Every Student Succeeds Act gives states more authority in setting education policy

President Barack Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act on Dec. 10, 2015, after the bill passed the U.S. House and Senate with bipartisan support earlier that month. That reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 brings a significant change in the federal government's role in setting education policy.

“This bill is a win for our nation’s children and will revolutionize how we educate the next generation,” reads a statement from Rep. Todd Rokita, Indiana, who chairs the subcommittee on early childhood, elementary and secondary education. “It empowers states and ends federally-mandated, unproductive, high stakes testing, the core of ‘No Child Left Behind.’ I am proud to have led this bill out of the subcommittee and onto the President’s desk.”

The Every Student Succeeds Act comes eight years after the expiration of No Child Left Behind, the version of the act signed by former President George W. Bush that’s known for its lofty goal of having every American student reach proficiency by 2014.

That benchmark has come and gone, and obviously not every student in third through eighth grade is now performing at grade level in math and English. Some local superintendents acknowledge the benefits of NCLB in calling more attention to the performance of student “subgroups,” like those in special education, English language learners and minorities. But the rigidity of NCLB’s expectations and its “one size fits all” approach to education has – potentially – been undone by the new Every Student Succeeds Act.

The ESSA should be implemented by the 2017-18 school year, with 2016-17 as a transition year for states to adopt and put into place new accountability systems, academic standards and assessments, if necessary.

Ritz noted Indiana already adopted new academic standards for the 2014-15 school year, the state is rolling out a new accountability system this school year by revamping criteria for A-F grades, and she’s anticipating discussion about potential changes to testing.

“So we are ahead in terms of utilizing flexibility we already had with the federal government under the waiver,” she said. “We already have our accountability system ready to go.”

Northwestern School Corp. Superintendent Ryan Snoddy had the opportunity to give input on ESSA as a member of the American Association of School Administrators' governing board, and he thanked Rokita for his work developing the bill.

“I think it’s a great step forward. Just getting Congress to revisit it was years overdue,” Snoddy said. “I think the move back to state decision is where we need to be. We’ll see if the state pushes that flexibility on to the local [school corporations].”

He thinks Indiana is prepared for more autonomy in setting education policy. He believes educators at the local level also are ready to advocate for what they feel is in the best interest of their students, giving the example of pushback related to the faulty 2015 ISTEP assessment.

“With what we’ve gone through in the past 18 months with the ISTEP, I think we’re more prepared,” Snoddy said. “Getting away from the idea that student growth, teacher and school accountability can all be measured by one test is something we need to do.”

A fresh eye toward testing

Taking a closer look at testing is a priority for Ritz too.

“I look forward to the conversation regarding assessment,” Ritz said. “I really want to see us simplify our assessment system and have an assessment system that’s going to be meaningful to the students and the parents and the educators as we move forward.”

She noted that ESSA still requires annual assessments for students in grades three through eight and at least once in high school. She’s all for giving local school districts as much control as possible in determining what those assessments look like.

“I will always be moving toward that direction where decisions are made at the grassroots, local level, whatever the conversation is going to be,” Ritz said.

In looking back at the impact of NCLB, Snoddy and Eastern Howard School Corp. Superintendent Tracy Caddell can see the benefits. It pulled education into the national spotlight, Snoddy said, and it required school administrators to take a closer look at their student subgroups – something Caddell says is now ingrained in education, even though it’s no longer required in the same ways by ESSA.

“In the past [before NCLB], school districts would look at their test scores and maybe not drill down further to see those subgroups,” Caddell said. “The mindset has changed. Now we realize even more so that every child is important.”

Higher education institutes have applauded states' increased flexibility to set education policy under the Every Student Succeeds Act, but part of the act gives Paul Paese reason to pause.

The biggest flaw in NCLB was the 100 percent proficiency expectation, Caddell said, and Snoddy agreed.

“The dialogue that centered on education with No Child Left Behind was good,” Snoddy said. “I just think there were some real hardships in that. Expecting all children to be 100 percent proficient by 2013-14 was unrealistic. To make statements like that put educators and students in a spot where they can’t be successful.”

Ritz holds NCLB responsible for creating an educational system focused on “teaching to the test.”

“The most negative impact is what I would consider teaching to the test,” she said. “It put in a system whereby teachers, for many years, have been working with children to teach to tests and to remediate to tests. I’m excited about Indiana’s new standards, in which we are looking for students who are proficient and capable readers, writers, communicators and problem-solvers – and moving away from that teach-to-the-test mentality.”