ESSA, another Congressional Act, followed the No Child Left Behind disaster and the horrifying NAEP assessments that NCLB failed to improve.
Never officially replaced, ESSA is still in effect today, continuing the ED tragedy of not driving hard number metrics gains for the nation’s young people in the K-12 pipeline.
Clueless leadership by the U.S. Department of Education: Having a brilliant ED leader, critical for the nation, has not been a federal or national priority. Consider the past 25 K-12 years brazenly lost by ED, NCLB, and ESSA. For tens of millions of K-12 young people, those years were a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“The new Every Student Succeeds Act, signed into law Dec. 10, 2015, rolls back much of the federal government’s big footprint in education policy, on everything from testing and teacher quality to low-performing schools. And it gives new leeway to states in calling the shots,” according to Alyson Klein of Education Week (March 2016).
ESSA’s aims:
- Increasing transparency: States are required to provide information to parents and the public about student performance, school funding, and school rankings.
- Setting high academic standards: All students are expected to be taught to high academic standards to prepare them for college and careers.
- Supporting local innovation: Local educators and leaders are encouraged to develop evidence-based interventions.
- Expanding access to preschool: ESSA supports programs that increase access to high-quality preschool.
- Holding schools accountable: Schools that are underperforming are expected to take action to improve.
- Providing flexibility for funding: States can use funds for career and technical education, transportation to higher performing schools, and other purposes.
- Defining a well-rounded education: The definition of a well-rounded education includes the arts and music, and Title I funds can be used for arts education.
Source: U.S. Department of Education