Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)

“The NCLB law­—which grew out of concern that the American education system was no longer internationally competitive­­—significantly increased the federal role in holding schools responsible for the academic progress of all students. And it put a special focus on ensuring that states and schools boost the performance of certain groups of students, such as English-language learners, students in special education, and poor and minority children, whose achievement, on average, trails their peers.” (Klein). In 1965, ESEA (Elementary and Secondary Education Act) was introduced by President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society Program to create a clear understanding of the Federal Government in K-12 school policy, which provided more that $1 billion

On December 10, 2015 President Obama signed Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This act was a replacement for No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. NCLB was a representation of the nation’s goals under president George Bush in which all children would be offered support in order to flourish academically. While ESSA has the same groundwork as NCLB Act, the government anticipates greater academic merit. Only time will tell if this will prove true, nevertheless ESSA will significantly change educational approaches in the upcoming years.

In 2015, Congress in both chambers passed a new education law, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), designed to fix some of the flaws under NCLB. The ESSA was signed into law by President Barack Obama on December 10, 2015. This law shifted most of the responsibility of education policy and school accountability from the federal government to the states. “However, the law modified but did not eliminate provisions relating to the periodic standardized tests given to students” (“Every Student Succeeds Act”).

The no Child left behind act of 2001 has had a major impact on students, teachers, and our culture as a whole. When the NCLB act was passed in Congress and signed into law by President Bush, it was so that we would have increased accountability for schools and teachers, improving test scores, and help schools get the support and backing of the federal government so that no more children would slip through the cracks of the educational system.

The overarching difference between No Child Left Behind and the Every Student Succeeds Act is the shift of control to the states (Edutopia, 2016). While many of the accountability provisions may appear somewhat similar in regards to essential standards, proficiency assessments and improvements for failing schools, the autonomy has been granted to the states to determine exactly how those provisions should be carried out. Each state is responsible to create the best educational climate based on the demographics of their population and is responsible to hold their schools accountable for student performance. In other words, although there continues to be a federal framework, the states have

"Making Sure That Schools Measure Up." Education Week, vol. 36, no. 16, 4 Jan. 2017, pp. 18-20. EBSCOhost. PDF. In this periodical article, Alyson Klein, reporter for Education Week, reflects on Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), an update to the K-12 education law, in the one year since it was passed in 2016. Klein discusses how the ESSA was designed to improve shortcomings of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the previous version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Klein also examines concerns over greater flexibility given to states and districts regarding issues such as standardized test, school choice, marginalized students. The Obama administration wrote how the accountability portion of the law would work, allowing states to pick their own goals, both a long term goal and short term goals. These goals must address students’ proficiency on tests, English-language proficiency, and graduation

The new 2015 federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) challenges states to draw on lessons from the last 15 years and to refine their accountability systems to provide the right combination of pressure and support for school improvement.

While earlier rulings and legislation sought to address and improve on educational programs for ELLs, it simply wasn’t enough. In 2015, we would become witness to laws under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), formerly No Child Left Behind, which attempted to pave a road to a higher quality of education for ALL students. ESSA attempted to provide basic elements of accountability that did not exist before. Since

President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) on December 10, 2015. This Act advances the 52-year-old, Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) that was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in an attempt to provide quality education to all students regardless of race or ethnicity, language, disability, or family income. Viewed as a civil rights law, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act further advanced equality in education; yet it’s very cumbersome requirements became untenable for schools and educators. Viewed as a natural progression of two very successful previous acts, the ESSA was designed to provide further equal opportunity for all students. However, Florida passed their required state version that has

The No Child Left Behind Act, which passed Congress with overpowering bipartisan backing in 2001 and was signed into law by President George W. Bush on Jan. 8, 2002, is the name for the latest redesign to the Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965. The NCLB law which was implemented out of worry that the American educational system was no more globally focused, significantly expanded the government's role in holding schools accountable for the educational achievement of all children. Furthermore, it put an exceptional spotlight on guaranteeing that states and schools help specific groups of children to be academically successful, for instance, English-language learners, Students with Disabilities (SWD), and socioeconomically challenged students, whose academic

President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) on December 10, 2015 to “reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the nation’s education law and longstanding commitment to equal opportunity for all students.” (Every Student Succeeds Act, n.d.) ESSA has nine titles that “retains many of the original provisions of (No Child Left Behind) NCLB.” (Russo, 2016, p. 35) The nine titles in order, are as follows: Title I: Improving Basic Programs Operated by State and Local Educational Agencies, Title II: Preparing, Training, and Recruiting High-Quality Teachers, Principals, or Other School Leaders, Title III: Language Instruction for English Learners and Immigrant Students, Title IV:

According to the Committee on Education and the Workforce (CEW), “Congress must replace No Child Left Behind with new policies that help every child access an excellent education.” (2015). They also stated that introducing ESSA, “will reduce the federal footprint, restore local control, and empower parents and education leaders to hold schools accountable for effectively teaching students.” The purpose of the ESSA to replace NCLB strict and unattainable regulations. For example, the accountability for the access of the students will depend on the state and school districts. Additionally, parents, particularly of those students who require special education, will have greater input in the education plan of the students and how it affects

In recent weeks, a bipartisan piece of legislation designed to “fix” NCLB was signed into law by President Obama. The “Every Student Succeeds Act” or ESSA is said to be a reprieve from the provisions of NCLB. Its framework is designed to empower states and allow them to redirect resources how they see fit to address student and school needs.

States were required to submit Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) to the federal government. This report identified successful or failing schools. Pending the level of under achievement students would be allowed to transfer or schools may be closed. This put the accountability back in the states hands for goals set to attain based on their standardized testing. Without testing built into the educational structure, the state would not receive funding form NCLB

The No Child Left Behind Act should tremendously be re-examined and amended because the focus on the standardized tests decrease the quality of other subjects not on the tests, the tests are not an efficient tool to make certain that a student is receiving an excellent education and the tests create unnecessary stress for the students, teachers and administrators. The purpose of No Child Left Behind is to provide every student with the opportunity to receive a top-grade education. This is a great proposal to strive towards but, legislation plans on achieving this proposal by making schools responsible for their students’ proficiency and to measure their proficiency with the use of standardized tests. After the students take the