Educational Administration Quarterly Ladd, Zelli / SCHOOL-BASED ACCOUNTABILITY School-Based Accountability in North Carolina: The Responses of School Principals

Surprisingly little is known about the impact of school-based accountability systems, which are one component of the larger standards-based reform effort in education. Using two waves of survey data from a random sample of school principals in North Carolina, the authors investigate the reported behavioral responses of principals to that state’s highly touted accountability system. Their analysis indicates that the state’s ABCs program is a powerful tool for changing the behavior of school principals in both intended and unintended ways. Because of its power, the authors conclude that policy makers should use such a tool cautiously. For more than a decade, efforts to improve American schools have centered on standards-based reform. This approach has focused new attention on the achievement of students and on accountability. As a result, many states have now developed accountability systems that provide various combinations of positive incentives and sanctions to induce schools to improve studen