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Next Generation School Accountability initiative

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Evidence · 3 claims (3 for) · 2 studies (2 theoretical), q1–q2 · 0 of 2 report an effect size · 3 claims rest on one study

Description

Utah's state school-accountability framework, administered by the Utah State Board of Education, that includes growth and equity indicators such as the Lowest Quartile measure.

Components

  • Utah's Lowest Quartile (LQ) Growth Indicator: Utah's accountability model includes a growth indicator focused on the lowest performing 25 percent of students in each school, developed under the Next Generation School Accountability initiative and required by state statute (Utah Code 53E-5-205) as a measure of equitable educational opportunity. The paper explains, "Using student growth percentiles (SGPs), the LQ metric captures the share of students in a school's lowest quartile who achieved typical or better growth from one year to the next." This normative approach lets schools be recognized for helping all students progress, not just those near proficiency thresholds. (Mitch Herz (2025))
  • Multitiered accountability framework with four tiers of indicators under ESSA: The report conceptualizes accountability as a multilayered system rather than only federally mandated indicators. It distinguishes federal indicators used to identify schools for intervention, state-reported indicators for public information and improvement, state-supported indicators (tools districts may choose), and locally selected indicators. Different indicators belong in different tiers "depending on the nature of the data, who will be using it, and for what purpose." California's proposed ESSA system is presented as an example, and indicators may be shown on a dashboard as status or growth. (Melnick et al. (2017))
  • Next generation accountability framework: shared accountability, adaptive improvement, and informational significance in a two-stage design: The report advances a framework for school accountability under ESSA governed by three principles: shared accountability, in which "performance responsibility is distributed across the system's components"; adaptive improvement, acknowledging that school capacities differ greatly; and informational significance, replacing a single composite with a broad palette of functionally significant indicators. It features a two-stage design: Stage One is formative, providing schools useful information for their own improvement decisions; Stage Two is aggressive, identifying and transforming schools in catastrophic failure. Schools are viewed as systems whose outcomes result from the quality of their resources and processes. (Adams et al. (2017))

Claims

Key Sources

  • Mitch Herz, Mel Wylen. (2025). Refining Statewide School Accountability Systems: Lessons From Innovative State Approaches Under ESSA. White paper.
  • Melnick, H., Cook-Harvey, C. M., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2017). Encouraging social and emotional learning in the context of new accountability. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute. http://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/sel-new-accountability
  • Adams, C. M., Ford, T. G., Forsyth, P. B., Ware, J. K., Olsen, J. J., Lepine, J. A., Sr., Barnes, L. B., Khojasteh, J., & Mwavita, M. (2017). Next generation accountability: A vision for improvement under ESSA. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/next-generation-accountability
Page metadata
Field Value
type product
id next-generation-school-accountability-initiative
title Next Generation School Accountability initiative
description Utah's state school-accountability framework, administered by the Utah State Board of Education, that includes growth and equity indicators such as the Lowest Quartile measure.
status review
product_kind framework
generated by process:settle-candidates on 2026-10-09
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