Measurement and the Making of a Chronic Absentee at Franklin High 

Drawing on a 5-year qualitative study of a large, racially and socioeconomically diverse public high school, I discuss the constitutive effects of accountability policy —the process by which accountability metrics actively produce categories of people, problems, and solutions. Interviews and observations with teachers, safety officers, truancy officers, and students at Franklin High offer a rich view of how accountability metrics are interpreted, implemented, and experienced by various actors within the same institutional system. I conclude the talk with theoretical implications for understanding how accountability systems shape institutional reality and practical suggestions for qualitative researchers who wish to embed themselves in schools facing strong accountability and reputational pressures.

Simone Ispa-Landa is an Associate Professor in the School of Education and Social Policy and the Sociology Department at Northwestern University. She is currently completing a book titled, The Lonely School: How High School Students Live Social Policy (University of California Press).