Economics, equity, & breaking 'the 11th commandment': A case study of the Michigan Educational Assessment Program as a historical example of accountability for educational reform

This study describes how accountability arose out of the economic arena as a means to bring about educational reform and to increase economic efficiency in Michigan prior to the rise of the national accountability movement of the 1980's. The borrowing strength theory from Manna (2006) can be used to describe how individuals with the Michigan Department of Education leveraged national education rhetoric in light of the realities Michigan school districts faced. Such an approach allowed for successful policy entrepreneurship (Kingdon, 2003) that argued for increased accountability---through the use of the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP)---as a means of bringing about educational reform. Like the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the MEAP started as a census of student achievement at the state level. It quickly became a lightning rod for accusations that the MEAP was an affront to local control. In spite of controversy and challenges to the continuation of the program, Michigan's state-wide assessment has endured for over three decades.;This study used qualitative methodology through a case study approach to deepen the understanding of how educational policy, politics, and organizations have influenced the use of standardized testing as a way to gauge accountability in education. The research questions were designed to explicate career educators' descriptions and understandings of accountability surrounding the creation of the MEAP, its implementation, and the educational landscape's reaction to the MEAP. Interview data plus archival document analysis has led to a view of accountability that takes into account the educational policy, political science, and historical implications of the Michigan's state-wide assessment.;The MEAP as a tool for accountability was designed to gain information on what students knew in order to guide policy to address the needs of students. What could have been a singular needs assessment became instead a staple in Michigan's educational policy and leveraged change across the educational landscape within the state. By looking at what happened in Michigan during the first ten years of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the field gains a valuable example of the rationale guiding the implementation of accountability policy that has continued to impact the educational landscape at both the federal and state levels since the 1960's. Approaching accountability as primarily an economic-political issue helps to inform modern debates focused on advocating for conceptions of accountability that result in having positive impacts on student achievement.