Accountability: To whom, for whom, and by whom?

Most avid followers of Dewey have probably speculated as to how he would be responding to the testing and accountability movement if he were alive today. Given that Dewey’s last writings were produced more than 30 years before A Nation at Risk (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983) and its fallout, we can only speculate as to the exact nature of his critique and response. In light of everything he did write and the language of growth, experience, and educative experiences that permeates his educational philosophy, we can be pretty sure that he would find little to support in the ways that learning and accountability are determined in present-day schools. On the other hand, I think Dewey would be greatly concerned about teacher accountability … just not in the limited way it is currently being discussed.