Abstract
In this chapter, the authors argue that the current high-stakes testing and accountability system used in public education is too narrowly defined, applies only to certain schools and to some students, and is not applicable to the larger social system in which schools are embedded. The system also promotes faulty assumptions regarding the purpose of high-stakes testing. These assumptions not only erode the practice of social justice, but they also contradict the philosophy of education conducive to student achievement and effective school leadership. To this end, the chapter concludes with six recommended metrics to provide social justice within the testing and accountability system.
