New education act means changes coming to classrooms nationwide

As a result, states and local school districts will have more authority to decide how to use students’ test performance in assessing teachers and schools.

Today, on a vote of 85-12, the U.S. Senate approved the bill, known as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Obama help it up as an “example of how bipartisanship should work”, noting that opposing sides had compromised to reach a deal. “So no longer will we just look at proficiency, but we’ll also continue to look at growth, which is something that Colorado has really valued for a long time”.

Dick Durbin discussed an overhaul of federal education law with teachers and education leaders here Friday morning. Teachers’ unions hated that idea, saying the high stakes associated with the tests were creating a culture of over-testing and detracting from the learning environment. It’s understanding that there’s far too much of an onerous burden of testing on students and teachers. The new act allows states to tailor their assessment systems to each school district.

“The federal government has overstepped its bounds in education policy and it’s past time to rein it in”, Roby said. “The National Action Network (NAN) applauds the Obama administration’s continued efforts to raise academic expectations and guarantee the success of all students, no matter their race, gender or economic status”.

“In practice, it often fell short”, he said, adding that the new law instead gets rid of “unnecessary standardized testing” and lays the foundation to expand access to “high-quality pre-schools”.

Under the legislation, states would also have to identify the lowest-performing schools and provide further supports for their students and staff members.

By comparison, the Every Student Succeeds Act, the president said, will put the United States in a better position to compete with other nations.

The law leaves it up to the states to develop and design their own evaluation systems. It requires schools to report those test scores for minority groups to ensure they’re closing the achievement gaps.