Leaving Children Behind: How "Texas-Style" Accountability Fails Latino Youth

Background: Leaving Children Behind: How “Texas-Style” Accountability Fails Latino Youth, edited by Angela Valenzuela, presents federal-, state-, district-, and school-level research on the effects of performance accountability systems featuring high-stakes testing on Latina/Latino students. Drawing on empirical work from studies in Texas and California, the authors argue forcefully that the state policy systems purported to eliminate longstanding inequities in educational services provided poor and minority students are instead creating perverse incentives that exacerbate the achievement gap for language minority students and others. Purpose: In this book review and policy commentary, the reviewer examines the evidence provided in various chapters, offering an array of perspectives on the policy, politics, and effects on practice of what the authors term “Texas-style accountability.” Analysis and Findings: Reconsidering the portrayal of this type of system as a Texas phenomenon foisted on the nation through the No Child Left Behind legislation, performance accountability is situated in a broader public-sector reform movement, termed New Public Management (NPM) by Hood (1991). Conclusions: The reviewer suggests that Leaving Children Behind is important reading for practicing administrators, those who prepare them, and those who make and research educational policy.