Within the field of education administration and education policy a substantial body of literature has accumulated on the issue of accountability, especially as manifest in performance measurement and performance management approaches. Most of the effort in these areas has focused on the “high stakes” approach to accountability, as exemplified by the No Child Left Behind legislation in the United States. While this approach to accountability in the publicly funded K-12 educational system has had a dramatic impact, the failings of the approach as planning and evaluation methods are increasingly apparent.