Over the last 2 decades, federal policies have been put in place to develop greater school accountability. Some might say these are working, and some might say they’re not. The intent behind increasing accountability was to lead to ongoing school improvement, thus increasing student learning and performance. For this assignment, you will analyze the public policy initiatives meant to boost accountability thereby promoting school improvement.
Research and select 2 or 3 public policy initiatives designed to increase educational accountability in K–12 schools.
Write an 875- to 1,050-word report in which you assess the relationship between the educational accountability measures directed by public policy initiatives and continuous school improvement.
Complete the following in your report:
- Examine the purpose of each initiative, including its impact on educational accountability.
- Explain the impact of the initiatives on the following stakeholders:
- School staff
- Students and families
- Analyze the challenges and successes associated with the initiatives.
- Evaluate the influence of the initiative(s) on continuous school improvement.
- Justify changes you recommend to the public policy initiatives.
Cite any references to support your assignment.
Bottom of Form
Rubric
Examine the Purpose of Each Initiative
20% of total grade
Accomplished
Thoroughly examined the purpose of each initiative and its impact on educational accountability
90 – 100%
Explain the Impact on the Initiatives to Stakeholders
15% of total grade
Accomplished
Thoroughly explained the impact of the public policy initiatives on school staff, students, and families
90 – 100%
Analyze the Challenges and Successes
20% of total grade
Accomplished
Insightfully analyzed the challenges and successes associated with the public policy initiatives
90 – 100%
Evaluate the Influence of the Initiatives
20% of total grade
Accomplished
Extensively evaluated the influence of the public policy initiatives on continuous school improvement
90 – 100%
Justify Changes to the Public Policy Initiatives
15% of total grade
Accomplished
Thoroughly justified the changes recommended to the public policy initiatives
90 – 100%
Syntax and Semantics: Word choice, sentence structure, grammar (e.g., subject-verb agreement, pronoun-antecedent agreement), sentence boundaries (run-on or fused sentences, sentence fragments)
10% of total grade
Accomplished
Accuracy in grammar, sentence structures, sentence boundaries, and word choice enhanced content.
90 – 100%
Notes:
I work for Washoe County School District in Reno, Nevada. Strong initiatives that have taken hold in my district are: Title I, SEL (Social Emotional Learning or CASEL), and most recently, ESSER. I am a special education teacher in the district’s behavior school grades 6-12. I would suggest selecting just two public policy initiatives, but the assignment allows for three if you would rather. Also, if you come across other federally funded initiatives that you would prefer to include in the paper and you think they are a good fit, please feel free to use them.
