蜜桃影视

This update on the Every Student Succeeds Act and the education plans now being implemented by states and school districts is produced in partnership with ESSA Essentials, an ongoing 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.)

As we鈥檝e reported previously, Georgia and North Carolina have been approved by the U.S. Department of Education to participate in ESSA鈥檚 Innovative Assessment Pilot program.

According to , Georgia 鈥渨ill pilot two different innovative assessments: one based on the use of adaptive interim assessments, and the other based on the use of on-demand assessments designed to provide real-time data on student performance.鈥� Both assessments will leverage technology to provide educators with key data for use in targeted support efforts.

And in North Carolina, the state鈥檚 new innovative assessment 鈥渨ill rely on the use of a customized, end-of-year assessment (called a 鈥榬oute鈥�) for each student, developed in response to a student鈥檚 performance on two formative assessments taken during the school year.鈥� Each route 鈥渞epresents a cluster of test questions designed to measure a student鈥檚 achievement accurately and efficiently.鈥�

The article also notes that states were required to apply for the pilot program with the U.S. Department of Education and 鈥渄emonstrate how their innovative assessments are developed in collaboration with local stakeholders, aligned to challenging state academic standards and accessible to all students through use of principles of universal design for learning, among other requirements.鈥�

Georgia and North Carolina bring the total of states participating to four, with Louisiana and New Hampshire already taking part in the program.

Check out below for more recent headlines of how states are implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act:

Michigan鈥檚 two accountability systems鈥�

鈥淢ichigan will have two separate accountability systems for its K-12 schools, which is the result of lame-duck legislation conflicting聽with federal education law,鈥澛犅燡ennifer Chambers for the Detroit News. 鈥淢ichigan already had聽an accountability system in place聽under the聽Every Student Succeeds Act聽when state lawmakers in聽December passed聽a new state A-F accountability system in the early morning hours of a lame-duck session.鈥�

According to Michigan Department of Education spokesman Martin Ackley, as a result, “after multiple conversations with officials at the U.S. Department of Education, they have confirmed that the system required by state law will not conform with the federal law requirements.”

Reducing absenteeism by leveraging ESSA

鈥淭he Every Student Succeeds Act puts more pressure on schools to ensure their students show up every day,鈥澛犅燛vie Blad in聽Education Week. 鈥淏ut when it comes to addressing chronic absenteeism, some educators and policy makers say they are building the plane in the air, relying on a growing body of research about everything from student health and motivation to mentoring to family poverty to find ways to move the needle.鈥�

Blad looks at a new FutureEd report that explores 鈥渆xisting strategies聽state and local decision makers may consider.鈥�

2020 presidential hopefuls push for Title I funding

蜜桃影视鈥檚 Carolyn Phenicie聽looks at聽how a number of candidates in the 2020 Democratic presidential field are seeking to increase spending on Title I, the 鈥渁nchor for some of the biggest education policy changes in the past two decades, No Child Left Behind and the Every Student Succeeds Act.鈥� This is a 鈥減olitically expedient proposal鈥� given Title I鈥檚 popularity in Congress and among the general public, but 鈥減ushing more money through the program, without accompanying reforms, might not make any difference for the children it鈥檚 supposed to help, experts said.鈥�

Vermont taking its sweet time releasing ed data

鈥淚n October of 2018, the Vermont Agency of Education released statewide, top-line test scores from that spring鈥檚 math and English testing. But school-by-school results, they said, would need to wait until December,鈥� Lola Duffort. 鈥淣ine months later, they still aren鈥檛 out.鈥�

At the beginning of 2019, state officials said that 鈥渃omplications from the rollout of a new data collection system had delayed the release of the scores鈥� and later claimed that 鈥渢he scores would be released alongside the Annual Snapshot, a new report card for schools developed by the state to comply with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act.鈥� Although the Snapshot came out in June, and did include academic performance data, the 鈥渁ctual results鈥� weren鈥檛 included.

States take the lead on innovative community schools

With community schools gaining attention (and ground) in the education world, Brookings鈥� Reuben Jacobson聽聽how states are leading in innovating for these schools, which 鈥渆ngage families and community organizations to provide well-rounded support to students.鈥� In recent years, 鈥渃ommunity schools advocates have secured victories at the national level, including sustained and increased funding for the Full-Service Community Schools Grant program and the inclusion of this program in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).鈥�

Now 鈥渕any community school leaders are focusing on state-level policy鈥� as 鈥渞esponsibility for education has once again moved to the states with ESSA,鈥� and therefore there are 鈥渘ew opportunities for these local initiatives to advocate for state support to solidify the community schools approach as a large-scale, long-term education reform strategy.鈥�

School spending fairness

Jane Porath, an eighth-grade math teacher at Traverse City East Middle School in Michigan and an Educators for High Standards Teacher Champion,聽聽the important issue of fairness versus equity in education funding. The Every Student Succeeds Act requires states to track and report per-pupil expenditures at the school and district levels, a requirement in which 鈥渆quity, not fairness, is the goal鈥� 鈥� or, in other words, 鈥渟pending across schools should not be the same鈥� but instead 鈥渟hould be equitable.鈥� Porath says this is a critical point that should be recognized by state education leaders, because 鈥渘ot all students have the same needs and equity does not necessarily mean giving the same to every student, but rather ensuring that schools receive the supports and resources needed to be successful.鈥�

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