Understanding Heterogeneous Effects of Performance Management: An Application of Kroll’s Contingency Approach to Educational Accountability

Performance Management (PM) systems are intended to inform managerial decision-making, driving performance improvements through managerial reforms. Despite the prevalence of these systems, they were implemented with little evidence of the assumed relationship between PM and organizational performance. Since 2010, a literature on this relationship has developed, but it is heterogeneous and inconclusive. This review develops a theoretical framework of heterogeneous PM effects adapted from Kroll (2015, Public Performance & Management Review, 39, 7–32) and assesses it for consistency with empirical evidence from three cases of educational accountability reforms. This framework assumes that effects of PM systems are driven by the effectiveness of an organization’s managerial response, which is determined by adopting one of three strategies: prospecting, reacting, or gaming. The cases demonstrate that organizational strategy, as inferred from managerial response, predicts performance under accountability. This raises questions about how to predict managerial response, suggesting that managerial autonomy plays an important role.

Educational accountability is out of step — Now more than ever

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light many of the essential nonacademic functions of U.S. schools, such as meals, mental health support, and opportunities for students whose families lack resources. Yet, as Derek Gottlieb and Jack Schneider explain, schools continue to be evaluated primarily on students’ academic outcomes. They call for a reconsideration of current accountability measures to take into account the multifaceted work of schools.

Educational Accountability and State ESSA Plans

This paper examines different state approaches to educational accountability in response to the Every Student Succeeds Act. Cluster analysis reveals three groups of states with similar indicator weights and rating systems, and principal component analysis identifies two dimensions underlying these clusters. We find that state-level demographics are correlated with the types of assessment policies adopted by states: policy liberalism is associated with putting greater weight on school quality and student success, while economic variables are associated with traditional performance measures, such as graduation rates and testing. These clusters reveal different approaches to measuring accountability and prioritizing different kinds of information, which can in turn influence the nature of education politics.

La identidad de las educadoras diferenciales en tiempos de políticas de accountability

The main objective of this research is to understand the construction of the identity of special education teachers in the framework of the implementation of educational accountability policies in Chile. Methodologically, this study responds to the qualitative tradition of research, in which 10 special education teachers from the Metropolitan Region participated. The instruments to produce the information in this investigation correspond to the in-depth interview and the reflective log. As a technique for analyzing the narratives, the qualitative content analysis was used. Among the main findings is an identity construction in transformation and stressed by the demands of accountability and the production of standardization and exclusion practices as effects of the educational market logics, which go against the identity that historically these educators have built.