Holistic Accountability: Serving Students, Schools, and Community

A comprehensive program that leads directly and swiftly to better practices, better decision making, improved staff morale, and higher student achievement.

"In Holistic Accountability, Reeves succeeds in recasting the accountability dilemma into a win-win plan for school administrators who are weary of the test score sweepstakes and for policy makers who are demanding results. It is an excellent approach--one that is sound, reasonable, comprehensive, and relevant. The accompanying sample accountability reports are very useful."
--School Business Affairs, October 2002

Nationally recognized expert on assessment, Dr. Douglas B. Reeves, offers a comprehensive program of holistic accountability, a system that includes not only test scores but also the instructional and leadership practices at a school. Holistic accountability systems yield information about curriculum, assessment, and instruction that can lead directly and swiftly to better practices and better decision making for teachers, school leaders, and policymakers.

This essential guide explores the four building blocks of accountability: structure, collaboration, implementation, and communication. Dr. Reeves offers a complete, practical program that can have a profoundly positive impact on students, teachers, and parents. This practical and powerful book:

• Links accountability and academic standards
• Includes three case studies of effective accountability systems
• Explains how to communicate about educational accountability
• Contains sample reports adaptable to any school or system

   

. . . always focusing on the central purpose of accountability: theimprovement of student achievement.

Educators, administrators, school leaders, school board members, school leadership teams, and parents can make use of this groundbreaking work to improve accountability policies at the classroom, school, or district level.

Dr. Douglas Reeves is the president of the Center for Performance Assessment, an organization that works with governmental organizations and school systems to improve standards, assessments, and accountability systems. The author of seventeen books and many articles, Dr. Reeves is the author of the best-selling Making Standards Work, now in its third edition. Other recent books include The Daily Disciplines of Leadership: How to Improve Student Achievement, Staff Morale, and Personal Organization (Jossey-Bass, 2003), The Leader's Guide to Standards: A Blueprint for Educational Excellence and Equity (Jossey-Bass, 2003), Reason to Write: Help Your Child Succeed in School and In Life Through Better Reasoning and Clear Communication (Simon & Schuster, 2002), and Holistic Accountability: Serving Students, Schools, and Community (Corwin Press, 2002). Reeves has twice been named to the Harvard University Distinguished Author's Series and is the recipient of the Parent's Choice Award for his writing for students and parents.

Beyond his work assessment and research, Doug has devoted many years to classroom teaching with students ranging from elementary school to doctoral candidates. Doug's family includes four children ranging from elementary school through college. His wife, Shelley Sackett, is an attorney, mediator, and school board member. He lives near Boston and can be reached at [email protected].