By Brian McVicar | bmcvicar@mlive.com Michigan Live

The Michigan Department of Education has submitted to the U.S. Department of Education its plan to comply with the new federal education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act.

The move, announced Monday, came after Gov. Rick Snyder signed off on the plan but expressed support for more discussion on “greater transparency in the school accountability portion of the plan,” MDE said in a news release.

“Given Michigan’s historically low performance nationally, we must ensure that our accountability system is transparent, honest, and works for every student in the state,” Snyder said in a statement. “Parents have a right to know their schools are providing a quality education for their child.”

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has 120 days to review and approve state ESSA plans, according to MDE.

The accountability system has been the most controversial element within Michigan’s ESSA plan. At issue has been how the department would show school performance.

Snyder’s administration has expressed support for a report card that assigns each school an overall A-F grade based upon several factors, including performance on state tests and graduation rates.

Members of the State Board of Education don’t want an A-F system. Instead, they favor a dashboard that would show performance in several areas but would not include an overall grade or rating for schools.

MDE’s ESSA plan includes both options, as well as a system that would assign a school a grade for each of the following six categories: student proficiency, student growth, graduation rate, assessment participation, school quality/student success, and English Learning Progress. This option would not include an overall A-F grade for the school.

The state’s ESSA plan says if the Legislature does not implement a new accountability system by June 30, the default system will be the transparency dashboard. Committees in the state House and Senate are currently discussing the creation of a new accountability system.

Besides accountability, other elements in the plan include how Michigan will work to support struggling schools, educator quality and the creation of a new assessment system geared toward measuring “within-year” student growth as well as proficiency

“I said from the beginning of this work that we are going to put forward a plan that is best for the students in Michigan,” state Superintendent Brian Whiston said. “This is how we move forward, and I want to thank all of the passionate people who provided input and helped inform this plan. Let’s all work together now to put the plan into action.”

Here’s some of the main components of MDE’s ESSA plan:

  • “Defining the purpose of school accountability as providing direct supports to the districts, rather than labeling and sanction.”
  • “A differentiated response to schools based on their academic need, with the most intensive interventions and supports being provided to those most in need.”
  • “A true focus on the whole child and the aspects of a well-rounded education, including not only academic subjects like fine arts and physical education, but also areas related to safety, health, school culture and climate, food and nutrition, early childhood, postsecondary transitions, and social-emotional learning.”
  • “Flexibility in the interventions and actions taken by districts and schools, rather than prescribed certain models or interventions. This plan helps local districts diagnose their needs across the whole child spectrum, identify evidence-based practices, and implement a plan that is tailored to their needs.”
  • Integration and focus on alignment with early childhood initiatives and goals.
  • “Educator quality that goes beyond a focus on “highly qualified” (which was required under NCLB), to supporting teachers and leaders throughout their careers.”
  • “Assessment systems that are designed to measure within-year student growth in addition to proficiency on rigorous content standards.”
  • “An accountability system that provides clear information to all stakeholders, based on areas that relate to the progress toward being a Top 10 education state in 10 years.”

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