The traditional measures of accountability set in place often fail to accurately measure the performance of students. The goal of this strand is to promote and advance the collective understanding of high-quality accountability systems in alternative education systems. Alternative Accountability uses various innovative practices to measure student growth and implement plans that produce a successful future. Some positive results of programs embracing alternative measures are accurate and appropriate systems of continuous improvement in order to provide the best possible outcomes for students.
Alternative schools diligently work to support At-Promise students and ensure they achieve long term success. A large majority of traditional accountability systems’ measurements are based on academic success. The issue with these systems for alternative education stems from the fact that the system does not take account of schools that are focused on students who have been out-of-school or are credit deficient going into their re-enrollment at an alternative school trying to get students back on track to graduation. An article titled “Rethinking Accountability For Alternative Schools,” by Kristen Le Floch excellently explains the issue. This article will highlight the key points of discussion found in Le Floch’s work.
The current measurement for the school accountability system is referred to as Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) which “mandates that each state measure school performance and identify the very lowest-performing schools for “‘comprehensive support and improvement,’” (CSI). A large number of Alternative schools are considered CSI which leads many to believe that these schools are neglecting students which is not the case. Le Floch writes, “if an alternative school enrolls students who are well below grade level in reading but helps them gain two grade levels in just one school year, we would probably count this as a win.” This example reveals how students are making progress towards success however the current measurements in place are not allowing schools to showcase it.
Due to this issue some states have decided to implement a different approach to tracking their students' achievements. For example, the state of North Carolina focuses on measuring how many students maintain enrollment in each school throughout the school year. In addition, rather than focusing on the mastery of English and mathematics, North Carolina alternative schools' center of attention is on the amount of growth a student has in an academic year. “North Carolina’s modified system weights academic growth as 60% of the overall accountability rating, compared to 20% for academic achievement,” said Le Floch.
Alternative schools are working to improve the academic performance of At-Promise students. However, individuals must understand that these schools are designed to help students achieve success however that may look. These are not traditional schools and their overall measurements should not be treated as such. Great efforts have been made to make a positive change towards these issues. RAPSA looks forward to hearing about all of the innovative ways schools are altering the current education system to better serve and equip At-Promise students.
Read the full article by Kristen Le Floch here.
An additional resource for work in alternative accountability is the Gardner Center at Stanford University. More information on their work can be found here.