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This Week鈥檚 ESSA News: K-12 Missing in State of the Union, Texas ESSA Weak on ELLs, Better Minn. Grad Rates Not Enough

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.)

President Trump鈥檚 first came and went this week 鈥 with barely an utterance of the word 鈥渆ducation.鈥 As Education Week鈥檚 Alyson Klein , the speech included 鈥渁lmost no mention of K-12 schools鈥 or ESSA, though 鈥淭rump did ask lawmakers to enact paid family leave, and gave a quick nod to the importance of career and technical education.鈥

EdScoop鈥檚 Ryan Johnston that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos 鈥渋ssued a challenge鈥 to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, calling on municipal leaders to adapt their local schools and districts to today鈥檚 rapidly changing economy. And she argued that solutions won鈥檛 come from Washington.

鈥淭he pace of technological change and the increasing interconnectivity of the global economy demands individuals who are continually learning and adapting,鈥 she said.

鈥淥ur children and their futures demand that we fundamentally reorient our approach to education. We need a paradigm shift.鈥

But this paradigm shift 鈥渋s a reform that [she] and the Trump administration fully expect to be powered by hands-on, local efforts 鈥 not federal legislation.鈥

We have more ESSA news for you below.

1 Former Delaware governor urges state leaders to work with stakeholders, embrace ESSA opportunity

Former Delaware governor Jack Markell in The Hill that governors and other state leaders have an opportunity 鈥渢o do a lot more to take ownership of their education plans and work with stakeholders 鈥 parents, educators and community members 鈥 to create and implement sound ESSA plans.鈥

Markell also discusses the Collaborative for Student Success and Bellwether Education Partners鈥 initiative, where 鈥渁 group of 45 experts reviewed every state鈥檚 plan for complying with this federal law, and they found that many states have not outlined detailed plans that will help all students succeed.鈥

However, he also says it isn鈥檛 too late for states to seize ESSA鈥檚 opportunities, especially since the Check State Plans peer reviewers 鈥渉ave provided actionable steps states can take to better serve students and improve education鈥 and 鈥渉ighlight best practices among peer states.鈥

The Democrat, who served as Delaware鈥檚 governor from 2009 to 2017, says our country鈥檚 students 鈥渄eserve action,鈥 and it is 鈥渦p to leaders to collaborate with their own educators and community members to use the expert guidance offered to them to strengthen their states鈥 education systems and provide students with the high-quality educations that can lead to better futures.鈥

2 Texas ELLs must be part of school ratings

Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas President Rolando Aguirre that Hispanics make up more than 50 percent of student enrollment in Texas public schools, so 鈥淚t would be fair to say the success of Texas schools rises or falls with Hispanic students.鈥 But many of these students are English language learners (ELLs) 鈥 a group with high dropout rates. Aguirre asks, how 鈥渨ill we hold schools accountable for educating these vulnerable students?鈥

Texas鈥檚 ESSA plan gave the state the ability to set up accountability metrics for all groups of students, but unfortunately, 鈥渁n independent peer review of state education accountability plans (published at ) reveals that Texas鈥檚 plan is weak in holding schools accountable for the success鈥 of ELLs.

Aguirre encourages Texas education officials to prioritize ELL success: 鈥淎ccounting for the progress of Spanish-speaking students 鈥 students who work hard to learn English alongside their other academic subjects 鈥 must factor in to a school鈥檚 success rating.鈥

3 Minnesota grad rates not necessarily the same thing as college and career readiness

MinnPost that the U.S. Department of Education has approved Minnesota鈥檚 ESSA plan, which establishes high graduation expectations that appear 鈥渆ssential to ensuring the state has a more equitable public education system.鈥 But rising graduation rates aren鈥檛 a real gauge of student success unless more students are moving toward proficiency.

鈥淲hile graduation rates are on the rise, proficiency rates in math and reading have remained relatively stagnant,鈥 says education reporter Erin Hinrichs. The state鈥檚 ESSA accountability plan does include academic growth and proficiency goals, but 鈥渢he historical disconnect between these two data points has some worried鈥 that advancing 鈥渁n aggressive graduation rate goal may continue to detract attention from a more pressing dilemma.鈥

That dilemma is as follows: 鈥淗ow valuable is a high school diploma if it offers no assurance that graduates are entering the workforce or postsecondary system well equipped with a solid academic foundation?鈥

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