How we appraise is vital.
How we go about appraising is a vital issue. As our model is based on a community metaphor, we have to be careful to avoid the more commonly seen imposed 'top-down- command' model. This would be counterproductive to the development of the trusting relationships so important to the development of a true learning community.

Improvement must be owned by all.
It is thus important for those involved in the school to develop a shared responsibility to constantly improve any process that improves learning for the benefit of all.
What is finally done in the name of assessment must be integral to the learning process and equally importantly must be owned by those who gather the data.
Most of all it must be seen as useful and manageable. Currently much of what passes for assessment in many schools is imposed from above, and is seen by teachers as imposition, a form of control. No doubt students have the same feelings!
As well, often the data collected is not worth the time and effort, and in many schools creates unnecessary stress between those who demand it and those who have to provide it.

Whatever is assessed will become what is valued.
Whatever is chosen to be measured/assessed will become what is valued. This means we must try to assess more than those things that are traditionally easy to measure. Current 'back to basics' demands, implicit in the recent curriculum statements, to measure student progress against achievement objectives, and even more doubtfully levels, is an impossible task. A Ministry Gazette statement (29.3.95) simplifying assessment demands and recognising the realities of classroom teaching rather than ideology, represented a voice of realism.
The requirement to aggregate student achievement also needs a similar dose of common sense. Focussing on assuring foundation skills are in place would simplify demands and allow teachers to then place their valuable energy on diagnostic teaching and helping students gain skill in self- assessment.
The best advice after assuring 'foundation skills' are in place would be to select a few priorities to act as indicators and focus on these. This suggestion is encouraged in the new NZ National Administration Guidelines to be implemented in 2001. Each year may require new priorities. It would be more useful though to assess and aggregate data on how well students and parents perceive the school.
Data collection and analysis, as part of a Self-Review process, controlled by those who use the data, would be in line with the concept of the school as a self-renewing community. It would also be in line with E.R.O. requirements, ensuring a school has the capacity to inspect itself to cope with change, prioritise, plan, make things happen, checking outcomes against intentions, continually striving for continual quality improvement.

Alignment is the challenge of leadership
Ensuring an alignment between values and practices is the highest form of accountability and the most important function of leadership.
As we create our own preferred future for our school we create a set of shared expectations for all involved, that if successful, is owned by all.
We finally will have no one else to blame if we do not meet our own expectations. Positive relationships and mutual support will be a key element and trust between all will be required.
Being accountable is a joint responsibility of us all to ensure our school becomes known as a quality learning community.

There are five interrelated levels of accountability in a school community:

1. At the principal's level the ultimate responsibility is the alignment of all to the school mission, values and shared expectations.
   The Principal needs to provide direction, encourage teamwork and ensure all organisational practices are consistent with the agreed school core values. The formulation of an agreed school framework, or philosophy provides a necessary sense of direction for the teaching staff.
   The Principal has to report to the B.O.T. and the wider community how well the school is achieving what has been agreed by all, as being important. Information on school progress can be supplied from data from the teaching teams based on how well they have achieved the teaching framework, the school and team curriculum goals, resource management and staff development. Data on selected areas of student achievement can then be written to comply with achievement statements.
   Principals must resist the temptation to control all the details of assessment and share power with those who actually collect and use the information.
2. Teams are the key units in the school.
   At the team level, team leaders have the responsibility to ensure the alignment of the team and teachers to the teaching framework, team and other agreed school goals.
   The team leaders need to create conditions to ensure that the team is achieving a consistency of approach between classes based on the teaching framework.
   This means including teachers that in the past may have chosen to work in isolation. This requires sensitivity but it has to be done.
   Another important responsibility is to ensure that there is also consistency between teaching teams. This will mean collaboration between teams to develop a consistent approach to assessment and the monitoring of progress. If this is done well there should be no drop in standards between levels.
   The Principal will be involved to ensure continuity but to be valued, data collecting must be owned by those who use it. This is an example of power sharing and trust.
3. Alignment at the classroom level is the individual teacher's responsibility.
   Teaching can be an isolated activity but the school as a community model requires norms of collegiality that for some may be uncomfortable but most necessary.
   When teachers are aligned and supportive of each other, sharing planning and criteria for excellence, then the total school will be aligned.
   Appraising progress against shared values and the agreed Teaching Framework is each teacher's responsibility. The class teacher has the ultimate responsibility to assess and monitor individual student progress within agreed team/school guidelines. It is common sense to gather data about what students can do at the beginning of each year so all involved can see progress.
   Material for aggregated data can be selected from teacher records.
   Teachers currently have a range of diagnostic assessment procedures to share with each other. Much of the best information will be informal and go unrecorded. Observing what students can do and noting what help they might need are the real skills of a creative teacher.
   Individual portfolios of samples of student's work illustrate progress to student and parent alike. In many schools exercise books create a 'portfolio' of growth that can illustrate to parents how their child is improving.
   Portfolios of excellent work built up at each level could provide benchmarks (exemplars) of excellent practices for students, teachers and parents illustrating what the expectations are at each level.
   Accountability requirement must not be allowed to dominate or interfere with the teaching learning process. There is a temptation to over assess at this level.
4. Student self-assessment is the fourth level of assessment and the ultimate in self-management.
   Students also need to be aware of the shared school values and what is expected of them as learners. This could result in drawing up an agreed Student Charter.
   They also need to know how to assess their own progress against criteria and goals they have had a say in negotiating.
   The class teacher has an important leadership role to provide an environment of high expectations to help students set standards and to encourage effort and perseverance.
   Students need to know how to learn, how to plan tasks and how to monitor their own progress and to set new learning goals.
   They will also need to be able to solve conflicts and to develop a positive sense of values.
   Students can provide information to teachers that can be used to assess class and school progress.
5. The final level is feedback about aspects of school life gathered from both students and their parents. Such information provides important data to improve the learning environment.
   Parents could be surveyed to see how they are contributing to their child's learning - perhaps based on a Parent's Charter?
   If the school can, over time, develop a culture of collaboration bonded by shared values and expectations, then the concept of continual quality improvements will become part of the culture of the community. 'The way things are done around here.' This is the vision of the school as a community.