Нью-Гэмпшир представил новую систему оценки эффективности школ

A state task force led by a local superintendent has submitted its new system for school accountability, the N.H. Department of Education said this week. The N.H. State Accountability Task Force — made up of superintendents, principals and other educators from across the state — began its work last June to revamp the methods New Hampshire uses to assess its schools. Recommending a “philosophical shift” in how the state assesses its educational institutions, the task force’s new system would integrate performance- and input-based accountability systems to satisfy both federal and state guidelines for education, according to a report the N.H. Department of Education released Tuesday. The task force’s report also advises establishing new timelines for performance review processes, making them more consistent and stable. It makes policy recommendations to the N.H. Legislature as well, among them reworking the accountability system and providing more financial support to the state’s education department to carry out its new system. Superintendent Robert Malay, who oversees N.H. School Administrative Unit 29, was tapped early on in the process by fellow task force members to serve as chair. The task force did research — which included reviewing other states’ methods — to craft what Malay said in a Tuesday news release accompanying the report is “a sound accountability system that will benefit our students while keeping New Hampshire schools moving forward and maintaining that level of excellence we have realized and expect.” “This system not only holds all of us accountable for providing what is outlined in state law as an adequate education, but it also sets expectations for continual improvement in our schools across the state,” he said. The recommendations in the report still need to be enshrined in state law and approved by the N.H. State Board of Education, Malay told The Sentinel Thursday. N.H. Education Commissioner Caitlin Davis said in the news release that accountability systems are more than compliance exercises — they are “core responsibilities of the state” that, among other things, ensure state leaders, school leaders and communities have clear information about how students are faring. “With the State investing more than $1 billion a year in adequate education funding, New Hampshire has a responsibility to ensure that those dollars are supporting meaningful student learning and access to a high-quality education,” she said. “The recommendations in this report move us closer to an accountability system that reflects both performance and improvement, aligns with our state standards and expectations, and gives schools useful feedback to help students succeed.” ‘They have to work with one another’ Nate Greene, director of the state education department’s Division of Education Analytics and Resources, told The Sentinel last June that New Hampshire schools have operated under accountability systems designed to meet requirements for the federal guidelines from 2015. However, when the state was transitioning to those requirements, it changed its performance-based accountability system to match the federal version, leading to a more restrictive definition of graduation that did not include alternative pathways like GED and HiSET, Greene said. “We tried to put a round peg in a square hole, trying to create a system that worked for both federal and state levels,” he said in June 2025. When the task force began looking at the performance-based accountability system, it became evident early on that they could not revamp it without looking at the input-based system, Malay told The Sentinel Thursday. “They can’t be in separate silos,” he said. “They have to work with one another.” For its new system, the task force included components of the federal accountability system, but also expanded those of New Hampshire’s, Malay said. The new system would satisfy both federal and state requirements, while also fulfilling the state’s obligation to provide students with an adequate education, he said. Malay thinks New Hampshire already excels at preparing students for success after high school — the new system fortifies that, he said. The task force’s 60-page report was shared with the N.H. Legislature and will be presented to State Board of Education later this summer, according to Tuesday’s news release. Some of the task force’s recommendations would require amendments to state education law, making the timeline for implementation unclear, Malay said. They likely will not be in place by the end of next school year. However, presenting the report to the state board will help the board be ready to amend the state education rules when that time comes, Malay said.