MEASURING SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY: PERCEPTIONS FROM TEACHERS, PRINCIPALS, AND SUPERINTENDENTS

The purpose of this study was to identify the multiple factors that are utilized by accountability models and to identify the perceptions of Indiana educators in regard to what these professional educators believe should be utilized to assess school accountability. No Child Left Behind and the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) accountability model frameworks have had an impact on all public schools in the United States. Under AYP, high stakes testing results are utilized to provide acknowledgement to schools that meet pre-established thresholds, as well as to provide consequences for schools that fail to meet these requirements. This study is significant because it measures the perceptions of educators in what variables they believe should be utilized to determine whether or not schools meet specific accountability thresholds. Potential reliability issues that are correlated to specific accountability models can be identified through the analysis of the composite score differences between the different accountability variables. Descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVAs, and a simple multiple regression were used to analyze and disseminate the data collected for this study. This study was conducted by administering an electronic survey to all public school K-12 teachers, principals, and superintendents throughout Indiana. A 17-item accountability perception survey was created to quantitatively measure the opinions and perceptions of teachers, principals, and superintendents as to the variables used measure school accountability. A total of 746 educators submitted responses to the Perception of Variables Utilized to Effectively Measure School Accountability Survey. Statistical analysis of the data included descriptive analysis for selected items as well as inferential analysis that included one-way ANOVAs and a simple multiple regression. The composite score was tabulated from the survey to determine if significant differences existed among dependent variables that included position type, locality, socioeconomic level, and school letter grade received from the Indiana Department of Education. By collecting the responses of teachers, principals, and superintendents, a composite score was determined as to the perceptions of the variables utilized to measure school accountability. A one-way ANOVA found a statistically significant difference among the composite scores when separated by position type. The teacher composite mean scores were significantly lower than the principal and superintendent composite scores. A one-way ANOVA found no statistically significant differences between locality (urban, suburban, rural), socio-economic level (0%–33%, 34%–67%, 68%–100%), or school letter grade received by the Indiana Department of Education (A, B, C, D or F) and the accountability variable composite scores. A multiple regression analysis determined that demographic factors (locality, number of years at current building, socioeconomic status, school size, Indiana A–F letter grade) do not serve as significant predictors of the composite scores for principals