Not known for being meek in his comments about public education, Bill Gates urged Washington to be bolder and push for stronger accountability for adults in the system, flexibility in schools' hiring practices and to be more open to innovation.

So let me take these one at a time...

With test scores printed in the newspaper every year, many educators feel like they have accountability in spades. I get that. But the reality is that there are currently no consequences for schools that persistently fail to improve student achievement.

Clearly there is the impending doom of the 2014 deadline imposed by the federal No Child Left Behind Act but that's still another eight years away.

OSPI has created a statewide "school improvement assistance" program. This is important work and has shown promising results. Schools go through an upfront audit before entering into a comprehensive school improvement process. They also receive coaching through an on-site facilitator. But currently this program is voluntary and there are no real consequences if a school fails to improve after several years of support. On the voluntary issue, OSPI says that schools need some level of "readiness to benefit" before this work will be successful. Makes sense to a certain degree. Humans are often more receptive to change when they're part of the process.

But I also worry about the students in schools that have such a dysfunctional culture that they don't or won't seek outside help on their own. We all know of those schools in our state or even in our own communities that just aren't getting the job done. It doesn't mean they don't care for their students. But there needs to be more robust intervention to change the tides for the students in those schools.

Funding is likely part of this equation but its not the sole reason these schools are struggling and most of us know that.

The newly reconstituted State Board of Education now has authority for accountability. They dipped a big toe into these waters at their last meeting but still have much work to do before there is agreement on what Washington's system should look like. I hope they'll have the courage to tackle the accountability debate in a fair and meaningful way.

As Bill Gates said, "The only people currently being held accountable in Washington are the students." That has to change.

Check my other posts for reflections on Washington Learns and Gates' remarks.

In writing this post, I also dusted off a research paper that's been buried in a pile on my desk for months. For those of you interested in reading more about accountability and how others states, like California, have dealt with these issues I would recommend visiting the Center on Education Policy's Web site: www.cep-dc.org. Check out the report "Wrestling the Devil in the Details: An Early Look at Restructuring in California."