All states and the District of Columbia have embraced academic standards as a primary
means for improving public education (Manzo, 2001). Virginia implemented the Standards of
Learning assessments in 1998. These assessments are based on a set of standards set forth by the
Virginia Board of Education, and as of 2004, these assessments played a role in determing
whether students received a high school diploma and whether a school received accreditation.
The purpose of this study was to review the efforts of one Virginia school system to
develop and sustain its capacity to improve student achievement in response to increased
accountability. Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological system framework provided a lens through
which to study building capacity and improving a school system, a school, and individual
classrooms. This multi-level perspective provided a means to study various aspects of school
improvement in response to federal, state, and local policies. This researcher utilized qualitative
research methods to investigate a school division that has been successful in building and
sustaining capacity to improve its schools.
The findings are presented in six major themes that describe how this system built and
sustained the capacity to achieve state accreditation. These themes are (a) aligning curriculum to
the state standards, (b) providing professional development, (c) fostering relationships, (d)
promoting the use of technology, (e) building on strengths, and (f) sharing leadership. The six
themes were evident across every subsystem in this school division, from classroom, to
schoolhouse, to central office in response to state and federal policies of accountability.