; links to Web sites on assessment and accountability; and a list of books for practitioners who want to build a local accountability system that supports school improvement. The Resource chart indicates which elements are addressed by these resources. Table of Contents: Self-Scoring Guide of an Accountability System Accountability Indicators Multiyear Analysis Guide to Selecting Database Software Online Professional Library Resource Web Links and Technical Assistance California Department of Education Publications Map of ELD-ELA Standards Books with Tools and Procedures: Accountability in Action (Reeves) Accountability Dialogues (Jamentz) The Bottom-Up Simple Approach to School Accountability and Improvement (Carr & Artman) Comprehensive School Reform (Hale/NCCAC WestEd) Data Analysis (Bernhardt) Holistic Accountability (Reeves) Making Standards Work (Reeves) The School Portfolio (Bernhardt) Setting Our Sights, Measuring Equity in School Change (Johnson) Succeeding with Standards (Carr & Harris) Using Data - Getting Results (Love) Self-Scoring Guide of an Accountability System The guide is intended to be part of a school or district's process for designing a long-range plan of progressive steps toward a comprehensive, standards-based system of accountability aimed at continual improvement. This tool can be used for self-assessment and the results used for decisions about "where we are now" and "where we intend to be in the near future." Scoring Guide Accountability Indicators Overarching accountability questions provide a focus for cycles of inquiry in a school or district. Accountability indicators specify the type of data that will measure the level of attainment of each element in the accountability system. This resource provides sample indicators for each of six elements -- standards, instruction, assessment, leadership, professional development, and reporting and using results. Accountability Indicators Multiyear Analysis Two alternative methods are presented that schools and districts can employ to analyze year-to-year gains and increasing reliability. The Matched Students method is most reliable and feasible when student records (with unique, permanent student identification codes) are maintained on a computer database. The Quasi-Cohort method is fairly reliable when student mobility is not very high (perhaps less than 30 percent) and the available data for analysis are summary results by grade level (e.g., the state test results reported on the state's Web site). Quasi-Cohort Method Explained Quasi-Cohort Method: Grades 2-5 Quasi-Cohort Method: Grades 2-6 Quasi-Cohort Method: Grades 6-8 Quasi-Cohort Method: Grades 9-11 Quasi-Cohort Method: Golden Bear Elementary School User Guide to Selecting Database and Data Analysis Software The Regional Technology in Education Consortium (RTEC) at WestEd has created a user's guide to assist schools and districts in reviewing and selecting database and data analysis software that is appropriate for the local context. The user guide contains a list of questions to ask a software vendor for the novice through experienced database users. RTEC plans to collect consumer reviews of available software and make this information available on its Web site in the future. The user guide can help a person who is, or will be, the database user to ask the right questions of a vendor and select the product best suited to the district's needs and resources. A small district that has maintained all student records on paper and has sparse human resources for technology may want to begin by selecting very basic software that is very automatic in its data entry and reporting, and is easily maintained by district personnel. A large district with ample experience in databases may want to upgrade to software that allows customized queries and reports and Internet access by all teachers, with options for electronic grade books and report cards. RTEC User Guide to Selecting Database Software Literature on Best Practices The Northern California Comprehensive Assistance Center at WestEd maintains a Web site called Literature on Best Practices http://www.wested.org/cc/index.htm. Summaries of some of the most useful articles and books give district administrators, principals, teachers and other stakeholders research and experts' opinions on various topics: accountability and assessment, culture and school improvement, leadership, student standards and instruction, professional development, and family and community engagement). Entries are organized in a meaningful sequence within each topic. Resource Web Links and Technical Assistance Web sites are listed for many California and a few out-of-state and national organizations with pertinent information and resources on assessment, accountability, and standards-based education. The listing is organized by categories: Assessment, Accountability and Standards-based Education web sites CDE Publications Several publications by the California Department of Education (CDE) address standards-based education and include a strong accountability component. While each publication addresses a particular school level, the general message and recommendations within each applies to all school levels. CDE curriculum frameworks also address the usefulness of frequent student assessment. Elementary Makes the Grade
Map of ELD-ELA Standards A Map for Teaching and Assessing California's English Language Development and English Language Arts Standards for English Learners reorganizes ELD and ELA standards into one document. The format allows educators to integrate instruction that targets particular standards, and streamline classroom and district assessments by making accommodations and modifications in ELA assessments to measure ELD standards. The Map of ELD-ELA Standards (2nd ed., 2001) was developed by John Carr of the Northern California Comprehensive Assistance Center at WestEd, and is available as a downloadable set of PDF files or purchased in hard-copy, binder-ready form (WestEd). Books With Tools and Procedures Accountability in Action
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