"1. The book offers teacher educators and stakeholders an overview of accountability in the era of education reform and embraces teacher education accountability as a lever for reconstructing its targets, purposes, and consequences in keeping with the larger democratic project. 2. The book introduces a framework, eight dimensions of accountability, for interrogating dimensions of accountability policy and practice by revealing an accountability initiative's operation but also exposing underlying values and principles, theory of change, and relationship to larger political and policy agendas. 3. Using the authors' framework, eight dimensions of accountability, the book deconstructs four of the most visible education reform initiatives relevant to teacher educators and education stakeholders. The book proposes a rallying call to teacher educators and stakeholders to reclaim accountability using a new approach: democratic accountability in teacher education" --

In her new book, Betty Demarest describes a bold agenda for education reform—one that is firmly grounded in a synthesis of educational research about learning, teaching, and the contexts of education. The author’s “learning-centered” framework includes: (1) a broad and balanced set of education goals, (2) a multi-faceted concept of achievement, (3) classroom capacity for learning, (4) systemic capacity and infrastructure, (5) shared, reciprocal accountability, and (6) systems of multiple assessments. New research-based concepts in these six areas are critically compared to older concepts behind standards-based reform and No Child Left Behind. Book Features: A comprehensive, alternative framework for future education reform that focuses on improving the core educational practices of learning, teaching, content, and leadership. A federal role that emphasizes meaningful partnerships rather than top-down control. A critique of past standards and present accountability-based frameworks, with implications of the learning-centered framework for future national policy, especially ESEA An operational definition of educational capacity, a re-conceptualization of accountability, and a sharp reversal of the relative emphasis placed on these strategies. Elizabeth J. Demarestis an education consultant living in Alexandria, Virginia. She was formerly with the U.S. Department of Education and the National Education Association. “Betty Demarest clearly defines a learning-centered framework for improving policy and practice. Practitioners can benefit from the strategies outlining a clear pathway for transforming to learning-centered practice in our nation’s classrooms.” —Gerald N. Tirozzi, executive director, National Association of Secondary School Principals “Betty Demarest’s deep experience with research and policy development allows her to re-envision reform at many levels, all based on research evidence for valid concepts and practices of teaching and learning. This book is a welcome gift to policymakers and practitioners.” —Roland Tharp, research professor, University of California, Berkeley “Demarest provides a research-based foundation for informed discussion and debate as Congress renews federal education law. Her synthesis of key issues should provide a starting point for any serious discussion of the way forward in federal education policy.” —Mary Haywood Metz, professor emerita, University of Wisconsin–Madison

School reform is a top priority for governments today. This timely and challenging book, edited by leading international researchers, Kathryn Riley and Karen Seashore Louis, offers a rich comparative perspective on leadership for change and school reform. Contributors form North America, Europe and Australia demonstrate how school leadership is influenced by global pressures, differing national and state contexts and local concerns. They illustrate the limitations of reform initiatives which focus on school leaders tot he exclusion of the many other organisations which affect school, such as national and local governments, professional associations and school communities. This book raises some important questions such as: *How can school leaders create intelligent, thinking schools? *How can leadership and learning be linked together? *What are the characteristics of effective local education authorities and school districts? *What is the role of teacher organisations in educational reform and change? *What happens if businesses, teachers, parents and local communities have different views of what makes a good school? The text illustrates the ways in which leadership is rooted in learning, and identifies new directions for school leadership. It challenges conventional notions of leadership, offering an expanded view, which sees leadership just as an individual role-based function, but as a network of relationships among people, structures and cultures. This lively and provocative book should be read by all those interested in education reform.

In the wake of the tragedy and destruction that came with Hurricane Katrina in 2005, public schools in New Orleans became part of an almost unthinkable experiment—eliminating the traditional public education system and completely replacing it with charter schools and school choice. Fifteen years later, the results have been remarkable, and the complex lessons learned should alter the way we think about American education. New Orleans became the first US city ever to adopt a school system based on the principles of markets and economics. When the state took over all of the city’s public schools, it turned them over to non-profit charter school managers accountable under performance-based contracts. Students were no longer obligated to attend a specific school based upon their address, allowing families to act like consumers and choose schools in any neighborhood. The teacher union contract, tenure, and certification rules were eliminated, giving schools autonomy and control to hire and fire as they pleased. In Charter School City, Douglas N. Harris provides an inside look at how and why these reform decisions were made and offers many surprising findings from one of the most extensive and rigorous evaluations of a district school reform ever conducted. Through close examination of the results, Harris finds that this unprecedented experiment was a noteworthy success on almost every measurable student outcome. But, as Harris shows, New Orleans was uniquely situated for these reforms to work well and that this market-based reform still required some specific and active roles for government. Letting free markets rule on their own without government involvement will not generate the kinds of changes their advocates suggest. Combining the evidence from New Orleans with that from other cities, Harris draws out the broader lessons of this unprecedented reform effort. At a time when charter school debates are more based on ideology than data, this book is a powerful, evidence-based, and in-depth look at how we can rethink the roles for governments, markets, and nonprofit organizations in education to ensure that America’s schools fulfill their potential for all students.

"Andy Hargreaves and Dennis Shirley, always one or two steps ahead of the field, have done it again. An extremely balanced and insightful treatment of the first three ways of change, in which the authors clearly display the strengths and limitations of each model. And then they go to town in mapping out the fourth way—a concise and compelling framework for change that integrates teacher professionalism, community engagement, government policy, and accountability. The Fourth Way is itself a powerful ′catalyst for coherence′ in a field that badly needs guidance. Read the book and rethink your approach to educational reform." —Michael Fullan, Educational Consultant Author, The Challenge of School Change A compelling approach to lasting educational change informed by lessons learned and new successes worldwide! In an expressive and absorbing style, this penetrating volume offers a plan for viable and sustainable educational reform that reflects research on traditional methods and new findings from successful school initiatives around the globe. Beginning with an incisive analysis of the three major educational change efforts of the past 25 years, Andy Hargreaves and Dennis Shirley offer a plan that integrates government policy, professional involvement, and public engagement to create an environment of greater inclusiveness, security, and humanity. Drawing on "Four Horizons of Hope"—examples of promising implementation and practice—the book demonstrates how districts and schools can achieve dramatic improvement built on: Six Pillars of Purpose that support change Three Principles of Professionalism that drive change Four Catalysts of Coherence that sustain change Written for educators, consultants, and administrators at the school and district level, The Fourth Way represents an innovative vision of educational change for meeting the dramatic problems and dynamic challenges facing educators in the 21st century.

"Perhaps the most urgent—and complex—task facing American education today is to figure out how to hold schools accountable for improved academic achievement. In this important new work, Helen Ladd and her colleagues describe the options available to policymakers, weigh their respective strengths and pitfalls, and lay out principles for creating schools where learning is the number one objective. This book should be at the top of the reading list for anyone seriously interested in transforming the quality of American schools."—Edward B. Fiske, Former Education Editor, The New York Times A central theme of current efforts to reform elementary and secondary education in the United States is a more explicit focus on the outcomes of the educational system. This volume examines efforts throughout the country to hold schools accountable for the academic performance of their students. Researchers from various disciplines—most notably, economics, educational policy and management, and political science—address a range of questions related to performance- based strategies for reforming education. The authors describe and evaluate programs that recognize and reward the most effective schools, discuss the costs of achieving high performance, summarize what is known about parental choice as an accountability mechanism, and provide new evidence on the relationship between school inputs and educational outcomes. Grounded in the actual experiences of various states and school districts, the book provides a wealth of new information and provocative insights. Contributors argue that programs to hold schools accountable for student performance must be carefully designed to assure that schools are treated fairly; that vouchers, if used, should be directed toward low-income families; that resources do indeed matter—poor school districts may well require additional funding to increase student learning. In addition to the editor, the contributors include Charles T. Clotfelter, David K. Cohen, Richard F. Elmore, Ronald F. Ferguson, Susan H. Fuhrman, Eric A. Hanushek, Caroline Minter Hoxby, Richard J. Murnane, John F. Witte, and John McHenry Yinger.