University of Delaware
Office of Public Relations
UpDate - Vol. 16, No. 26, April 10


          Educational accountability topic of April 11 forum
     
     Recognizing and Rewarding Success in Our Schools:
Educational Accountability Decisions for Delaware" is the
theme of a special Delaware Policy Forum, to be held on
Friday, April 11, in Clayton Hall.
     The forum will address key questions that arise as the
state's new student achievement system is measured. The
system, to be implemented in approximately one year, is
designed to measure student achievement against content
standards, adopted in 1995, which define what students
should know and be able to do in the areas of English, arts,
mathematics, science and social studies.
     The goal of the forum is to inform Delawareans about
experiences with educational accountability across the
country and to help policy leaders in the state reach the
best decisions possible on educational accountability
questions.
     "We now face the question of educational
accountability: How will those in the educational system be
held accountable for its performance?," Jeffrey A. Raffel,
director of UD's Master of Public Administration Program and
one of the conference forum's organizers, said.
     Raffel said critical questions include:
     * Should Delaware's students face an exit exam, perhaps
first given in the 10th grade, that they must pass in order
to receive a high school diploma?
     * If there is an exit exam, what programs would be
available for those who do not pass the exam on the initial
attempt?
     * What would be the consequences of student performance
on the state assessments for individual schools or school
districts? Should outstanding schools or school districts
receive rewards? What consequences should low performers
face?
     * What consequences should exist for professionals in
the educational system? Should schools that show great
progress be rewarded with bonuses?
     * How can an accountability system be defined that can
both motivate and support improved performance within the
system?
     Program participants will include Delaware Gov. Thomas
R. Carper, President David P. Roselle and Daniel Rich, dean
of the College of Urban Affairs and Public Policy.
     A panel discussion on "Alternative Visions of
Educational Accountability for Delaware" is scheduled in the
morning. Participants will include State Sen. Rick Hauge,
sponsor of a bill that would require students to pass an
exit exam or alternatively show they have mastered the
standards; Bob Strong, dean of Wilmington High School; and
Marsha DeLain, coauthor of a policy paper written for the
state Board of Education on educational accountability.
     Keynote speaker will be Allan Odden, director of the
systemic reform team at the National Institute for Science
Education and co-director of the Finance Center of the
Consortium for Policy Research in Education, who has been
leading work for the Pew Charitable Trust on this issue.
     His topic will be "Educational Accountability Systems:
Rewards, Measurements & Implementation."
     Odden holds master's and doctoral degrees from Columbia
University, a master of divinity degree from Union
Theological Seminary and a bachelor's degree from Brown
University. His areas of specialty are educational policy
and finance, policy implementation and teacher compensation.
     He is a former professor in the school of education at
the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and former professor
and director of the University of Southern California's
Center for Research in Educational Finance. He also has been
employed as a director for Policy Analysis for California
Education (PACE) and for the Education Commission of the
States.
     Included among his numerous publications are Linkages
Between Systemic Reform and Teacher Compensation,
Educational Leadership for America's Schools, Key Issues in
Effective School-Based Management and Rethinking School
Finance: An Agenda for the 1990s.
     The policy forum is sponsored by the Institute for
Public Administration and the Educational Research and
Development Center, both at UD, the Department of Public
Instruction and the Delaware Commissioners to the Education
Commission of the States, including the governor, Peg
Bradley, the governor's policy adviser on education, William
DeLauder, president of Delaware State University, Paul Fine,
former president of the state Board of Education, State Sen.
Dave Sokola and Strong.
     Cost is $10. For information and space availability,
call 831-8971.