An Approach to Developing Accountability Measures for the Public Schools.

Stephen M. Barro

ResearchPublished 1970

A general strategy for evaluating pupils' progress so that each educator is held responsible for those outcomes--and only those outcomes--that he can affect, to the extent that he can affect them. The basic statistical technique is multiple regression analysis. Several stages are needed (1) to take account of variation due to the pupils' backgrounds and characteristics, (2) to estimate the remaining interclassroom variation, and (3) to attribute it to particular teachers, other classroom variables, and other school characteristics. In principle, the method can be extended to evaluate the contributions of administrators, provided the district is large enough for adequate comparisons. The interclassroom variation remaining after nonteacher effects have been accounted for is probably the most widely useful measure. Complex econometric models may be required to cope with interaction effects--the effect of problem children on their classmates, or of last year's teacher on this year's performance. 30 pp.

Order a Print Copy

Format
Paperback
Page count
30 pages
List Price
$20.00
Buy link
Add to Cart

Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Available
  • Year: 1970
  • Print Format: Paperback
  • Paperback Pages: 30
  • Paperback Price: $20.00
  • Document Number: P-4464

Citation

RAND Style Manual
Barro, Stephen M., An Approach to Developing Accountability Measures for the Public Schools. RAND Corporation, P-4464, 1970. As of September 20, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P4464.html
Chicago Manual of Style
Barro, Stephen M., An Approach to Developing Accountability Measures for the Public Schools. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1970. https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P4464.html. Also available in print form.
BibTeX RIS

This publication is part of the RAND paper series. The paper series was a product of RAND from 1948 to 2003 that captured speeches, memorials, and derivative research, usually prepared on authors' own time and meant to be the scholarly or scientific contribution of individual authors to their professional fields. Papers were less formal than reports and did not require rigorous peer review.

This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.

RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.