According to (Marilyn, 2000), a system of accountability that comprises of various sections of elementary education is very essential in the checking the level and quality of education that the students get in elementary school. Accountability for educational systems involves several stakeholders such as; teachers of elementary schools, taxpayers of the country in question and the elected officials. Tax payers are found to question the performance of the system where schools as well as the ruling government are expected to show taxpayers the outcome of funds that are invested in elementary education. Large scale Assessment programs are widely used in programs where effectiveness of elementary education is tested. Therefore, educational personnel have been found to try their level best so as to improve their results when put under external tests that hold them accountable of the situation of elementary education.
While designing an assessment framework, there are various principles that need to be taken into account namely; contextual factors, educational accountability as well as the team of stakeholders involved in this particular educational system. On educational accountability, other sources of information are used to assess the quality of elementary education that students get. This is because; different schools have different ways of assessing students. For instance, there are schools that consider low performance to be acceptable for those children that can perform better in other cocurricullum activities. Others focus on a large number of students completing elementary level education regardless of their scores. However, a comprehensive assessment framework checks on both the scores and the number of students receiving elementary education as well as the standards of training given to students. An assessment of classrooms should also be integrated in the framework of accountability where data should be collected to show the quality of learning curriculum being used. (Margaret, 2001)
(Nancy, 2005) argues that, contextual factors of elementary education include parents, the public, teachers as well as politicians who contribute to the quality of learning in schools. It is therefore appropriate to formulate a framework that checks on all these factors during an evaluation of the performance of elementary students. For example, there are instances where an English teacher can do little to improve the performance of a student especially when he/she is not an English native speaker. Students’ performance is best assessed through a framework that checks on the student’s progress taking into account all other factors that are related to his/her performance. This is where variables that are under the control of schools are examined against those that are not under their control which holds the various members of contextual factors accountable for any mismanagement.
Stakeholders of elementary education are also assessed where their perspectives are taken into account. Comprehensive accountability provides some mechanisms where stakeholders’ views are presented and embraced; which is essential for maintenance of the system of elementary education. Therefore, accountability of an educational system considers both the direction as well as means through which quality education is to be achieved. Parents, stakeholders, students as well as other educational personnel provide information that is essential in assessing the quality of elementary education. Therefore, those assessing the quality of schools providing elementary education should ensure that they integrate them in their assessment in form of a comprehensive accountability system. (Tony, 2002)
References
Marilyn O. (2000): Changing policy and practice in primary education: Continuum International Publishing Group pp15-18
Margaret C. (2001): Improving education: Lawrence |Erlbaum Associates pp12-14
Nancy B. (2005): Towards universal primary education: Earthscan pp33-35
Tony B. (2002): The principles and practice of educational management: SAGE pp 23-25