The Source

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Topic: Accountability

Diagnosing for Success

Diagnosing for Success

The first step to drive intensive school improvement and school turnaround is to conduct an in-depth Diagnostic Review. Whether for schools needing targeted or comprehensive support or to address pockets of underperformance within the education ecosystem, the Diagnostic Review process identifies pathways for improvement through an in-depth review and analysis... Read the full article >
Partnership at the Speed of Trust: Q&A with State Superintendent Baesler

Partnership at the Speed of Trust: Q&A with State Superintendent Baesler

State Superintendent Kirsten Baesler has described Cognia as a crucial partner in her efforts to support the continuous improvement of each school and district as well as the state department. In a recent interview, Baesler described her perspective on partnerships and some of the ways in which Cognia has worked... Read the full article >
Next Generation Accountability Systems for Student Success

Next Generation Accountability Systems for Student Success

The time is overdue to rethink K-12 education policy around accountability in the United States. After twenty plus years of top-down state and federal accountability systems, there’s growing recognition the current frames aren’t working to ensure quality and equity. We must reimagine accountability to better prepare students, families, communities, and... Read the full article >
Align State Accountability and Accreditation to Improve School Performance

Align State Accountability and Accreditation to Improve School Performance

These questions are the focus of two different approaches—accountability and accreditation— that ought to work together in more mutually reinforcing ways to improve student and school performance. 1. State accountability systems. State education accountability systems are federally mandated, state-determined efforts to set goals for performance that measure, rate, and rank... Read the full article >
The Future of Educational Assessment

The Future of Educational Assessment

For teachers, understanding what students know and can do requires teachers to navigate a broad array of assessment approaches, all of which are combined in so-called “balanced assessment systems” that provide opportunities for educators to: Verify learning of a specific unit of instruction Determine whether and how students are struggling... Read the full article >
Expectations for Quality Education

Expectations for Quality Education

Cognia’s Performance Standards and Protocol underpin all our solutions in service to schools and learners—professional learning, accreditation and certification, assessment, turnaround, and school improvement. The accreditation standards outline expectations for Cognia accredited institutions based on what the latest education research indicates makes for quality schools. The protocol outlines the requirements... Read the full article >
Moving Beyond Accountability and Launching Innovation

Moving Beyond Accountability and Launching Innovation

I have been superintendent of Liberty Public Schools (LPS) in Missouri since 2014. The district has consistently met the standards set by the Missouri school improvement program, the state’s accountability and accreditation system. That system offers a certain level of rigor; every few years, the state reshuffles the deck and... Read the full article >
From State Takeover to Turnaround

From State Takeover to Turnaround

Early in 2018, I was called in to lead the Montgomery, Alabama schools after a state takeover of the system in 2017. The district was in bad shape. A Cognia™ (then AdvancED) Diagnostic Review pinpointed 31 areas where the district failed to meet the standards and needed improvement. The report... Read the full article >
Developing Meaningful Alternate Assessments

Developing Meaningful Alternate Assessments

Developing an alternate assessment goes beyond compliance with regulations. Such an assessment must be built on the determination and passion to provide students with significant cognitive disabilities authentic ways to demonstrate what they know and can do related to the academic standards for their state. As a former teacher of... Read the full article >
Helping School Leaders Address Blind Spots

Helping School Leaders Address Blind Spots

Accreditors dig deep into data on all aspects of performance. We review key documents and plans, and conduct detailed surveys, interviews, and observations of crucial aspects of schooling that affect student learning. We spend multiple days on site and get a glimpse, up close and personal, of what is working... Read the full article >