蜜桃影视

This update on the Every Student Succeeds Act and the education plans now being refined by state legislatures is produced in partnership with ESSA Essentials, a new series from the Collaborative for Student Success. It鈥檚 an offshoot of their聽聽newsletter, which you can聽! (See our recent ESSA updates聽from previous weeks right here.)

This week, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos returned to Capitol Hill to appear before the House Education and the Workforce Committee and discuss her agency鈥檚 priorities. While members of Congress asked DeVos wide-ranging questions about everything from school safety to Pell Grants, one of the areas where she received the most pushback was ESSA 鈥� and the approval of state plans.

As CNN鈥檚 Juana Summers , DeVos 鈥渨as pressed by Virginia Rep. Bobby Scott 鈥� the committee鈥檚 ranking Democrat 鈥� over whether she had approved state education plans that violate the law. Scott repeatedly pressed DeVos on plans where school grades don鈥檛 include subgroup performance, suggesting that allowed states to ignore disadvantaged groups.鈥�

Secretary DeVos: 鈥淚t is addressed as required by the law.鈥�

Rep. Scott: 鈥淎nd how is that?鈥�

DeVos: 鈥淲hatever the law states, it requires鈥︹��

Scott: 鈥淲hat does the law state?鈥�

WATCH: Complete exchange between Secretary and Rep. .

鈥� CSPAN (@cspan)

1 DeVos approves Alaska and Iowa ESSA plans

On May 16, DeVos that Alaska and Iowa had gained federal approval for their state ESSA plans. 鈥淚 am pleased to approve these plans, which comply with the requirements of the law,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 encourage states to use their plans as a starting point, rather than a finish line, to improve outcomes for all students.鈥� She noted some 鈥渦nique elements鈥� from each state鈥檚 plan, including Alaska鈥檚 goal to cut the number of non-proficient students by 50 percent in a decade, and Iowa鈥檚 plan to set 鈥渃lear and rigorous standards鈥� as well as have educators help students reach them through 鈥渉igh-quality instruction and evidence-based practices.鈥�

Betsy DeVos has given the thumbs up to two more state Every Student Succeeds Act plans: Alaska and Iowa.

鈥� Education Week (@educationweek)

2 High standards not going anywhere under ESSA?

Kevin Mahnken here on 蜜桃影视 on the findings of a聽 蹿谤辞尘听Education Next,聽which finds that 鈥減roficiency standards on state tests have grown more stringent over the past few years, defying worries that they would be dumbed down as the federal government took a more detached approach to school accountability鈥� under ESSA. Overall, the study found that 鈥�43 states received a B-minus grade or better 蹿谤辞尘听Education Next聽on their standards, while 16 states and the District of Columbia earned either an A or an A-minus.鈥� However, 鈥渙nly two states received a grade of B or better just nine years ago.鈥�

Most states have adopted high standards and have stuck with them. But standards don鈥檛 exist in a vacuum鈥攐utside forces and relevant policy gaps should be factored into any analysis of impacts on academic outcomes and achievement.

鈥� for Student Success (@StudentSuccess)

3 State chiefs leveraging data to figure out what works (and what doesn鈥檛)

Chiefs for Change and Results for America released a聽 that examines how state chiefs are intensifying efforts to use data to better understand how different programs improve student achievement under ESSA. The report provides a guide for states and districts alike to help them navigate ESSA鈥檚 evidence provisions and identifies examples of how states are figuring out new and better ways to determine what is working (and what isn鈥檛). The authors say their 鈥渁im is to provide a clear sense of the policies, practices, and conditions states can establish to build evidence and apply it in ways that can help solve problems and improve outcomes for students.鈥�

Closing opportunity gaps for students will require more and better evidence about what works. A new Chiefs for Change and report shares how states and districts can build evidence under :

鈥� Chiefs for Change (@chiefsforchange)

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