Accountability Frankenstein. Understanding and Taming the Monster

234 Pages·2007·0.945 MB·English

by  Sherman Dorn

Accountability
Frankenstein
Understanding and Taming the Monster

Accountability
Frankenstein
Understanding and Taming the Monster
by
Sherman Dorn
University of South Florida
IAP
INFORMATION AGE
P U B L I S H I N G
Charlotte, North Carolina (cid:129) www.infoagepub.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dorn, Sherman.
Accountability Frankenstein : understanding and taming the monster / by Sherman Dorn.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-59311-623-1 (pbk.) -- ISBN 978-1-59311-624-8 (hardcover) 1. Educational
accountability--United States. 2. Education--Standards--United States. 3. Education--United
States. I. Title.
LB2806.22.D67 2007
379.1'58--dc22
2007006371
ISBN 13: 978-1-59311-623-1 (pbk.)
ISBN 13: 978-1-59311-624-8 (hardcover)
ISBN 10: 1-59311-623-3 (pbk.)
ISBN 10: 1-59311-624-1 (hardcover)
Copyright © 2007 IAP–Information Age Publishing, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission
from the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America
To Elizabeth Griffith, Kathryn Dorn, and
Vincent Griffith—a teacher and
two students as well as
my much-loved family
.

CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Preface xi
1. The Political Origins of Accountability 1
2. Trusting Tests 29
3. How Trustworthy are Test Scores? 59
4. Setting up Goals and Failure 87
5. Consequential Thinking 123
6. A Better Way 147
References 173

PREFACE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Any professor owes a primary debt of gratitude to one’s own institutional
colleagues. Several current and former colleagues at University of South
Florida (USF) have encouraged me, written articles and edited books with
me over the years, and given me specific suggestions on accountability
over the years: Kathy Bradley-Klug, Kathy Borman, Deirdre Cobb-Rob-
erts, Michael Curtis, Erwin V. Johanningmeier, Larry Johnson, Howard
Johnston, Harold Keller, Mark Klisch, Sister Jerome Leavy, Reginald Lee,
Deanna Michael, J. Lynn McBrien, Christine Ogren, Kelly Powell-Smith,
Terry Richardson, Tomás Rodriguez, Barbara J. Shircliffe, Stephen
Turner, Will Tyson, and Roy Weatherford.
Several grants and other opportunities contributed to my under-
standing of accountability in Florida. In 2001, the Spencer Foundation
provided a grant to create the Consortium for Educational Research in
Florida, and in 2004 the Educational Studies Policy Laboratory at Ari-
zona State University sponsored a set of briefs on Florida reform, two
of which I wrote. In each case, the support was crucial in giving me the
time and capacity to think about my own state’s accountability system.
Other scholars and fellow citizens who have contributed ideas in
response to specific questions or have made helpful suggestions on
drafts include Paul Bielawski, Gerald Bracey, Art Burke, Dan Butin, Leo
Casey, Kathy Emery, David Figlio, Bob Hampel, Charlie Heath, James
Horn, Heather Lewis, Kathryn McDermott, Monty Neill, Michael
Resnick, Jane Robbins, A. G. Rud, Bob Schaeffer, Mary Ann Stank-
iewicz, Stephen Turner, Wayne Urban, and Robert E. Wright. My mas-
ter’s class in the fall of 2007 read a complete draft and gave invaluable
feedback. David Berliner graciously shared a set of page proofs from
ix
x S. DORN
Sharon Nichols and his Collateral Damage (2007) so that I could read it
while revising my own manuscript.
Several educators and public officials in Florida with different perspec-
tives on accountability have provided insight over the years on account-
ability, particularly Kathi Bateham, Tom Fisher, John Hilderbrand,
Michael Monroe, Faye Pages, Gloria Pipkin, and Jerry Richardson. All of
my children’s teachers have helped me ground my ideas in the reality of
everyday teaching.
My thinking about accountability as a focus of research began over a
decade ago when I joined an e-mail list on education policy moderated by
Gene V. Glass. As the founding editor of Education Policy Analysis Archives,
Gene published two early articles on accountability, “The Political Legacy
of School Accountability” (Education Policy Analysis Archives, 6(1), 1998,
http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v6n1.html) and “America Y2K” (Education Policy
Analysis Archives, 8(2), 2000, http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v8n2/), each of
which has been cannibalized and passages rewritten for this book. He has
continued to encourage my efforts over the years, including proposing
this book to Information Age Publishers.
Finally, I owe my family my gratitude for their love and support. My
mother and late father raised me with the sense that education was a right
and an obligation. My oldest sister Liz Parker has repeatedly educated me
on the perspectives of a school board member. And to Elizabeth Marga-
reta Griffith and our children, Kathryn Dorn and Vincent Griffith I owe
the greatest debt for their insights and forbearance while this book took
shape over 7 months.