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OSBA sees ‘achievement compacts’ as important tool

February 08, 2012

This month, the legislature will consider Governor John Kitzhaber’s proposed “education achievement compacts” as a means of enabling Oregon’s schools to measure students’ achievement and set targets for improvement—a proposal that brings OSBA and local school boards to the table for decision-making.

Because local governance of schools continues to be a statewide community priority, OSBA has begun exploring ways to help school boards ensure that these important tools serve local districts.

OSBA believes the compacts should allow flexibility and creativity at the local level, giving individual school boards the latitude to preserve their own unique character in setting goals.

How the compacts work
By signing the achievement compacts, school districts and other public education entities would enter into agreements with the state to define key measures for success. The agreements would set goals for students’ progress, beginning in the 2012-13 school year. The governor’s proposed legislation, SB 1581, would enable school districts to specify their own goals, outcomes and targets for achievement, in addition to meeting requirements set by the state.

• Measuring progress, setting common goals. By measuring progress and uniting institutions’ efforts toward common goals, the agreements would help improve high school completion rates and raise the percentage of Oregonians who achieve college degrees and associate degrees. They would also provide two-way accountability between the state and the various education entities, while enabling local school boards and education leaders to coordinate their efforts and expenditures toward ensuring students’ readiness for post-secondary education and careers.

• Sharing information. In order to compare the results that various schools and educational institutions achieve, parents and students need clear information about their respective schools’ performance. Thus, the Oregon Education Investment Board wants school districts to communicate with students, teachers and other staff to define the targets their individual compacts specify.

Oregon’s NCLB waiver includes the proposed compacts
Oregon’s application for waiver of the No Child Left Behind Act requires a plan for a supportive and flexible accountability system for K-12. The proposed education achievement compacts fill that need, both for setting goals and measuring students’ achievement.