The U.S. test-based accountability model holds schools and teachers accountable for student outcomes with little attention to school improvement processes. Many other countries enact more school-centered accountability efforts, such as school self-evaluation followed by inspection (SSE/I) to examine school quality, as in similar systems in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Netherlands. Accountability models from other countries cannot be naively imported to the U.S. given the vital distinctions in socio political contexts. That being said, a look at some of the purposes or principles behind SSE/I--especially its emphasis on quality improvement--can nevertheless inform efforts to redesign and improve the U.S. accountability model. The purpose of this brief is to take just such a look at this model.
