Can We Measure What Matters Most?: Why Educational Accountability Metrics Lower Student Learning and Demoralize Teachers

This book examines the idea of educational accountability and questions its effectiveness in making schools better. It also explores the compatibility of business management theories and practices with education, the validity of accountability data, and the challenges of measuring and assessing what matters most in teaching and student learning.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 208 pages
Publication date: 30 September 2021
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Educational accountability has emerged as a prevailing secular gospel, but the effectiveness of accountability policies in improving schools remains a subject of debate. Similarly, the application of business management theories and practices in organizations is questioned. The widespread use of management theories and assessment tools may not yield the desired outcomes. Concerns arise about the validity and meaningfulness of accountability data, as well as the proficiency of administrators in utilizing and interpreting the problematic data generated by these tools. The inability to measure and accurately assess what truly matters in teaching and student learning poses significant challenges. Moreover, the business-model of economic efficiency is questioned in its ability to reconcile the competing and potentially conflicting aims of schooling, such as human development, student learning, personal satisfaction, social mobility, and economic growth. The book aims to address these critical questions through a comprehensive and interdisciplinary exploration of the latest scientific research.

Educational accountability has emerged as a prevailing secular gospel, but the effectiveness of accountability policies in improving schools remains a subject of debate. Similarly, the application of business management theories and practices in organizations is questioned. The widespread use of management theories and assessment tools may not yield the desired outcomes. Concerns arise about the validity and meaningfulness of accountability data, as well as the proficiency of administrators in utilizing and interpreting the problematic data generated by these tools. The inability to measure and accurately assess what truly matters in teaching and student learning poses significant challenges. Moreover, the business-model of economic efficiency is questioned in its ability to reconcile the competing and potentially conflicting aims of schooling, such as human development, student learning, personal satisfaction, social mobility, and economic growth. The book aims to address these critical questions through a comprehensive and interdisciplinary exploration of the latest scientific research.

ISBN-13: 9781475862287