Date: November 8, 2001
Contact: Kim Moyer, 303-299-3680; Janet Spence, 214-378-4803; Don Hale, 512-471-3151, 512-657-9896 cell; Audrey Duff, 202-354-8205, 202-213-1066 cell
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FAX: 303-296-8332
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/ National Center for Educational Accountability Established To Achieve Excellence in Public Schools
WASHINGTON, D.C. — November 8, 2001. A distinguished coalition of educators, businesspersons and policymakers announced today the establishment of the National Center for Educational Accountability, a collaborative effort to improve learning through the effective use of school and student data and the identification of best practices.
The National Center for Educational Accountability is a joint venture of Just for the Kids, an Austin, Texas-based nonprofit organization that uses state accountability data to examine and improve school performance; the University of Texas at Austin; and the Education Commission of the States (ECS), an interstate compact that helps state policymakers shape education policies. The collaboration unites a proven education accountability reporting and research model with the research strengths of a major university, and the leadership and policy expertise of a prestigious organization in a joint effort to elevate the quality of public education in this country.
“Through this partnership, the lessons learned in many states will serve as a foundation for an innovative research and development program that will influence state and federal education policy,” said Larry R. Faulkner, president of the University of Texas at Austin. “We expect this to be the country’s most influential center working on education accountability.”
The National Center for Educational Accountability will build on the model of the successful Just for the Kids program begun in Austin in 1995 by attorney and civic leader Tom Luce, who will chair the center’s board of directors. After years of research and working with educators, Just for the Kids developed an Internet-based school information system to drive improvement in public schools. The keystone for the program’s efforts is academic performance data — facts about student performance that provide the only effective way to identify areas of improvement and low performance.
“Coordinating the school improvement efforts of Just for the Kids, the University of Texas at Austin and the Education Commission of the States will be a significant step in raising academic standards across the country,” Luce said. “This partnership will expand the knowledge of educators, policymakers and the public in how to use school and student information to identify educational best practice. Just for the Kids is very pleased to be part of this historic effort to improve student achievement.”
As its Texas mentor program has done, the National Center for Educational Accountability will marry the science of data analysis with the human element of classroom interaction to identify classroom successes, develop cutting-edge educational resources and build policy models that will be made available to education leaders nationwide. The center employees and associates will go into the schools, talk with teachers and administrators about their challenges and observe first-hand the daily instructional strategies and leadership practices that have garnered success.
“The National Center for Educational Accountability Board of Directors is a roll call of nearly two dozen of the nation’s most accomplished business leaders and policymakers, many of whom have departed the halls of commerce and government to make education improvement their life’s work,” said Luce. “They are men and women who share the conviction that attaining the highest degree of excellence in public education is the single most consequential factor in America’s future.”
“In an era when educators and education policymakers are sharply focused on accountability, it is imperative that we take full-length, motion-picture looks at student achievement to improve teaching and learning,” said Ted Sanders, ECS president. “Taking snapshot glances doesn’t help us learn what brings about success. This joint venture among the University of Texas at Austin, Just for the Kids and the Education Commission of the States brings together three entities that can have a tremendous impact on improving education for all of our nation’s children.”
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The Education Commission of the States (ECS) is a national, nonprofit organization that helps governors, legislators, state education officials and others identify, develop and implement public policies to improve student learning at all levels. A nonpartisan organization, ECS was formed in 1965 and is located in Denver, Colorado.
Education Commission of the States • 707 17th Street, Suite 2700 • Denver, CO 80202-3427 • 303-299-3600 • fax 303-296-8332 •
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