Reimagining Accountability: A Practitioner's Perspective

Authors

  • Sherri Harwell Texas A&M University-Commerce

Keywords:

accountability, teacher preparation, democracy, neoliberalism

Abstract

Practitioners are involved in the stakeholder feedback process with the Texas Education Agency and the State Board of Educator Certification, potentially impacting rules for educator program accountability. An understanding and analysis of accountability systems supports our participation in that important space where our voices can be heard. This reflective essay shares a practitioner’s lens on teacher preparation program accountability in response to reading Cochran-Smith et al.’s (2018) book Reclaiming Accountability for Teacher Education. Through critical examination, can we begin to imagine new possibilities for program accountability?

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Apple, M. W. (2005). Education, markets, and an audit culture. The Critical Quarterly, 47(1–2), 11–29. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0011-1562.2005.00611.x

Attick, D. (2017). Homo economicus at school: Neoliberal education and teacher as economic being. Educational Studies (Ames), 53(1), 37–48. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131946.2016.1258362

Cochran-Smith, M., Cummings Carney, M., Stringer Keefe, E., Burton, S., Change, W., Fernandez, M.B., Miller, A.F., Sanchez, J.G., & Baker, M. (2018). Reclaiming accountability in teacher education. Teachers College Press.

Darity, W. A., & Underwood, M. (2021). Reconsidering the relationship between higher education, earnings, and productivity. In Postsecondary Value Commission. Postsecondary Value Commission.

Engel, M. (2000). The struggle for control of public education: Market ideology vs. democratic values. Temple University Press.

Foucault, M. (2015). The history of sexuality, volume 1 (M. Page, Narr.). [Audiobook]. Tantor Audio.

Goldhaber, D. (2007). Everyone’s doing it, but what does teacher testing tell us about teacher effectiveness? The Journal of Human Resources, 42(4), 765–794. https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.XLII.4.765

Goldhaber, D., Gratz, T., & Theobald, R. (2017). What’s in a teacher test? Assessing the relationship between teacher licensure test scores and student STEM achievement and course-taking. Economics of Education Review, 61, 112–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2017.09.002

Greene, M. (1985). The role of education in democracy. Educational Horizons, 63, 3–9.

Hlavacik, M., & Schneider, J. (2024). Talking back to the failing-schools narrative. Phi Delta Kappan, 106(1), 15–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/00317217241282190

Huttunen, H. (2025). Education for deliberative democracy through the long-term view. Theory and Research in Education, 23(1), 77–97. https://doi.org/10.1177/14778785241264497

Lefrançois, D., & Ethier, M.-A. (2010). Translating the Ideal of Deliberative Democracy into Democratic Education: Pure Utopia? Educational Philosophy and Theory, 42(3), 271–292. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-5812.2007.00385.x

Lilja, M. & Vinthagen, S. (2014). Sovereign power, disciplinary power and biopower: resisting what power with what resistance. Journal of Political Power, 7(1), 107–126. https://doi.org/10.1080/2158379X.2014.889403

Lincove, J. A., Osborne, C., Dillon, A., & Mills, N. (2014). The politics and statistics of value-added modeling for accountability of teacher preparation programs. Journal of Teacher Education, 65(1), 24–38. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487113504108

Mehta, J. (2013). How paradigms create politics: The transformation of American educational policy, 1980—2001. American Educational Research Journal, 50(2), 285–324. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831212471417

Mitchell, K. J. (2001). Testing teacher candidates: the role of licensure tests in improving teacher quality (1st ed.). National Academy Press.

Tex. Admin. Code §229.1 (2025) Retrieved April 11, 2025 from https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea/laws-and-rules/sbec-rules-tac/sbec-tac-currently-in-effect/ch229a.pdf

Tex. Admin. Code §229.4 (2025) Retrieved April 12, 2025 from https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea/laws-and-rules/sbec-rules-tac/sbec-tac-currently-in-effect/ch229b.pdf

Tex. Admin. Code §229.5 (2025) Retrieved April 13, 2025 from https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea/laws-and-rules/sbec-rules-tac/sbec-tac-currently-in-effect/ch229c.pdf

San Miguel, T. (2001). Chapter 11: Accountability System for Educator Preparation: Standards and data analysis. Counterpoints (New York, N.Y.), 192, 207–219.

Sands, S. (2024). A review of Texas educator preparation program policy, 2019-2023. Texas Educator Preparation, 8(1), 1–10. https://txep.csotte.com/index.php/txep/article/view/55

State Board for Educator Certification. (2025). State Board for Educator Certification: April 25, 2025 Meeting [Live Stream]. Retrieved from https://www.adminmonitor.com/tx/tea/educator_certification/20250425/

Texas Education Agency. (2025, February 24). Consumer information about educator preparation programs. Texas Education Agency. Retrieved March 30, 2025 from https://tea.texas.gov/texas-educators/preparation-and-continuing-education/consumer-information-about-educator-preparation-programs/consumer-information-about-educator-preparation-programs

Published

2025-12-15

How to Cite

Harwell, S. (2025). Reimagining Accountability: A Practitioner’s Perspective. Texas Educator Preparation, 9(2). Retrieved from https://txep.csotte.com/index.php/txep/article/view/65