Accountability

If every student really does count then it is the duty of every school to account for its work student by student

Accountability, Auditing, Inspections and Review Services

Class Measures has been a leading provider of educational accountability services in the United States since 2001, completing over three hundred school inspections and providing district audits, consultancy and advice to Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Michigan, South Carolina, Mississippi and Texas. Class Measures has worked internationally in the field of school accountability for almost twenty years in nations as diverse as Great Britain, Saudi Arabia, Portugal and The United Arab Emirates. As well as ‘regular’ public/state schools, Class Measures has inspected nursery schools, special schools, military schools, international schools and charter schools.

Accountability

Class Measures has designed systems for holding districts and schools accountable in Massachusetts since 2003, earning a close and continuing relationship with the Department of Secondary and Elementary Education. In particular, Class Measures was responsible for designing protocols and training over seventy inspectors for the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability, and monitoring their work. In New Hampshire, Class Measures was commissioned to review the State’s charter school project in 2007 (State of New Hampshire Charter School Review)which resulted in effective and strategic changes to this initiative. With the National Institute for School Leadership Class Measures staff provided leadership support in keeping the district under review in Jackson, Mississippi and Carrollton Farmer’s Branch in Texas. In New Bedford, Massachusetts Class Measures designed and conducted a “Looking at Learning” program for 22 principals over three years, coaching them to keep their schools under review through peer audit.

Audits

The term “audit” describes Class Measures’ accountability work with districts.

Class Measures undertook reviews of the four highest achieving districts in Kansas on behalf of Governor Sibelius in 2005. The work, commissioned by Standard and Poor’s, School Matters resulted in an efficiency report (Kansas Education Resource Management Study ) highlighting the best practice and value for money provided in Geary County, Scott County, Olathe and Arkansas City. In Massachusetts, following ed-reform Class Measures designed for MassInsight a standards-based academic audit to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of districts. Class Measures then went on to conduct in-depth on site reviews in the districts of Revere, Lynn, Chicopee and New Bedford. For Central Michigan University Class Measures designed a Learning and Instructional Leadership Inspection Protocol that is currently being used by a number of inspection providers, including Class Measures in charter schools across Michigan.

Depending on the size of the district and the nature of the audit, district audits normally take one to two weeks, with a report following in three weeks to a month. The report normally carries a series of recommendations and an executive summary. Boston Report

Inspections or Reviews

The term "inspection" describes Class Measures’ accountability work in schools; some states prefer the term “Review”.

Class Measures inspects schools at all Grade Levels, including Early Years and Special School provision. Class Measures has inspected and reported on high performing “compass” schools in Massachusetts and in New York and Dubai, and this year to date has conducted routine inspections of over twenty schools in Massachusetts, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. For the Department of Education in Massachusetts, between 2002 – 2009 Class Measures reviewed over seventy under-performing schools. Class Measures continues to undertake re-authorizing inspections of charter schools in Massachusetts, Michigan and New York, (twenty five to date this year), and is commissioned from time to time by individual schools to conduct specialized reviews to address specific issues. Two such schools are the Enterprise School in Buffalo, New York and The North Central Essential Charter School in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.

Depending on the size of the school and the nature of the audit, on-site reviews normally take two to five days, with a report following in three weeks to a month. The report normally carries a series of recommendations and an executive summary.

Standards and Teams

The Class Measures Performance Standards

All team members are trained and deployed for their experience appropriate to the review to be undertaken. Typically, Class Measures team members are Nationally Certified teachers or superintendents or Principals of merit. All are CORI checked. Team Leaders are experienced inspectors who have been out on many reviews and receive additional training.

The Accountability Department works under the direction of Jim Hearns (James.Hearns@tribalgroup.com) a former District Inspector and Field Work Coordinator with the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability. For more information, please contact Jim Hearns at James.Hearns@tribalgroup.com or 781-939-5699