Ensuring accountability in education

While many OECD education systems have been decentralised – giving schools and local school authorities greater autonomy to accommodate citizens’ needs – ministries of education remain responsible for ensuring high-quality education for all. Setting up a system of accountability that productively reconciles tensions and conflicts in this environment is a challenge for many education systems, as they must simultaneously integrate diverse stakeholder demands and make evidence informed decisions. This chapter describes the various forms accountability can take and discusses deficits and tensions regarding accountability in education systems. Based on examples from the GCES case studies, the chapter addresses the crucial importance of capacity building for actors facing multiple accountability demands and emphasises the need to align accountability mechanisms to serve the purpose of systemic learning and improvement.