The objective of this paper is topresent an assessment scale for benchmarking school autonomyand accountability. This scale is one of the tools beingdeveloped under system assessment and benchmarking foreducation results (SABER) initiative created by the WorldBank as part of its education strategy. The purpose of thisscale is to reinforce the monitoring and evaluation ofeducation system performance to foster a better environmentfor teaching and learning. The goal of this effort is toalign the personal and managerial incentives at the schoollevel to produce increased student learning. The applicationof the assessment scale can be an important tool foreducation system reform if it is used as an instrument forplanning and monitoring the enabling conditions forimproving system performance. As such, it starts with theassumption that increased school autonomy and improvedaccountability are necessary conditions for improvedlearning because they align teacher and parent incentives.This assertion is consistent with the SABER framework forfostering better school performance that includes threeimportant factors: (a) the periodic measurement of learningoutcomes and of teacher performance as the basis for schoolaccountability, (b) the use of school and studentperformance indicators that can be compared acrosslocalities and across time, and (c) the use of rewards andsanctions and policy interventions for aligning personal andschool incentives with improved student performance.
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