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Focus Area:
Accountability, Assessment, and Oversight

At CRPE, we study how assessment, accountability, and oversight can strengthen public education while fostering equity, innovation, and continuous improvement. Our research examines how traditional accountability frameworks can narrow teaching and constrain schools’ ability to adapt, and we explore approaches that measure what truly matters for student success—academic growth, deeper learning, and readiness for life beyond school. We also investigate how oversight can balance school autonomy with strong protections for access and quality, ensuring that all students are well served. Across this work, our goal is to inform accountability systems that uphold public trust while enabling schools to innovate and respond to the diverse needs of their communities.

  • The Lens    

“Speak Softly and Carry a Big Stick”: Why State Chiefs Should Do Both

Ashley Jochim, Paul Hill

In the ongoing debate about federal and state roles in K–12 public education, states got a leg up with the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

  • The Lens    

The “Noble Lie” of Evidence-Based Turnaround Strategies

Ashley Jochim

The Every Student Succeeds Act abandons the prescriptive approach to school improvement embraced by both the No Child Left Behind Act and the Obama Administration’s flexibility waivers.

  • Research Reports    

Measures of Last Resort: Assessing Strategies for State-Initiated Turnarounds

Ashley Jochim

This paper provides the first comprehensive review of the research to date on state interventions, assessing the advantages and limits of five common turnaround approaches and outlining key ingredients for success.

  • The Lens    

Linking State and Local School Improvement

Robin Lake

The new federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) gives heavy deference to “local control.” School districts, charter schools, and communities are meant to be in the driver’s seat.

  • The Lens    

Wells Fargo and the Atlanta Schools Testing Scandal

Paul Hill

To people in education, the Wells Fargo scandal sounds eerily familiar. Top executives tried to increase performance by setting ambitious goals for opening new accounts, and attaching big rewards and penalties.

  • The Lens    

Can High Standards and Accountability Co-Exist? Lessons From the Common Core Assessment Consortia

Ashley Jochim, Patrick McGuinn

The Common Core State Standards Initiative was designed to solve a problem that has plagued past standard-setting efforts. Many states responded to earlier efforts by watering down their standards for learning and lowering expectations for students in an attempt to artificially boost the number of students that reached proficiency.

  • Research Reports    

The Politics of the Common Core Assessments

Ashley Jochim, Patrick McGuinn

CRPE research analyst Ashley Jochim and Drew University associate professor Patrick McGuinn explore why states are abandoning the assessments aligned with Common Core State Standards.

  • Research Reports    

The State Role in K–12 Education: From Issuing Mandates to Experimentation

Betheny Gross, Paul Hill

Betheny Gross and Paul Hill discuss the challenges and opportunities for state-level experimentation created by the Every Student Succeeds Act, in the Harvard Law and Policy Review.

  • The Lens    

The State of Florida Takes a Leadership Role in District-Charter Collaboration: An Interview with Adam Emerson

Sean Gill

The Florida Department of Education has provided two competitive grants to Duval County and Miami-Dade County to foster district-charter collaboration. CRPE research analyst Sean Gill spoke with Adam Emerson, the Florida Department of Education’s charter schools director, about his thoughts on how the collaboration work is progressing.

  • Research Reports    

What States Can Do to Promote District-Charter Collaboration

This paper explores opportunities for state education agencies to leverage their unique assets to advance district-charter collaboration..

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