The Accountability Mindset:
Accountability focused on trust, not compliance
Accountability in education has been reduced to compliance. That isn't the purpose of real accountability.
Hosted by bravEd founder John Tanner, this six-module, self-paced course helps educators, school leaders, and advocates understand what accountability actually is, how it became distorted, and how to reclaim it as a discipline grounded in responsibility, trust, and real outcomes.
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For all educators working within today’s accountability systems.
In just a few minutes, John outlines below how educators can reclaim accountability as a professional practice — something you actively use to guide decisions, rather than something imposed from the outside.
A Clear Path to Rethinking Accountability in Education
 Designed for educators, leaders, and advocates, the course demystifies complex topics like standardized testing and policy-driven accountability—and helps you see what’s possible when accountability is grounded in leadership, trust, and real outcomes.Â
Course Outline
Module 1: What It Means to Be Accountable
Reclaims accountability as a leadership practice — being responsible, answerable, and understood — not a compliance exercise.
Module 2: Common Shared Vocabularies
Introduces the shared language needed to talk about accountability clearly with educators, families, and policymakers.
Module 3: Types of Accountability
Explains why not all accountability systems work the same—and how choosing the wrong one leads to confusion and mistrust.
Module 4: Accountability and Leadership
Shows how real accountability is practiced through leadership, regardless of role or policy authority.
Module 5: Testing
Clarifies what standardized tests can and cannot tell us, and how to use results without distorting judgment or instruction.
Module 6: How to Account Like a Pro
Provides a practical tool for communicating accountability clearly, confidently, and credibly.
