Measuring Social Responsibility

Socially responsible citizenship has long been an important school purpose, but teachers and schools have cut back on developing citizenship skills because accountability sanctions now rely solely on academic test scores. A widening achievement gap in social responsibility and other curricular areas, particularly in schools serving disadvantaged students, can only impede the equity goals of U.S. education. Some precedents suggest ways we might measure social responsibility in school. Early National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores reported on how students were developing social responsibility and other citizenship skills and on their character development, emotional and physical health, and basic academic proficiency. In England, an accountability system for schools has combined testing with school visitation, in which inspectors judge a broad range of outcomes. [authors]