Inside the Every Student Succeeds Act
March 9, 2016
The year-end passage and signing of the Every Student Succeeds Act represents more than just a rare bipartisan agreement on the part of the nation’s chronically polarized policymakers. For the first time in more than a decade—and a half-century after enactment of the country’s main K-12 law—Congress has redefined the federal role in elementary and secondary education. And it’s done so in a way that aims to enhance the authority of states and school districts that had long chafed at the strictures of ESSA’s predecessor, the No Child Left Behind Act.
Now comes the really hard part: implementation. This special report on ESSA looks at what the law will mean for virtually every aspect of public schooling when it takes full effect in the 2017-18 academic year. Topics include accountability and testing, teacher quality, research, regulation, funding, early-childhood education, and thorny issues involving student groups that often lag behind their peers.
- Every Student Succeeds Act ESSA Rulemaking: A Guide to NegotiationsThe federal Education Department is using an up-close-and-in-person process in crafting some rules under the Every Student Succeeds Act, including for assessments and "supplement-not-supplant" requirements.Every Student Succeeds Act Congress Weighs Federal Footprint as ESSA Rolls OutOversight hearings on Capitol Hill highlight some divisions between lawmakers on the best way to implement the new education law.
Every Student Succeeds Act ESSA Spotlights Strategy to Reach Diverse LearnersAn instructional framework called universal design for learning, or UDL, which supports multiple ways to teach lessons, has found a niche in the Every Student Succeeds Act.Every Student Succeeds Act Military Career Testing Could Get ESSA BoostAs the state testing landscape shifts with the Every Student Succeeds Act, the military could see greater access for its optional aptitude test and career-exploration program.
Every Student Succeeds Act ELL Advocates Hopeful and Wary of New Federal K-12 LawThe new law will bring a number of changes to ELL policy that has some advocates and educators worried about the 5 million and growing population of English-learners.
Every Student Succeeds Act Arts Learning Keeps Toehold in ESSAUnlike earlier proposals in Congress, the new law includes language that cements states' obligation to support arts education.Every Student Succeeds Act NCLB Rewrite Sets New Path on School ResearchThe Every Student Succeeds Act takes a more flexible, more nuanced approach to assessing the research evidence for educational programs and policies.Every Student Succeeds Act Special Education Advocates Gear Up for ESSA ImplementationAdvocates for students with disabilities say they'll want to be at the table as states hammer out plans to comply with the new federal education law.Every Student Succeeds Act States, Districts to Call Shots on Turnarounds Under ESSAThe new federal K-12 law still requires states to identify their worst-performing schools, but states and districts have great leeway in how to turn them around.Every Student Succeeds Act School Systems Get More Say on STEM EducationUnder the Every Student Succeeds Act, states and districts get more leeway—and more options—on funding STEM programs.Every Student Succeeds Act ESSA Reins In, Reshapes Federal Role in LiteracyThe new program is smaller and less prescriptive than Reading First, and it can be applied to students of all ages.Every Student Succeeds Act Funding Flexibility Enhanced Under New K-12 LawESSA, the newly reauthorized version of the ESEA, makes changes in how schools can use money set aside for economically disadvantaged students.
Every Student Succeeds Act ESSA Loosens Reins on Teacher Evaluations, QualificationsThe Every Student Succeeds Act could embolden some states to revise or abandon their current methods for rating teachers.
Every Student Succeeds Act Under ESSA, States, Districts to Share More PowerThe Every Student Succeeds Act, the latest version of the nation’s main K-12 law, aims to scale back the hands-on federal role in elementary and secondary education.Every Student Succeeds Act ESSA Law Broadens Definition of School SuccessThe Every Student Succeeds Act requires states to measure at least one nonacademic factor, such as student engagement, when tracking schools' performance.Every Student Succeeds Act ESSA Regulatory Machinery Starting to Crank UpWith the ink barely dry on the Every Student Succeeds Act, the U.S. Department of Education begins the tricky process of setting the course for implementation.
Every Student Succeeds Act Will States Swap Standards-Based Tests for SAT, ACT?An ESSA provision that lets states use college-entrance exams to measure student achievement could spur a profound shift in high school testing.Every Student Succeeds Act ESSA's Flexibility on Assessment Elicits Qualms From Testing ExpertsThe Every Student Succeeds Act allows states and districts to cobble scores from interim assessments into a single, summative score, but some experts worry that will make the results less valid.
Every Student Succeeds Act Explainer The Every Student Succeeds Act: ExplainedUnder the Every Student Succeeds Act, states would get significant leeway in a wide range of areas, with the U.S. Department of Education seeing its hands-on role in accountability scaled back considerably. Here are key highlights.
