I don't have any idea what accountability would look like in this situation, so please inky, say more.
Unfortunately I know more about what it doesn't look like than what it would look like. Accountability has been on my mind with the erroneous MAPs testing data at DD's school and what I see as a lack of accountability. For me accountability means that when mistakes are made, leaders take responsibility and action to prevent the recurrence of similar mistakes in the future.
After going through the run around of "yes, a mistake was made" but "no, we're not going to do what needs to be done" I have a better understanding of the frustration that led to No Child Left Behind being enacted. Unfortunately NCLB doesn't give the kind of accountability that's needed. Jim Trelease has a good article on his web site called "No Dentist Left Behind." Just as it wouldn't make sense to hold dentists accountable for the number of cavities their patients have, holding schools accountable for test scores does not provide true accountability.
It sounds like this is related the research you mentioned and I'd be interested in learning more. Maybe Dottie's Arbitration System is what accountability would look like, but it has a lot to do with professional ethics. If ethics is adherence to the unenforceable, we end up pushing on a string trying to get true accountability when professional ethics isn't valued in a school system.
http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/no-dentist.html
