{"id":1800,"date":"2016-01-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-01-12T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/blog\/could-states-create-design-competitions-in-a-new-era-of-essa-getting-started-with-next-generation-accountability\/"},"modified":"2019-12-16T12:54:43","modified_gmt":"2019-12-16T17:54:43","slug":"could-states-create-design-competitions-in-a-new-era-of-essa-getting-started-with-next-generation-accountability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/blog\/could-states-create-design-competitions-in-a-new-era-of-essa-getting-started-with-next-generation-accountability\/","title":{"rendered":"Could States Create Design Competitions in a New Era of ESSA? Getting Started with Next Generation Accountability"},"content":{"rendered":"

There was an interesting announcement from the <\/span>Fordham Foundation<\/span><\/a> to launch a design competition for Next Generation Accountability models.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Fordham competition made me think \u2013 what if <\/span>states<\/span><\/i> launched their own \u201cNext-Gen Accountability\u201d design competitions? Ask local districts, school leaders, educators, community activists, parents and even students to engage in a design for next generation accountability. The potential of <\/span>incentives such as prizes<\/span><\/a> to drive broader conversations around new accountability models is real. Targeted incentives could mobilize community members, unlikely allies, new talent and resources to improve systemic accountability.<\/span><\/p>\n

I think the first question that is critical in the design \"A<\/a>challenge is to engage in a community conversation to describe \u201cwhat success looks like\u201d for students. What does a meaningful high school diploma look like? How do we define college ready, career ready and can a student enter the workforce and earn a livable wage job? How do we reverse engineer from there?<\/span><\/p>\n

It could be an interesting approach for outreach for states to launch design competitions for next generation accountability models for K-12 school systems in their own states. What would happen if states were able to engage local communities, workforce leaders and local education agencies \u2013 partnering in local communities as well as bridging conversations to support educators to develop their own new models to present as new designs for ensuring quality, accountability and equity?<\/span><\/p>\n

In truth, there needs to be design competitions underway immediately. The <\/span>Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)<\/span><\/a> is ushering in a new era in American education. The <\/span>responsibility for designing next generation models of accountability is shifting<\/span><\/a> to states and to local education agencies. This is an opportunity to challenge our communities, our local education systems and our states to plan, design and implement forward-thinking new models of accountability that are data-rich and provide powerful, personalized learning experiences that are relevant, challenging and offer deeper learning opportunities. <\/span><\/p>\n

It starts by engaging local communities in a conversation around, \u201cWhat does success look like?\u201d Then, local leaders working together to define what accountability would look like at the school level, district level, and state level. What are the indicators of success that would drive breakthrough learning models for students and support doing what is right for students, educators and communities?<\/span><\/p>\n

Most of the elements in Fordham\u2019s challenge are well grounded in school accountability as measured by grade-level student proficiency on academic standards, which are foundational to ensuring equity and a level playing field, as I describe <\/span>in this report<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>in this blog<\/span><\/a>. But could we ask what information would truly exhibit what students know and are able to do to be gainfully employed and college and career ready, such as a <\/span>proficiency-based diploma<\/span><\/a>? Having students with e-portfolios and exhibitions demonstrating mastery through a performance, through a community exhibition, gaining skills through internships, projects, problem-solving in their communities and meaningful work for deeper learning to ensure future success \u2013 that is a brighter and more robust outcome for our kids and our society. What should success look like? <\/span><\/p>\n

Anthony Monfiletto suggests redefining success<\/a> in his work at ACE Leadership bridging K-12 education, community and workforce in Albuquerque, New Mexico.<\/span><\/p>\n

The bottom line – we need to shift the conversation in our communities, local education systems and states to reflect deeply on and express the outcomes we hope to see when answering the fundamental question, \u201cWhat should success look like for students?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Then, engage in a design competition asking, \u201cWhat then, should next generation accountability look like for aligning across systems and ensuring every student\u2019s success?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Paul Leather from the State Department of Education in New Hampshire recommends these action steps for designing <\/span>Next Generation Accountability<\/span><\/a>: \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n