Author: Nadia Hilliard
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
ISBN: 0700623981
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 288
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Book Description
Public accountability is critical to a democracy. But as government becomes ever more complex, with bureaucracy growing ever deeper and wider, how can these multiplying numbers of unelected bureaucrats be held accountable? The answer, more often than not, comes in the form of inspectors general, monitors largely independent of the management of the agencies to which they are attached. How, and whether, this system works in America is what Nadia Hilliard investigates in The Accountability State. Exploring the significance of our current collective obsession with accountability, her book helpfully shifts the issue from the technical domain of public administration to the context of American political development. Inspectors general, though longtime fixtures of government and the military, first came into prominence in the United States in the 1970s in the wake of evidence of wrongdoing in the Nixon administration. Their number and importance has only increased in tandem with concerns about abuses of power and simple inefficiency in expanding government agencies. Some of the IGs Hilliard examines serve agencies chiefly vulnerable to fraud and waste, while others, such as national security IGs, monitor the management of potentially rights-threatening activities. By some conventional measures, IGs are largely successful, whether in savings, prosecutions, suspensions, disbarments, or exposure of legally or ethically questionable activities. However, her work reveals that these measures fail to do justice to the range of effects that IGs can have on American democracy, and offers a new framework with which to evaluate and understand them. Within her larger study, Hilliard looks specifically at inspectors general in the US Departments of Justice, State, and Homeland Security and asks why their effectiveness varies as much as it does, with the IGs at Justice and Homeland Security proving far more successful than the IG at State.
Author: Robert Kelchen
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421424738
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 271
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Book Description
Beginning with the earliest efforts to regulate schools, the author reveals the rationale behind accountability and outlines the historical development of how US federal and state policies, accreditation practices, private-sector interests, and internal requirements have become so important to institutional success and survival
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309172861
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 136
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Book Description
State education departments and school districts face an important challenge in implementing a new law that requires disadvantaged students to be held to the same standards as other students. The new requirements come from provisions of the 1994 reauthorization of Title I, the largest federal effort in precollegiate education, which provides aid to "level the field" for disadvantaged students. Testing, Teaching, and Learning is written to help states and school districts comply with the new law, offering guidance for designing and implementing assessment and accountability systems. This book examines standards-based education reform and reviews the research on student assessment, focusing on the needs of disadvantaged students covered by Title I. With examples of states and districts that have track records in new systems, the committee develops a practical "decision framework" for education officials. The book explores how best to design assessment and accountability systems that support high levels of student learning and to work toward continuous improvement. Testing, Teaching, and Learning will be an important tool for all involved in educating disadvantaged studentsâ€"state and local administrators and classroom teachers.
Author: Matthew Flinders
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351800825
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 388
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Book Description
This title was first published in 2001: In this compelling work, Matthew Flinders examines how far alternative forms of accountability have evolved and the extent to which they remedy the current shortcomings of the parliamentary system. Adopting a pluralistic perspective, this exploration of the accountability of the core executive is clearly grounded in research methodology, thus ensuring the book makes a valid, incisive contribution to the literature. Features include: - A detailed study of the location of power and mechanisms of accountability in modern government which challenges the largely prosaic existing literature - Useful summaries of the key tensions and trends within constitutional infrastructure - A new and refreshing approach to the study of central government - Insightful critiques of major governmental policies This intriguing volume will be of interest to undergraduates, post-graduates and lecturers for courses on legislative studies, central government reform, public administration, British politics and research methods.
Author: Richard Rothstein
Publisher: Teachers College Press
ISBN: 9780807749395
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 280
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Book Description
Yes, we should hold public schools accountable for effectively spending the vast funds with which they have been entrusted. But accountability policies like No Child Left Behind, based exclusively on math and reading test scores, have narrowed the curriculum, misidentified both failing and successful schools, and established irresponsible expectations for what schools can accomplish. Instead of just grading progress in one or two narrow subjects, we should hold schools accountable for the broad outcomes we expect from public education —basic knowledge and skills, critical thinking, an appreciation of the arts, physical and emotional health, and preparation for skilled employment —and then develop the means to measure and ensure schools’ success in achieving them. Grading Education describes a new kind of accountability plan for public education, one that relies on higher-quality testing, focuses on professional evaluation, and builds on capacities we already possess. This important resource: Describes the design of an alternative accountability system that would not corrupt education as does NCLB and its state testing systems Explains the original design of NAEP in the 1960s, and shows why it should be revived. Defines the broad goals of education, beyond math and reading test scores, and reports on surveys to confirm public and governmental support for such goals. Relates these broad goals of education to the desire for accountability in education.
Author: Donald E. Heller
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 142140477X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 284
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Book Description
Affordability, access, and accountability have long been among the central challenges facing higher education—and they remain so today. Here, Donald E. Heller and other higher education scholars and practitioners explore the current debates surrounding these key issues. As students and their families struggle to meet rising tuition prices, and as state funding for higher education dwindles, policymakers confront issues of affordability within state and institutional budgets. Changing demographics and challenges to affirmative action complicate the admissions process even as colleges and universities seek to diversify enrollments. And issues of institutional accountability have forced the restructuring of higher education governing boards and a reexamination of the role of public trustees in governance. This collection analyzes how issues of affordability, access, and accountability influence the way in which state governments approach, monitor, and set public higher education policy. The contributors examine the latest research on pressing challenges, explore how states are coping with these challenges, and consider what the future holds for public postsecondary education in the United States.
Author: Andreas Schedler
Publisher: Lynne Rienner Publishers
ISBN: 9781555877743
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 412
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Book Description
This text states that democratic governments must be accountable to the electorate; but they must also be subject to restraint and oversight by other public agencies. The state must control itself. This text explores how new democracies can achieve this goal.
Author: Sam Silverstein
Publisher: Sound Wisdom
ISBN: 0768407257
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 232
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Book Description
Do you ever find yourself questioning what you believe around issues that impact your life and business? Do you ever feel lost in your decisions? Are you ever frustrated in your lack of ability to take your life or business exactly where you know you want to go? Non-Negotiable is all about understanding what you believe, what you can control, what your mission is and ultimately taking your convictions to the level of Non-Negotiable. Based on the real life story of J. Pat Hickman, a man with a purpose, and the bank he leads, Happy State Bank, you will see firsthand what success looks like. Sam Silverstein, champion of accountability, presents the inspiring story of how J. Pat Hickman transformed a sleepy small town bank from one location and $10 million in assets into 34 locations and over $2.5 billion in assets by knowing what he believes and not negotiating on what he holds dear. In the process, he assembled a team of leaders that understand what great culture looks like and a bank full of motivated people who love what they do. Read this book to: Discover and define your own Non-Negotiables Energize your ability to avoid distractions and make important decisions Establish a culture that promotes personal and organizational accountability Understand the power of true accountability Unleash the power of knowing what it is you truly believe
Author: Kathryn A. McDermott
Publisher: Georgetown University Press
ISBN: 1589017889
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 237
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Book Description
Performance accountability has been the dominant trend in education policy reform since the 1970s. State and federal policies set standards for what students should learn; require students to take “high-stakes” tests to measure what they have learned; and then hold students, schools, and school districts accountable for their performance. The goal of these policies is to push public school districts to ensure that all students reach a common threshold of knowledge and skills. High-Stakes Reform analyzes the political processes and historical context that led to the enactment of state-level education accountability policies across the country. It also situates the education accountability movement in the broader context of public administration research, emphasizing the relationships among equity, accountability, and intergovernmental relations. The book then focuses on three in-depth case studies of policy development in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Kathryn McDermott zeroes in on the most controversial and politically charged forms of state performance accountability sanctions, including graduation tests, direct state intervention in or closing of schools, and state takeovers of school districts. Public debate casts performance accountability as either a cure for the problems of US public education or a destructive mistake. Kathryn McDermott expertly navigates both sides of the debate detailing why particular policies became popular, how the assumptions behind the policies influenced the forms they took, and what practitioners and scholars can learn from the successes and failures of education accountability policies.
Author: Jennifer King Rice
Publisher: IAP
ISBN: 1607528762
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 276
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Book Description
In this third volume of Research in Education Fiscal Policy and Practice, editors Jennifer King Rice and Christopher Roellke have assembled a diversity of research studies focused on the current policy environment of high stakes accountability and how this context has impacted educators and students at multiple levels of the system. This effort to leverage student performance through high stakes reform has accelerated and intensified considerably since the 2002 reauthorization of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, commonly referred to as No Child Left Behind (NCLB).In order for high stakes accountability reforms to realize their stated aims, targeted schools must have or acquire the resources and capacity to meet prescribed performance standards (Hess, 1999; Malen & Rice, 2005; Mintrop, 2003, 2004; Wong, et al., 1999), yet little systematic research has been assembled to document the implications of high stakes accountability systems on the resources and capacity of schools and school systems. This book aims to fill that gap. With this in mind, authors were asked to pay specific attention to challenges school systems confront as a result of NCLB and other high stakes reforms. The contributing authors were asked to think of policymakers and practitioners at local, state, and national levels as the intended audiences for their work. Our contributors responded with a collection of studies examining the relationship between high stakes reform and school district staffing, the recruitment and distribution of high quality teachers, curriculum making, and the provision of supplemental educational services to children. Our book is organized into three sections. The first provides a framework for assessing the impact of high stakes accountability policy on school capacity and also addresses implementation challenges at both state and local levels. The second section focuses on the impact of federal and state policymaking on teacher staffing and workplace conditions. The final section includes three chapters that provide a range of critiques on federal policymaking, including legal challenges to NCLB.
