The Negative Consequences of Elementary School Accountability Data Usage in One Florida School District

• In Event: Improving Data Use in School Accountability and Education Policy

Abstract

The accountability era has produced school grading systems that purport to evaluate school effectiveness yet utilize hegemonic formulas that label low-scoring schools and neighborhoods, depriving them of incentive monies tied to their school grades. This study analyzed publicly available data of 107 elementary schools in one large urban district in Florida through the lens of effective schools research, finding that the probability of school incentive rewards can be predicted by a school’s percentage of economically disadvantaged students, having implications for how we might rebuild the assessment of our neighborhood schools and transform the policy structures that contribute to social and educational inequities.

Authors

• Mary Wilson-Killeen, Florida Atlantic University

• Meredith L. Mountford, Florida Atlantic University