When Does Accountability Work?

David J. Deming sits down with EdNext’s Marty West to discuss his new study on the effects of a test-based accountability system in Texas on the Education Next Podcast.

When Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), standardized testing in public schools became the law of the land. The ambitious legislation identified test-based accountability as the key to improving schools and, by extension, the long-term prospects of American schoolchildren. Thirteen years later, the debate over the federal mandate still simmers. According to the 2015 EdNext poll, about two-thirds of K–12 parents support annual testing requirements, yet a vocal minority want the ability to have their children “opt out” of such tests (see “The 2015 EdNext Poll on School Reform,” features, Winter 2016). Teachers themselves are divided on the issue of high-stakes testing.