California entered the “age of accountability” with the passage of the Public School Accountability Act (PSAA) in 1999. This act established state academic content standards, created tests aligned to those standards, and a system of school accountability. California’s accountability system uses the Academic Performance Index (API) to determine a schools success in meeting the PSAA. In 2001, No Child Left Behind (NCLB) added another accountability system using the Annual Yearly Progress (AYP). Schools and districts that fail to make their AYP go into Program Improvement (PI).

These, and other accountability systems are explained in the links provided on the left.