Academic Accountability: Does Your Charter School Board Know What the Data Says?
Most charter school boards know how to ask questions about finances.
What about academics?
A board's responsibility extends beyond reviewing budgets, audits, and compliance reports. Board members also need to understand whether students are learning, how the school measures progress, and whether school leaders are responding to the data.
For a charter school board president, this starts with three questions:
- How are we measuring student learning?
- What does success look like?
- How are we monitoring progress?
Do not wait for Georgia Milestones
Georgia Milestones provides important information about student achievement in English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies.
But an annual test score should not be the board's only view of academic performance.
Consider the difference:
"Our ELA proficiency rate is 68%."
"Our ELA proficiency rate is 68%. Third-grade performance declined, students with disabilities are performing below the school average, and our lowest-performing students are showing limited growth."
Five questions every board president should ask
Look beyond the overall score
A schoolwide average can hide significant differences among students.
Board members should examine performance by grade level and relevant student groups, including students receiving special education services, English learners, and economically disadvantaged students.
The board does not need to determine the instructional solution. The board does need to know whether school leadership has identified the problem and developed a response.
Academic accountability should be ongoing
One question to ask at your next board meeting
Ask your principal:
"What are the three academic indicators you are watching most closely right now, and what do they tell us about student learning?"
Then ask:
"What action are we taking based on what the data tells us?"
That second question matters.
Data should lead to action.
A strong charter school board understands the numbers, asks the right questions, and expects evidence of progress.
The LaVoulle Group works with charter school boards and school leaders to strengthen academic accountability, literacy outcomes, instructional leadership, and data-informed governance.