School accountability and its relationship with learning outcomes: A systematic literature review

School accountability can lead to better learning outcomes when well understood and successfully promoted. The aim of this systematic literature review is to explore how school accountability is conceived, practiced and related to learning outcomes. The outcome of the review showed that school accountability is not conceived and designed to reflect the complex relationships found in 21st century schools. Accountability has influenced some aspects of school culture, such as data-based decision-making and classroom assessment. It has also been noted that inspection, classroom assessment and teacher evaluation are used for accountability purposes in school. School accountability is positively related to learning outcomes, but it is context based. The result also shows that the focus of many studies in recent years has shifted slightly from school-level accountability to teacher accountability. This shift in focus can have an implication to the conception of school accountability. In addition, disadvantages of the accountability system in schools for the work of the teachers are identified. Finally, gaps and future agendas for research, policy and practice are presented.