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The primary purpose of this study was to determine to what extent the mandates of the Colorado Educational Accountability Act of 1971 and the State Rules and Regulations for the public school districts in Colorado were implemented by building managers for the period 1971 through 1984.
This study employed a mailed survey to a random sample of building accountability members (managers). These members included the building principal, teachers, parents, students, and community members serving presently on the building's accountability committee. All data analyses were conducted using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).
The conclusion of the findings indicated that the Colorado Educational Accountability Act of 1971 and the State Rules and Regulations were not implemented at the building level by the building level managers to the full intent of the law.
Based on the findings, the following recommendations were made: (1) The grassroot level communication process regarding the educational accountability process needs to be improved. (2) The district level accountability expectations need to be conveyed to the building accountability committees. The building and district levels need to be working in concert. (3) The limited accountability support at the building level from the professional organizations needs to be addressed by the local boards of education and the professional organizations. (4) The legislature needs to provide financial assistance at the building level for the implementation of the accountability process for educational improvement. (5) The building accountability action plans need to be reviewed at the district level to determine district accountability direction. (6) The building accountability committees need to be active committees with representative membership. (7) The building managers need to assess needs, determine goals and objectives, and request resource assistance to effect an on-going accountability process for educational improvement. (8) Curriculum improvement needs to be recognized as an on-going process to be consistently evaluated utilizing the accountability process. (9) In order to be attainable, the building level accountability process needs consistent communication, support from all levels, utilization of resources, involvement of parents and community members, and total involvement of all staff members under the direction of the building managers.