Nationwide, districts and states seek to place more accountability for student performance with principals and teachers at the school level. We have found that schools implementing comprehensive school designs find they need more control of both the who and the how of resources.

Research shows that effective accountability systems have four characteristics. They are:

• Performance goals are inspiring, clear, and understandable.
• Teachers believe that their own effective teaching can help to reach them.
• Schools and teachers can change what they are doing if they need to meet these goals.
• Incentives for meeting the goals exist, and consequences follow when expectations are not met.

Freeing School Resources for Learning (PDF)