Commentary on the Future of High Stakes Testing & Accountability Systems

Educational consultant, Dr. Diana Abbati begins her commentary on the future of state and federal accountability systems with a focus on what motivates educators to develop ambitious and equitable goals in the areas of instructional quality and student engagement.

As I reflect upon my own experiences as an educator, I cannot help but think that while external accountability systems play a role in ensuring that the United States has a competitive, competent workforce, the overall goal of student achievement begins at each and every school. For example, ambitious assessment practices that ensure instructional quality, equity and student engagement need to be developed by school teams made up of teachers and administrators. For example, the San Francisco Unified School District developed the Balanced Score Card program, which is a goal setting and accountability tool that addresses the goal horizons focused on access and equity, student engagement, and organizational effectiveness. 

The goal horizon ofimproving educational disparities needs to include educators’ levels of motivation since each school is tasked with implementing instructional practices that meet the diverse needs of students within their learning community.

In my quest to understand what motivates individuals to move towards a collective mindset based on the goal horizons of access and equity, I was drawn to the research on the effects of accountability on teacher motivation. A review of research on motivational theories informed me that instruction will change when teacher motivation moves from the individual to a collective responsibility. For example, the impact or effectiveness of any initiative will highly depend upon the organizational effectiveness of the entire organization. In Table 1, I summarize my findings with definitions of three areas of motivation as it pertains to accountability measures. The models include: (1) expectancy level motivation model; (2) goal setting motivation model; and (3) self-concept motivation model.

We have much to learn on the effects of accountability measures and motivational theories on education reform. In this article, I briefly touched upon some of the research on what motivates teachers to improve their instructional practice. Unfortunately, new accountability policies emergewith thechange of leadershipat the state and federal levels. If I were to summarize what an accountability system would look like that permits schools and districts with the right incentives to improve access and equity, it would begin by establishing the following assessment practices shaped by local context. 

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