Shared Accountability for Students

I believe that students share accountability for their own learning. They must be actively involved in their own learning, have an opportunity to make decisions about their learning, and be responsible for asking questions, being clear about their work and completing assignments.

But they have a right to know the expectations for their work and to know how their work will be assessed. In Rigorous Schools and Classrooms: Leading the Way (www.eyeoneducation.com), Barbara Blackburn and I identified some ways to support student accountability.

• Provide exemplars for all work and rubrics that students can use to assess their success in completing assignments.
• Adopt a grading policy of A, B, and Not Yet.
• Provide opportunities for students to revise and resubmit work.
• Include support and scaffolding in classroom instruction.
• Include engaging instructional activities connected to real life.
• Act consistently on the belief that each student can learn, will learn, and you power to help them do so.
• Provide quality and timely feedback on student work.

I'd enjoy hearing from you about other ways that you build student accountability into your school or classroom.