STUDY: SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY ABSENT.

Byline: Sherry Joe Crosby Daily News Staff Writer

California made progress last year in establishing academic standards, but it lacks a complete accountability system and has no way to punish failing schools, according to a state-by-state survey released today.

``California, unfortunately, is one of the states that has taken only a few steps toward building an accountability system,'' said Craig Jerald, project director for the report and senior editor of the Washington, D.C.-based publication Education Week, which released it.

The report, ``Quality Counts '99: Rewarding Results, Punishing Failure,'' shows that while California has a statewide test for measuring student achievement and a report card for each school, it doesn't reward successful schools or sanction troubled ones.

The state also doesn't identify low-performing schools or offer them assistance and has no authority to close or reconstitute failing schools, the report said.

A spokesman for the California Department of Education agreed that the state has a lot of work to do, but said it already has laid a firm foundation for a comprehensive accountability system.

``The standards, we now have,'' said Doug Stone, spokesman for the state Department of Education. ``We have an assessment system that needs to be better aligned to the standards. The one leg that is missing is the accountability, but the building blocks of systemic reform are in place.''

Last year, the state Board of Education adopted standards in science, history and social sciences. Mathematics and language arts standards were adopted in 1997.

Starting this year, all schools must enact a state law prohibiting social promotion, the practice of advancing students to the next grade despite failing grades.

And for the first time, the state standardized test will feature questions aligned to the state standards in language arts and math, Stone said.

``Compared to last year, we've seen improvement but it's not where we want to be,'' Stone said.

The superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District said he agreed with the report's findings, but said it would be difficult for California to implement some reforms such as reconstituting failing schools.

``It would be more difficult for the state because it's made up of nearly 1,000 school districts,'' LAUSD Superintendent Ruben Zacarias said. ``I'm not saying the state shouldn't do it, but it would be more difficult for the state to do; it would call for a lot of careful thinking.''

Unlike Texas, California has teachers unions that probably would oppose state takeovers of schools.

While 36 states now have report cards on schools, only 19 states also rate schools or at least identify low performers, the report said.

Only five states have report cards, ratings, monetary rewards, and ultimate sanctions for failing schools. Among these, only Texas and North Carolina have an extensive rating system that identifies high- and low-performing schools.

``While most states have taken some steps toward building an accountability system, many, many states have not put into place a complete accountability system,'' Jerald said.

Holding schools responsible for student achievement is not just educational dogma, Jerald said.

Studies have shown that comprehensive plans such as those of Texas and North Carolina can help improve student test scores. The two states achieved ``statistically significant'' gains in standardized math scores between 1992 and 1996, Jerald said.

``Research has shown a connection between accountability systems and gains in student achievement,'' Jerald said. ``So if California wants to take some lessons from North Carolina and Texas, it should consider a comprehensive system of accountability that provides performance ratings not just for low-performing schools but for schools making adequate progress and exceeding the state's expectation for schools.''