How schools would be judged under ‘Every Student Succeeds,’ the new No Child Left Behind

Friel, Holly

Brown, Emma. (2015, November 30). How schools would be judged under ‘Every Student Succeeds,’ the new No Child Left Behind. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2015/11/30/how-schools-would-be-judged-under-every-student-succeeds-the-new-no-child-left-behind/

Summary:

This article provides key changes between the old version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), and its new version, known as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).  A major difference is that the new version largely shifts power from the federal government to the state governments. Key features of the new bill, set to be signed into law by the end of 2015, as quoted from the article include:

• ·      The testing regime remains in place. 
• ·      States get to set their own academic goals.
• ·      Test scores still matter, but how much is up to the states.
• ·      What should be done in schools that are struggling will be up to states and districts.
• ·      What happens if lots of kids opt out of testing? Again, it’s up to the state.”

Review:

This short, accessible article is great for non-teachers or teachers or other people who haven’t followed the education reform landscape too closely.