by Lance T. Izumi, Fellow in California Studies
Pacific Research Institute
March 4, 2003

Announcer lead:  Lance Izumi says that the taking the teeth out of California's school accountability system will hurt students.

Last year, the California Teachers Association sponsored a highly criticized and unsuccessful bill that would have made curriculum and other education policies part of the collective bargaining process. The CTA, however, is back this year with a controversial proposal that would take the teeth out of the state's school accountability system.

Under the state's system, schools that perform much better than expected are eligible for rewards such as teacher bonuses. At the other end of the spectrum, low-performing schools that fail to meet their student test-score improvement targets are eligible for the accountability program. Participating schools are given grant money to devise and implement plans to improve student performance. If a school continues to fail to meet its test-score targets, then eventually it is subject to a variety of sanctions. These sanctions could include transforming the failing school into a charter school, reassigning teachers, and renegotiating a new labor contract. Of course, these consequences infringe on union power and turf.

In reaction to such provisions, the CTA is sponsoring legislation that would amend the accountability law to remove the rewards and sanctions components. It is no coincidence that with the accountability program having been in place for the past few years, hundreds of failing schools could be sanctioned in the near future. The potential imposition of tough consequences, however, is important if the accountability system is to work. The prospect of sanctions has caused poor-performing schools to change to better curricula and teaching methods and to focus on meeting the state's tough academic content standards. Without consequences for poor performance, there would be no incentive for schools to improve. The victims would be students at failing schools who would continue to receive an inferior education.

The state accountability program is not perfect. Parts of the system are voluntary which allows some low-performing schools to avoid the accountability measures. However, the solution to such problems is to tighten up the system, not weaken it as the CTA wants. In this case, true compassion means tough love, not surrender.

Lance Izumi is the Director of Center for School Reform at the California-based Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy. He can be reached via email at lizumi@pacificresearch.org.