FOR MANY IN THE LEARNING COMMUNITY "Accountability" has become the order of the day. Now that many states, including California, have adopted standards for what students should know and tests to measure whether young people are learning, they are looking to accountability as the lever to bring about improvements in classrooms.

Quality Counts ’99 details the findings of an exhaustive, 50-state survey of state policies on accountability. Based on those findings, states have completed only the first few miles of a marathon when it comes to holding schools accountable for results. Most have a long way to go in making their accountability systems clear, fair, and complete. Visit the Education Week Web site and get an update on California policy changes in education during the past year and check out California’s Education Report Card or view the full report.