1. Accountability is NOT Paint By Numbers
Lorna Earl, Ph.D.
Head, International Centre for Educational Change
OISE/UT And
Director of Aporia Consulting Ltd.

2. Possible Titles
Being Accountable: Measuring Effectiveness and Improvement in Schools
School Effectiveness and Improvement Research: Implications for Policy, Practice and Accountability
Accountability: Surveillance or Improvement
Everything That You Always Wanted to Know about Accountability; But Were Afraid To Ask

3. Accountability: Let Me Count the Ways
Accountability as Conversation
Accountability and Improvement
Accountability is not Paint By Numbers

4. What is Accountability?
Responsibility and Entitlement.
Who is accountable?
To Whom?
For What?
In What Manner? and
Under What Circumstances?
Wagner (1989)

5. Accountability: By whom; To whom; For what?
Responsibility of
Entitlement to
Central Government
District/LEA
School Administrators/Teachers
General public/ taxpayers
quality of educational programs
quality of program and program delivery
cost effectiveness
judicious and efficient use of resources
equity of policies, structures and programs
Individual parents and students
individual student learning
fair and equitable treatment
equity
Appeal process

6. Accountability: In what manner?
Accounting - gathering, organizing and reporting information that describes performance
Accountability - the conversation about what the information means and how it fits with everything else that we know and about how to use it to make positive changes

7. Changing Roles in Accountability
Researchers – Communicate research in ways that make the findings accessible use and the consequences defensible.
Educators – Learn to live with data, use it and like it.

8. Accountability and Improvement
Accountability without improvement is empty rhetoric
Improvement without accountability is whimsical action without direction

9. Accountability: Under what conditions?
Monitoring and Improvement
Pressure and Support
Accountability and Capacity-building

11. Indicator Categories

12. PAINTING A GALLERY OF IMAGES
Setting the
Canvas
Planning
This
Picture
Blocking
the Canvas
The First
Strokes
The Image
Grows
What do we know?
Where do we want to go?
Establishing role, purpose, and audience
Matching planning goals to indicator categories
From indicator categories to actual and potential data sources
Examining, interpreting and displaying data
Formulating key messages
Clarifying the messages and supporting evidence
Delivering the message
Checking audience reaction

13. Capacities for Leaders in a Data-Rich World
Develop an Inquiry Habit of Mind
Become Data Literate
Create a Culture of Inquiry

14. A Leader with an Inquiry Habit of Mind:
Values deep understanding
Reserves judgment and has a tolerance for ambiguity
Takes a range of perspectives and systematically poses increasingly focused questions

15. A Data Literate Leader:
Thinks about purpose
Recognises sound and unsound data
Is knowledgeable about statistical and measurement concepts
Makes interpretation paramount
Pays attention to reporting and to audiences

16. A Leader who Creates a Culture of Inquiry:
Involves others in interpreting and engaging with the data
Stimulates an internal sense of “urgency”
Makes time
Uses “critical friends”

17. Internal Capacity for Change
Internal capacity is the power to engage in and sustain continuous learning of teachers and the school itself for the purpose of enhancing student learning.
Stoll (1999)

18. If you make a change and it feels comfortable, you haven’t made a change.
Lee Trevino

19. Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful and committed citizens can change the world. In fact, it has never happened any other way.
Margaret Mead