Although educators and school boards sometimes resist the idea,
accountability is sorely needed in America's schools. Our students are
falling behind those in other countries, yet compared to their foreign
counterparts, our schools remain subject to little accountability. The
U.S. school system lacks the marketplace accountability of schools
competing with one another and the further accountability of large-scale
examination systems, both of which are associated with high achievement.
It is clear that after a quarter century of poor progress in educational
productivity, the time has come for high academic standards and
accountability.