This paper presents a working definition of educational accountability, reasons for the accountability movement in education, events and major problems. Educational accountability is a process of setting goals, making available adequate resources to meet those goals, and conducting regular evaluation to determine if the goals are met. The reasons are the influences of the federal government, the dissatisfied public and the technological-cultural difficulty of managing education. The events have moved from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, which required an accounting of how federal funds were expended in compensatory education programs, to a comprehensive all-school performance contract in Gary, Indiana. The major problems are reflected in the responses to the following seven questions: Who is accountable? What is the accountability unit? How are educational outcomes measured? Will the focus on measurable student learning detrimentally affect the humanistic fields? Will accountability create a sterile environment which precludes creativity and imagination? Can accountability be applied beyond the basic skills area? Will accountability work? (Author/AWW)