[NLA] accountability?

[Eileen Eckert]

Janice says:
"So accountability, however ridiculous or mean when applied to teaching, is 
big business."

When I asked about how accountability helps learners, I pointed to the money 
spent on buying tests and answers sheets, training, and interpretation of 
scores instead of on direct services to students. Money spent on creation 
and changes to standardized tests is another biggie. Where is our money 
going? Are the private enterprises that create tests and provide more and 
more of the consulting services in education accountable to the field? To 
the taxpayers? To anyone? Do we have another form of privatization going on?

While I think we need to examine the trends and the changing structure of 
education (pre-K-12, adult, and higher ed), and look at the role of private 
enterprise in it, I don't mean to tar all consultants with the same brush. 
There are some consultants and private non-profits that are committed to 
learners; as with anything else, evaluating them takes critical thinking.






From: "janice sapp" <jansapp007 at msn.com>
Reply-To: nla at lists.literacytent.org
To: <nla at lists.literacytent.org>
Subject: Re: [NLA] accountability?
Date: Sun, 16 Mar 2003 10:05:50 -0600

Continuing Eileen's thread:

However, statistical 'truth' will continue to be measured for
accountability, and many states do that each year by giving standardized
tests to students to see what they learned.  In Plano, TX, the school
district has gone so far as to have a curriculum written up for 'regular'
kids--gave the 7th grade history model to teachers in 2001-02 with no ESOL
model and had no money to pay a teacher to sit on the development panel--and
then the kids are tested over that info. And on a state level, the kids were
being given a TAAS test, now a TAKS or TEKS test, even those who manage to
graduate from ESOL programs.  The test's format has been changed--not the
info, just the format.  I wonder who is accounting for the amount of money
being spent over format changes?



Are we able to sanction at least one or two tests that the NLA likes best?
(or that those who give ESOL programs money like best?) Janice M. Sapp,
jansapp007 at msn.com


----- Original Message -----
From: "Eileen Eckert" <eileeneckert at hotmail.com>
To: <nla at lists.literacytent.org>
Sent: Saturday, March 15, 2003 4:51 PM
Subject: Re: [NLA] accountability?


 > Responding to Andrea:
 > "But if I am shelling out the funds, I want to know how they are being
 > spent--account for the money, please--and the effectiveness of your
program,
 > another topic which gets confounded with this one."
 >
 > There were a few other responses to my question about how 
"accountability"
 > measures help learners. I don't think anyone who wrote is arguing against
 > accountability, what I hear from those who wrote is that what we have is
not
 > accountability.
 >
 > My take on it is that what we have now is a veneer of accountability for
 > those who prefer statistics to truth because "truth" is too complex and
 > messy (and requires people to think and decide for themselves when they
 > could be watching reality TV instead--oops, my cynicism is showing).
 >
 > You said it Andrea: it <is> a swamp. Nothing substitutes for having the
 > knowledge and experience to distinguish among diverse (that's a <good>
 > thing, right?) programs and make critical judgments. Isn't that what
you're
 > attempting to do when you ask people to give some background when they
post,
 > and when you say you value most highly the experiences and viewpoints of
 > people who are working with learners? To draw a facetious parallel, could
a
 > nationally-administered point system for credibility of people who post 
to
 > the NLA ever substitute for your own ability to make a value judgment? Or
 > for mine, or anyone else's? And if we disagree, does the mere fact of the
 > disagreement make one of us wrong, or does it highlight the extremely
 > valuable diversity (that word again) of knowledge, expertise, and
 > perspectives that are brought to bear in evaluating?
 >
 > So how is it "accountability" to try and erase real differences among
 > programs and learners and judge everyone by one standard?
 >
 > I'm glad you posted that message, because that is the argument we're up
 > against and I don't have answers either.
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
 >
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