Accountability with a Kicker: Observations on the Florida A+ Accountability Plan

Phi Delta Kappan

Volumn 85, Issue 8, 2004, Pages 598-605

  Goldhaber, Dan ^a,b   Hannaway, Jane ^c  

^a UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON   (United States)

^b URBAN INSTITUTE   (United States)

^c Education Policy Center

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 1942540098     PISSN: 00317217     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/003172170408500807     Document Type: Review

References (22)

1. Zelman v. Simmons-Harris is the U.S. Supreme Court ruling handed down in June 2002, which upheld Cleveland's voucher program providing tuition assistance to students attending private religious schools.
2. See Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962); and John E. Chubb and Terry M. Moe, Politics, Markets, and America's Schools (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 1990). Voucher advocates also often make equity arguments, claiming vouchers provide a cost-effective escape for students who are unfairly trapped in chronically low-performing public schools because their parents do not have the financial means to move to a better neighborhood or to pay tuition for a private school.
3. See Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962); and John E. Chubb and Terry M. Moe, Politics, Markets, and America's Schools (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 1990). Voucher advocates also often make equity arguments, claiming vouchers provide a cost-effective escape for students who are unfairly trapped in chronically low-performing public schools because their parents do not have the financial means to move to a better neighborhood or to pay tuition for a private school.
4. The validity of this assumption is not clear. Empirical studies comparing the effectiveness of public and private schools have yielded findings that are far from conclusive. See, for example, James S. Coleman, Thomas Hoffer, and Sally Kilgore, Public and Private Schools (Chicago: National Opinion Research Center, Report to the National Center for Education Statistics, 1981); Glen C. Cain and Arthur S. Goldberger, "Public and Private Schools Revisited," Sociology of Education, vol. 56, 1983, pp. 208-18; Karl L. Alexander and Aaron M. Pallas, "School Sector and Cognitive Performance: When Is a Little a Little?," Sociology of Education, vol. 56, 1985, pp. 115-28; Dan D. Goldhaber, "Public and Private High Schools: Is School Choice an Answer to the Productivity Problem?," Economics of Education Review, vol. 15, 1996, pp. 93-109; idem, "School Choice: An Examination of the Empirical Evidence on Achievement, Parental Decision Making, and Equity," Educational Researcher, December 1999, pp. 16-25; and Patrick J. McEwan, "The Potential Impact of Large-Scale Voucher Programs," Review of Educational Research, vol. 70, 2000, pp. 103-39.
5. The validity of this assumption is not clear. Empirical studies comparing the effectiveness of public and private schools have yielded findings that are far from conclusive. See, for example, James S. Coleman, Thomas Hoffer, and Sally Kilgore, Public and Private Schools (Chicago: National Opinion Research Center, Report to the National Center for Education Statistics, 1981); Glen C. Cain and Arthur S. Goldberger, "Public and Private Schools Revisited," Sociology of Education, vol. 56, 1983, pp. 208-18; Karl L. Alexander and Aaron M. Pallas, "School Sector and Cognitive Performance: When Is a Little a Little?," Sociology of Education, vol. 56, 1985, pp. 115-28; Dan D. Goldhaber, "Public and Private High Schools: Is School Choice an Answer to the Productivity Problem?," Economics of Education Review, vol. 15, 1996, pp. 93-109; idem, "School Choice: An Examination of the Empirical Evidence on Achievement, Parental Decision Making, and Equity," Educational Researcher, December 1999, pp. 16-25; and Patrick J. McEwan, "The Potential Impact of Large-Scale Voucher Programs," Review of Educational Research, vol. 70, 2000, pp. 103-39.
6. The validity of this assumption is not clear. Empirical studies comparing the effectiveness of public and private schools have yielded findings that are far from conclusive. See, for example, James S. Coleman, Thomas Hoffer, and Sally Kilgore, Public and Private Schools (Chicago: National Opinion Research Center, Report to the National Center for Education Statistics, 1981); Glen C. Cain and Arthur S. Goldberger, "Public and Private Schools Revisited," Sociology of Education, vol. 56, 1983, pp. 208-18; Karl L. Alexander and Aaron M. Pallas, "School Sector and Cognitive Performance: When Is a Little a Little?," Sociology of Education, vol. 56, 1985, pp. 115-28; Dan D. Goldhaber, "Public and Private High Schools: Is School Choice an Answer to the Productivity Problem?," Economics of Education Review, vol. 15, 1996, pp. 93-109; idem, "School Choice: An Examination of the Empirical Evidence on Achievement, Parental Decision Making, and Equity," Educational Researcher, December 1999, pp. 16-25; and Patrick J. McEwan, "The Potential Impact of Large-Scale Voucher Programs," Review of Educational Research, vol. 70, 2000, pp. 103-39.
7. The validity of this assumption is not clear. Empirical studies comparing the effectiveness of public and private schools have yielded findings that are far from conclusive. See, for example, James S. Coleman, Thomas Hoffer, and Sally Kilgore, Public and Private Schools (Chicago: National Opinion Research Center, Report to the National Center for Education Statistics, 1981); Glen C. Cain and Arthur S. Goldberger, "Public and Private Schools Revisited," Sociology of Education, vol. 56, 1983, pp. 208-18; Karl L. Alexander and Aaron M. Pallas, "School Sector and Cognitive Performance: When Is a Little a Little?," Sociology of Education, vol. 56, 1985, pp. 115-28; Dan D. Goldhaber, "Public and Private High Schools: Is School Choice an Answer to the Productivity Problem?," Economics of Education Review, vol. 15, 1996, pp. 93-109; idem, "School Choice: An Examination of the Empirical Evidence on Achievement, Parental Decision Making, and Equity," Educational Researcher, December 1999, pp. 16-25; and Patrick J. McEwan, "The Potential Impact of Large-Scale Voucher Programs," Review of Educational Research, vol. 70, 2000, pp. 103-39.
8. The validity of this assumption is not clear. Empirical studies comparing the effectiveness of public and private schools have yielded findings that are far from conclusive. See, for example, James S. Coleman, Thomas Hoffer, and Sally Kilgore, Public and Private Schools (Chicago: National Opinion Research Center, Report to the National Center for Education Statistics, 1981); Glen C. Cain and Arthur S. Goldberger, "Public and Private Schools Revisited," Sociology of Education, vol. 56, 1983, pp. 208-18; Karl L. Alexander and Aaron M. Pallas, "School Sector and Cognitive Performance: When Is a Little a Little?," Sociology of Education, vol. 56, 1985, pp. 115-28; Dan D. Goldhaber, "Public and Private High Schools: Is School Choice an Answer to the Productivity Problem?," Economics of Education Review, vol. 15, 1996, pp. 93-109; idem, "School Choice: An Examination of the Empirical Evidence on Achievement, Parental Decision Making, and Equity," Educational Researcher, December 1999, pp. 16-25; and Patrick J. McEwan, "The Potential Impact of Large-Scale Voucher Programs," Review of Educational Research, vol. 70, 2000, pp. 103-39.
9. The validity of this assumption is not clear. Empirical studies comparing the effectiveness of public and private schools have yielded findings that are far from conclusive. See, for example, James S. Coleman, Thomas Hoffer, and Sally Kilgore, Public and Private Schools (Chicago: National Opinion Research Center, Report to the National Center for Education Statistics, 1981); Glen C. Cain and Arthur S. Goldberger, "Public and Private Schools Revisited," Sociology of Education, vol. 56, 1983, pp. 208-18; Karl L. Alexander and Aaron M. Pallas, "School Sector and Cognitive Performance: When Is a Little a Little?," Sociology of Education, vol. 56, 1985, pp. 115-28; Dan D. Goldhaber, "Public and Private High Schools: Is School Choice an Answer to the Productivity Problem?," Economics of Education Review, vol. 15, 1996, pp. 93-109; idem, "School Choice: An Examination of the Empirical Evidence on Achievement, Parental Decision Making, and Equity," Educational Researcher, December 1999, pp. 16-25; and Patrick J. McEwan, "The Potential Impact of Large-Scale Voucher Programs," Review of Educational Research, vol. 70, 2000, pp. 103-39.
10. This amount would have covered tuition costs in over 90% of the state's private schools, and receiving schools cannot charge students more than the voucher value. In addition to adjustments for district costs, the value of the voucher also varies by grade level and program.
11. As of November 2002, opportunity scholarship payments were made to private schools for 522 students. A few students were still awaiting final eligibility decisions before payments were made.
12. Initially they could be reclassified if they increased performance on any single portion of the test - math, reading, or writing. This provision was changed for the school year 2001-02, and schools are now required to meet points criteria that take into account both performance and improvement in math, reading, and writing.
13. Jay P. Greene, "Vouchers in Charlotte," Education Matters, vol. 1, 2001, pp. 55-60.
14. Gregory Camilli and Katrina Bulkley, "Critique of 'An Evaluation of the Florida A-Plus Accountability and School Choice Program,' " Educational Policy Analysis Archives, vol. 9, 2001, available at http://epaa.asu. edu/epaa/v9n7/.
15. More detailed information on the case study schools is available from the authors upon request.
16. Bill Hirschman, Heidi Hall, and Kelly Patrick, "Pressure, Tension Fuel FCAT Drills," Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, 13 February 2000, p. A-1.
17. I b i d.
18. Andrew Dunn, "Schools Kick Off FCAT Preparation," Tallahassee Democrat, 23 January 2001.
19. Corroborating these reports, our survey results showed that teachers in F schools reported significantly more often than teachers in other schools that specialists or "master teachers" modeled lessons for them.
20. Holly Stepp and Luisa Yanez, "Bottom-Rung Schools Climb Up FCAT Ladder," Miami Herald, 10 April 2001, p. B-1.
21. William Clune, "The Shift from Equity to Adequacy in School Finance," Educational Policy, vol. 8, 1994, pp. 376-94; and Allan Odden and William Clune, "School Finance Systems: Aging Structures in Need of Renovation," Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, vol. 20, 1998, pp. 157-77.
22. William Clune, "The Shift from Equity to Adequacy in School Finance," Educational Policy, vol. 8, 1994, pp. 376-94; and Allan Odden and William Clune, "School Finance Systems: Aging Structures in Need of Renovation," Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, vol. 20, 1998, pp. 157-77.