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Issues in Accountability

NEA and Kansas NEA support accountability and measuring student learning.  A cornerstone of the many federal education mandates is an emphasis on school accountability.  The focus is to find schools that are "failing" based on assessment of student learning. But the professional educators in KNEA choose to emphasize the role of assessment in school improvement rather than seeking to punish schools with the highest level of need and the greatest educational challenges.  In fact, KNEA has developed a cadre to assist schools that are having difficulty as measured by the QPA (Quality Performance Accreditation) system.  

A recent report cosponsored by NEA focuses on appropriate uses of testing and assessment.  Find a summary on the NEA web site.  Additional resources include

• The NEA Testing Plus site includes NEA policy statements and links to topical information.

• The Center for Performance Assessment contracts to provide services to schools to assist them in implementing more effective assessment systems.  Their web site includes resources that may also be helpful.

• Information about accountability AND data on performance by state is available at the home page for Education Trust.  Kansas NEA is working with the Kansas State Department of Education to implement new requirements for assessment in federal legisation in a manner that will support school improvement, student learning and minimize interference with the ability of teachers to teach and students to learn.