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.)

On December 12, the Collaborative for Student Success and Bellwether Education Partners of an independent peer review of the 34 state ESSA plans submitted to the U.S. Department of Education in September. The findings 鈥� coupled with the results of the first independent peer review of the 17 states that submitted in April 鈥� show that states largely squandered the opportunity provided by ESSA.

鈥淪tate plans have now been reviewed for all 50 states and the District of Columbia 鈥� and on the whole, states failed to lay out bold plans for improving education,鈥� said Collaborative Executive Director Jim Cowen. 鈥淲hile some plans did offer innovative ideas for other states to learn from, the lack of focus on ensuring success for all students is not only concerning, but potentially a step backward. We look forward to supporting state advocates in efforts to improve upon these plans and leverage the exemplary practices identified at to dramatically improve outcomes for all students.鈥�

The review included more than 45 peer reviewers, representing bipartisan viewpoints, and including eight former state chiefs, 14 former teachers, state education leaders, members of the civil rights and disability communities, and education experts from around the country. See reviews for all 50 states and the District of Columbia . You should also check out Jim Cowen鈥檚 piece 鈥斺�溾�溾�攁s well as 鈥溾�� by Bellwether Senior Analysts Kaitlin Pennington and Max Marchitello.

is back!!! We and are excited to announce that reviews of the remaining 34 states’ plans are now available. Go take a look:

鈥� for Student Success (@StudentSuccess)

Much more ESSA news below:

Media reflects lackluster peer review responses

颁补濒颈蹿辞谤苍颈补鈥檚 noted the state isn鈥檛 giving parents the tools needed to effectively evaluate schools. Pennsylvania鈥檚 noted that the state鈥檚 plan was 鈥減anned鈥� by peer reviewers. In Iowa, the examined the release in the context of the state鈥檚 ongoing assessment issues. In Alabama, noted how the state鈥檚 plan got 鈥渓ow marks,鈥� while in Mississippi the focused on how the state鈥檚 A-F scale affected the achievement gap. said peer reviewers gave the state鈥檚 plan 鈥渕ixed reviews,鈥� and in Georgia, the noted that peer reviewers felt the state鈥檚 plan lacked urgency. Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., provided an overview of Maryland and Virginia results. In Washington State, the noted how the state plan received 鈥減ositive marks.鈥�

California isn鈥檛 giving parents what they need to evaluate schools, say experts who reviewed state鈥檚 plan.

鈥� LA School Report (@LASchoolReport)

Federal feedback begins

Education Week鈥檚 Alyson Klein reports that Maryland from the U.S. Department of Education 鈥� and it was extensive. Klein notes that:

• Maryland 鈥渘eeds to rethink its goals for student achievement.鈥� The state has only proposed elementary and middle school goals 鈥� but it鈥檚 required to have goals for high school too.

• Maryland also 鈥渘eeds to do a better job of spelling out how it will figure academic growth into its accountability system.鈥�

• The state needs to better explain its two measures of school quality and student success 鈥� school climate and access to a well-rounded curriculum.

• Maryland also needs to explain 鈥渨hether academic indicators count for more than non-academic indicators,鈥� 鈥渉ow it will identify low-performing schools and schools where particular groups of students are falling behind,鈥� and 鈥渉ow it will ensure that poor kids get access to their fair share of effective teachers.鈥�

And don鈥檛 forget that Maryland Governor Larry Hogan didn鈥檛 sign off on the state鈥檚 plan because, as he in a letter to U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, 鈥渢he state board could not craft a sufficient plan under the 鈥榠mpossible circumstances鈥� imposed by the state law.鈥�

Georgia also received feedback 鈥� and the state鈥檚 plan 鈥渉as hit a bump in the road, with the U.S. Department of Education saying at least one of the state鈥檚 proposals doesn鈥檛 comply with federal law,鈥� the Atlanta Journal-Constitution鈥檚 Ty Tagami. He noted that there were three major concerns in the U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 letter:

• 鈥渉ow to modify a school鈥檚 test results when students are absent on the days tests are given or outright refuse to take them.鈥�

• 鈥渉ow to credit schools for testing gains with traditional at-risk groups,鈥� like English Learners, low-income students, and students with disabilities.

• 鈥渉ow schools are scored for the performances of their low- versus high-achieving students.鈥� The Department was concerned that Georgia鈥檚 plan could 鈥渕ask the performance of weaker students.鈥�

And Montana Public Radio that the U.S. Department of Education held a 90-minute call with officials at the Montana Office of Public Instruction to discuss the state鈥檚 ESSA plan. Following the call, Montana state superintendent Elsie Arntzen noted, 鈥淭he federal government is not augmenting our plan. We are in charge. And I think that is a huge message because that validates all the work that you all have put in over this year, and the year prior.”

CEP: States lack 鈥渇unding, staffing, expertise鈥� to implement ESSA

George Washington University鈥檚 Center on Education Policy conducted a survey of state education officials and have released a outlining their findings, which examines first-year state ESSA efforts. CEP reports that although 鈥渕any state education leaders like having greater control over key education decisions as a result鈥� of ESSA, 鈥渁ll but one of the state leaders responding to a new survey said their state lacks sufficient funding, staffing, or expertise to carry out one or more key requirements of this 2015 federal law.鈥� They also noted that 鈥渢he Trump Administration鈥檚 withdrawal of many federal regulations and written guidance for ESSA has some state officials looking for clearer directions from the U.S. Department of Education.鈥�

Planning for Progress: States Reflect on Year One Implementation of ESSA – A new report shares the views of state leaders on key aspects of ESSA. Read the full report at

鈥� FCE Network (@FCEnetwork)

Reyna talks state plans, college and career readiness

Education Strategy Group Senior Associate Ryan Reyna offers his on state ESSA plans and where he believes 鈥渨ork remains to deliver on the promise of college and career readiness for all students,鈥� while also highlighting 鈥渟ome promising examples from state ESSA plans that can be useful reference points for policymakers and practitioners as states turn from planning to implementation.鈥� Reyna discusses deepening the alignment between aspirations, goals, and accountability measures; finding the right balance between relative and absolute performance; and strengthening support for low-performing schools. Reyna concludes by stating: 鈥淟et鈥檚 trust state leadership, verify state actions, and learn from this exercise to ultimately help realize dramatic improvements in students鈥� preparation for success in college, careers, and life. Hopefully, we can all agree on that.鈥�

My thoughts on where we go from here on K-12 accountability

鈥� Ryan Reyna (@RyanEReyna)

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