Presented are the formal presentation and edited comments from the 1981 Statesmen's Roundtable focusing on professional accountability in special education. The author's presentation addresses some of the assumptions made about special education, and the role of The Council for Exceptional Children regarding evaluation and accountability. Among the points made are the following: particularly in the case of mildly handicapped children, it is the environmental milieu of the family, the neighborhood, and the school, as well as the child's individual characteristics, that determine how the child fares in the classroom; professionals need to pursue program evaluation both on the full range of developmental characteristics of the child, and in the extent of our programmatic impact on secondary institutions, such as the family and the schools; and The Council for Exceptional Children should see to it that special education leads the way in responsible and comprehensive self evaluation and self improvement. Responses and reactions to the presentation are given for the following individuals: P. Jones, J. Hebeler, J. Birch, J. Dinger, R. Mackie, K. Wyatt, F. Connor, J. Kidd, S. Kirk, P. Smith, R. Simches, and S. Ashcroft. (SB)