Every Student Succeeds Act prepares to reform education

On Dec. 10, 2015, President Barack Obama signed into law the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) to replace the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2002.

ESSA will reform tomorrow’s education plan by increasing the power of state governments in the education of their students, especially those of high need.

The new legislation is a bipartisan measure designed to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, a civil rights act signed into law 50 years ago by Lyndon B. Johnson.

The act is described by the U.S. Department of Education to be the “nation’s national education law and longstanding commitment to equal opportunity for all students.”

NCLB was formed from The Elementary and Secondary Education Act, implementing a system of testing and accountability in hopes of reducing the achievement gap that separates low income or minority students. Its replacement by ESSA was prompted due to its ineffectiveness.

President Obama explained before the law was signed, “[NCLB] didn’t always consider the specific needs of each community.

“It led to too much testing during classroom time. It often forced schools and school districts into cookie-cutter reforms that didn’t always produce the kinds of results that we wanted to see,” he continued.

ESSA is designed to most effectively remedy challenges facing schools today.

According to the White House fact sheet utilized by Congress, the law “helps ensure educational opportunity for all students by holding all students to high academic standards that prepare them for success in college and careers.

“Ensuring accountability by guaranteeing that when students fall behind,” the report continues. “Empowering state and local decision makers to develop their own strong systems for school improvement based upon evidence… Making sure that tests don’t crowd out teaching and learning.

“Providing more children access to high-quality preschool… <And> establishing new resources for proven strategies that will spur reform and drive opportunity and better outcomes for America’s students.”

The biggest contrast between the way No Child Left Behind impacted students and the way ESSA will reside in the power of the states regarding testing, accountability in closing the achievement gap, and spending.

In a USA Today article, Gregory Korte explained the differences between the NCLB and ESSA as he wrote, “States must still test students in the same grades but will now have flexibility in how and when they administer those tests. For example, a single annual assessment can be broken down into a series of smaller tests.”

ESSA also describes the federal government’s role in the use of Common Core State Standards: state governments now make the decision as to whether or not to utilize Common Core (it is not required), and the federal government cannot incentivize school districts who choose to do so.

A primary difference between NCLB and ESSA is accountability. Previously, the federal government wanted to monitor the progress of minority groups and required test scores to be presented separately.

Now, the states are responsible for closing their own achievement gap: Korte continued, “The new law leaves accountability goals almost entirely up to the states.”

It is also important to note that states are required to equitably distribute money to low income, high need schools, but in doing so, school districts can allocate their funds in ways they prove to be effective in supporting the achievement of their students.

As the law was passed last month, the U.S. Department of Education explains the next step is “to work with states and districts to begin implementing the new law.”

ESSA will impact the students of Washington State and LRHS soon, but exactly how is yet unknown.

Jesse Taylor, a legislative aide to Senator Mark Schoesler, explained, “ESSA should make standardized testing and meeting educational requirements less burdensome on both the educator and the student, while allowing regional flexibility.

“The Senator is eagerly waiting to see the results once this is fully implemented. At this point only time will tell. Between ESSA, NCLB, and Common Core, our public education system has seen a lot of changes and mandates in the past 15 years.”