“I don’t understand the euphoria that’s going on in Washington”, said William Mathis, a member of the State Board of Education who is chairman of its education quality review subcommittee.
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“There was a lot of talk before the bill was passed that this would reduce testing”, Mathis said. It does seem as though Every Student Succeeds will continue to flag underperforming schools, such as those with high dropout rates or where a certain section of the student population is struggling.
Though ESSA will still maintain the federally required statewide reading and math exams, it returns many decision-making powers back over to individual states.
Local school districts and the state will now have a seat at the table when it comes to standardized tests and underachieving schools. President Barack Obama called the law “a big step in the right direction”, and its bi-partisan support in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate suggested that is was high-time for some change in education policy. Districts must then issue a public report documenting the outcomes, broken down according to race, income, ethnicity and disability. “We have more work to do and more opportunities to deliver real results for the American people”. In a statement, Wicker said: “This is a huge accomplishment that puts students’ chances of success first”.
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) modifies the No Child Left Behind Act, allowing states more flexibility in coming up with systems that ensure effective student learning.
Mathis said that’s a concern he shares – though not for Vermont, where “our values are too clear”.
Juneau said, “It also doesn’t just on that single test score”.
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Then states will have to decide what to do about those schools with low test scores, achievement gaps between groups of students and situations in which fewer than two-thirds of students are graduating on time.
