High-Stakes Accountability in Urban Elementary Schools: Challenging or Reproducing Inequality?¹

TLDR

The authors investigate how schools respond to high‑stakes accountability policies using interview and observation data from four urban elementary schools. They analyze data from two high‑performing and two probation schools to assess school responses to high‑stakes accountability. Responses differ by school status: probation schools focus narrowly on policy compliance and targeted student improvement, whereas higher‑performing schools aim to raise all students’ performance, underscoring equity concerns given the concentration of poor and students of color in low‑performing schools.

Abstract

In this article, the authors use data from interviews and observations in four urban elementary schools—two high-performing and two probation schools—to examine how schools respond to high-stakes accountability policies. The authors show that school responses to high-stakes accountability depend on the schools’ accountability status. In probation schools, responses focus narrowly on complying with policy demands, focusing on improving the performance of certain students, within benchmark grades, and in certain subject areas. In contrast, higher performing schools emphasize enhancing the performance of all students regardless of grade level and across all subject areas. Given the concentration of poor students and students of color in the lowest performing schools, the authors conclude that issues of educational equity need to be given greater consideration in the implementation of high stakes accountability policies.