ABSTRACT

The demand for educational accountability reflects the belief that the public education system, like most other public systems, must be held accountable for what it does. Typically, education is viewed as a system (see Oakes, 1986; Shavelson, McDonnell and Oakes, 1989; Shavelson, McDonnell, Oakes and Carey, 1987) involving inputs (e.g. teachers, students) with certain characteristics (e.g. qualifications/certification, socio-economic status), and resources (e.g. funds) that flow into an educational process. The process of education can be characterised according to its quality and quantity. Altogether, these produce the outcomes of education, its results, which may include student performance, graduation rates, and a host of other direct and indirect results. Schools can be held accountable for any or all of these aspects of the education system.