Current accountability policy that bases assessment on validity and reliability criteria in the positivist research tradition is counterproductive to serving adult learners and their communities. In this article, we outline a framework for accountability that allows for the emergence and demonstration of the full range of program outcomes and their myriad strengths. The framework is based on the premise that learners, teachers, and programs are interacting complex systems whose uniqueness and integrity should be reflected in accountability efforts and policy. We argue that assessment anchored in a naturalistic research paradigm, where building trustworthiness forms the criteria for assessment, is better suited to complex systems like literacy education than current assessment and accountability efforts.