Last Thursday, the Broader, Bolder Approach to Education Campaign released a report that includes recommendations for the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Patrick Riccards has a pretty comprehensive summary of the BBA report on his blog, but one of the major recommendations in the report is that the reauthorized ESEA "permit states flexibility in designing their accountability systems, provided these systems include qualitative evaluation of school quality and do not rely primarily on standardized test scores to judge the success of schools."

NSDC supports this enhanced vision of accountability to include qualitative as well as quantitative components. A core NSDC belief is that student learning increases when educators reflect on professional practice and student progress. In my view, the proposed approach to accountability would support both these outcomes. In relation to the BBA recommendations, we specifically:

1. See inclusion of more qualitative measures as consistent with our definition of professional development that calls for teachers to engage in ongoing review of student data and assessment of student work, as well as other measures of student performance. In addition, we support qualitative and quantitative measures of the stimulus funding investments in professional development.
2. See the suggestion for an inspector system as another powerful qualitative approach that is consistent with ways states can assess and demonstrate the impact of professional development on educator practice and student learning. Educators seeking examples of states leading this effort might look to Florida and Iowa professional development policies.
3. See recommendations for coordination and collaboration among all partners as consistent once again with our proposed definition of professional development that promotes educator collaborative learning and collective responsibility for student success. ﾠ

Of course, challenges are not unexpected, but as the report states, "changes require tough choices and this is one that the federal government, states, and schools will have to make."

Stephanie Hirsh is NSDC's Executive Director.