Inside a room at CSU Channel Islands on Monday, Daria Fenton sat listening to state schools Superintendent Jack O'Connell talk about accountability in public education.

For Fenton, a CSU Channel Islands student, it was a lesson on her future. The Newbury Park resident plans to become a special education teacher, and she was one of about 100 university students, faculty members and local education officials at the discussion.

O'Connell was asked to address accountability, the theme of a planned yearlong series of public discussions at CSU Channel Islands, said Associate Dean of Faculty Dan Wakelee.

"It's definitely challenging to be a teacher," Fenton said, after listening to O'Connell discussing the pros and cons of the state and federal systems measuring academic progress. Both have developed ways of measuring academic performance of various subgroups of students, and have identified an achievement gap among the groups.

"We have learned so much by analyzing the data and seeing the subgroups," he said. "If we're going to have that well-skilled, well-educated, analytical work force, we must close the achievement gap."

While the state accountability system measures improvement over last year's scores, the federal No Child Left Behind Act measures schools against a set standard. It requires a certain percentage of students score at a proficient level or above, and that target continues climbing each year until 2014, when 100 percent of students are expected to be proficient.

On Monday, O'Connell stressed that schools must continue to be held accountable, but he also advocated for a federal system that would measure improvement, instead of the one currently in place.

Not every school has the same starting line, he said, and No Child Left Behind doesn't recognize that.

He also talked about the need for rigorous, relevant courses and higher expectations for all students.

Responding to a question about how universities and colleges can help, O'Connell said partners in higher education are helping to come up with strategies for improving education and narrowing the gap.

Plus, he said, universities play a key role in educating more teachers — "an ongoing constant challenge."