Looking in the Mirror of Accountability (Without Breaking It and Getting Seven Years of Bad Luck)
By Rosabeth Moss Kanter
© Copyright 2005 by Rosabeth Moss Kanter, rkanter@hbs.edu.

"Accountability" is a loaded word and political football in public education. Who should get what data about student and school performance, what should be measured or tested, and what will be done with the data? These questions are still controversial. But regardless of one's position on standards and testing, an emphasis on accountability is here to stay. Strong school system performance is a public mandate, and accountability is critical to monitoring and improving results.

While debates about metrics, tests, and consequences rage outside school buildings, inside the walls accountability poses a different requirement. To ensure that a school as a whole meets standards, leaders must work on accountability for performance day by day, person by person - and do it in a way that motivates higher achievement.. They must encourage people to look at themselves in a mirror of accountability.
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Leadership for the Global Age

By Vivien Stewart
Vice President for Education, Asia Society

From science and economics to culture and politics, ideas and capital are crossing borders and spanning the globe. The rise of China and India, the unification of Europe, and the spread of free markets in place of Communism are all fundamental facts of our time. Businesses large and small have been reinventing themselves for the global era, recognizing that 70% of future growth will be in markets outside the United States. Yet American schools are locked in a kind of educational isolationism. Students (and teachers) are taught little about the geography, history, cultures, and languages of the 90% of the world outside our borders.
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Leading Change at McKinley Technology High School, Washington, DC
By Daniel Gohl, Principal, McKinley Technology High School

McKinley Technology High School opened September, 2004. Change is a constant - for our staff and students - at a school, rich with tradition, yet recently renovated and academically reinvigorated. Our team is in the midst of the rebirth of a revered high school in the District of Columbia that is integrating a digital infrastructure into all components of the school's operation and academics.

The professional educators, counselors and support personnel of McKinley Technology High School (MTHS) are pioneers in the District of Columbia Public School System. We believe the Change Toolkit can help us prepare our students for higher education and careers in today's high tech society. As we conduct self-assessments, communicate experiences, and initiate new ideas, each staff person can benefit from the information and concepts provided in the various spokes of the Change Toolkit's wheels.
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Change Toolkit Tool of the Month
By Sasha Dichter, Change Toolkit Project Manager and Sr. Program Manager IBM Corporate Community Relations

Data Driven Decision Making
This month's lead column by Rosabeth Moss Kanter discusses the importance, and challenges, of accountability. Accountability, data systems, and how to use data to improve instruction are at the top of the list of educators’ priorities. The Data Driven Decision-Making tool provides you with a framework for understanding how to use data to improve instruction as well as of the change processes associated with implementing data-driven decision making in your school or district. To bring this topic to life, you might want to read the Background tool, which tells you about Ms. Janowski, a second-grade math teacher who effectively uses data to pinpoint how best to intervene with her students.

What does your reality look like, and how could you shake things up to see things in a new, better, more productive way?

How do I find this tool?
1. Log in to the Change Toolkit website .
2. Move your mouse to 'Get Tools' and click on 'School Improvement.'
3. Click on 'Data-Driven Decision Making.'

Leadership pulse check
A monthly poll of the readership of the Education Leadership Newsletter

This Month's Poll:

I prefer to be recognized for my outstanding performance by:

• An informal mention to me and my peers
  
• An informal mention to me alone – such as an email or word of congratulations
  
• Formal recognition to my peers and supervisor – such as a certificate or mention in a meeting
  
• Formal recognition to my supervisor alone
  
• Other ______________________________

	52%	Students
	7%	Taxpayers
	5%	Parents
	31%	Education Professionals
	9%	Others