| Summary: | Over the past decade, several states have created comprehensive accountability systems designed to increase student learning in public schools. These accountability systems are based on "high-stakes" standardized testing of a state curriculum. Rewards and interventions for local educators are based largely upon students' performance on these tests. Using the recent accountability reforms in Georgia as a backdrop, this article considers the role of local flexibility within such an accountability system--flexibility over paperwork, resources, personnel, and curriculum for local educators. Increased flexibility for local educators is not merely an option in a world where local educators are subject to a comprehensive accountability system imposed by a state--it is a requirement for success. We make a case for providing local flexibility and provides a discussion regarding types of flexibility, vehicles for granting flexibility, and who should receive flexibility.
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