A charter school's accountability plan is the way a school indicates the goals it will achieve, or, from the authorizing agency's viewpoint, the performance levels it will be held accountable for attaining. The accountability plan provides:
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Information needed to measure and track the school's progress toward its goals
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Program adjustments when needed
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Reports to parents, the community, and chartering authority on performance and progress
The Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory
offers an organizing framework based on
six questions:
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What is our school's
mission? (Answers three key questions: whom you seek
to serve; what you seek to
accomplish; what methods
you will use.)
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What do we want our
students to know and be able to do? (Articulation of the
desired characteristics of
students described in concrete graduation or exit standards and benchmarks along the
way to reaching those exit standards).
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How will we know whether our students are achieving
or attaining the goals and
standards we specified in our charter? (A list of specific
academic skills that students will demonstrate in each
subject area and class.)
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How will we gather and monitor the necessary student performance information?
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How will we set and
measure progress toward our school performance goals?
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How will we use the
student and school performance information we have gathered?
For more information on NWREL's charter school
assistance program and publications, please see
Resources.
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