ERIC Number: EJ1009767
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013
Pages: 26
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0895-9048
EISSN: N/A
The Disproportionate Erosion of Local Control: Urban School Boards, High-Stakes Accountability, and Democracy
Trujillo, Tina M.
Educational Policy, v27 n2 p334-359 Mar-Apr 2013
This case study of an urban school board's experiences under high-stakes accountability demonstrates how the district leaders eschewed democratic governance processes in favor of autocratic behaviors. They possessed narrowly defined goals for teaching and learning that emphasized competitive, individualized means of achievement. Their decision making was private; opportunities for local input were missing. They promoted centrally determined, standardized instructional and administrative practices, not locally driven ones. It concludes that accountability policies that are framed in terms of their potential to further democratic aims by granting greater liberty in exchange for results, and by holding all districts to the same high standards, may disproportionately reduce democratic control in urban settings. (Contains 1 note.)
Descriptors: Urban Schools, Boards of Education, High Stakes Tests, Accountability, Democracy, Governance, Academic Achievement, Interviews, Administrators, Board of Education Policy, State Policy, Public Policy, Educational Policy, Disadvantaged Schools, Federal Legislation, Educational Legislation, Decision Making, Leadership Styles, Competition, Standardized Tests
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: California
Identifiers - Laws, Policies, & Programs: No Child Left Behind Act 2001
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A