Organizational Changes in State Education Agencies Responses to Standards-based Accountability in the United States

This study examines organizational changes in state education agencies (SEAs) in the context of standards-based accountability policies in the United States. It identifies the changing organizational characteristics of SEAs and depicts the organizational motivations and strategies adopted to bring about change. Based on institutional theories and empirical evidence from state departments of education, the study proposes a theoretical framework that explains the process of organizational change. The organizational level analysis illustrates the impact of standards-based accountability policy on the structure and networks of SEAs and highlights the importance of organizational analysis in policy design.