A framework for assessing the impact of education reforms on school capacity: Insights from studies of high stakes accountability initiatives

This article offers a framework for assessing how education policy initiatives may affect a school’s capacity to improve its performance. Drawing on the the-oretical literature regarding school capacity and case studies of high-stakes accountability policies, the authors develop and illustrate a framework that includes both a resource dimension and a productivity dimension. They argue that this dual dimensional construction of school capacity encourages a more complete exploration of the manner in which education reform policies might alter school capacity