“Sticks and stones…

…but words will never hurt me.”

Don’t be so sure, according to Linda Adler-Kassner and Susanmarie Harrington, writing in Inside Higher Ed,

As we engage in discussions about assessment on and off our campuses, inside and outside of our classrooms, it’s important to consider the broader frames surrounding these discussions. [The term] “Accountability” doesn’t do education or educators any favors. The bigger story associated with this term has to do with corruption, mismanagement, and ineptitude. Unless we believe that those are the right shoes for us to fill – and we don’t think that they are – we would do well to invoke other language, other stories, in our discussions.

Responsibility and visibility are two that work well for these purposes, and we might do well to consider how to enact the principles underscoring these terms as we engage in important research designed to improve student learning.

And now, for the rest of the story...