The Promise of Accountability and Standards in the Achievement of Equal Educational Opportunity

Abstract

The recent history of development in accountability in a variety of educational settings is discussed. Focus is on the national standards for educational achievement and the complexity of the problems in setting those standards. Among these complexities are issues that flow from the facts of diversity in the populations served by these institutions, and pluralism in the standards students must meet. In response to the considerable confusion around much of the policy planning as concerns these issues, emphasis is given to definitional clarity relative to constructs like diversity, pluralism, and equity. Attention is called to the ways in which chauvinism and communicentric bias may compromise the development and implementation of equitable systems of educational assessment that may also be universally applied.