Opinion
Education Letter to the Editor

ESSA Alone Not Enough To Help Students

September 20, 2016 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

To the Editor:

The Every Student Succeeds Act seems like more of the same rhetoric we saw under No Child Left Behind (“Weighing In on ESSA,” Aug. 24, 2016). Accountability and subgroup disaggregation are still prominent. Yet, there is limited information on public school choice, the financial impact of experimental charters, or private school vouchers for students in low-performing schools. Deregulation of the public school system is not the solution. An intensive needs-assessment along with a plan for blended learning and creative ways to measure mastery for students is more critical for students’ success.

Sandy Womack Jr.

North Canton, Ohio

A version of this article appeared in the September 21, 2016 edition of Education Week as ESSA Alone Not Enough To Help Students

Events

School & District Management Webinar Squeeze More Learning Time Out of the School Day
Learn how to increase learning time for your students by identifying and minimizing classroom disruptions.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Reading & Literacy Webinar
Improve Reading Comprehension: Three Tools for Working Memory Challenges
Discover three working memory workarounds to help your students improve reading comprehension and empower them on their reading journey.
Content provided by Solution Tree
Recruitment & Retention Webinar EdRecruiter 2026 Survey Results: How School Districts are Finding and Keeping Talent
Discover the latest K-12 hiring trends from EdWeek’s nationwide survey of job seekers and district HR professionals.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Education Quiz How Much Do You Know About Teacher Pay Experiments? Take the Weekly Quiz
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Education Quiz From Shutdown to ICE Arrests—Test Your K-12 News Smarts This Week
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Education Quiz How Does the Rise of AI Complaints Affect Schools? Take the Weekly Quiz
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read
Education Quiz How Much Do You Know About Teachers' Speech Rights? Take the Weekly Quiz
Test your knowledge on the latest news and trends in education.
1 min read