by NNPA ESSA | Aug 14, 2017 | ESSA, Every Student Succeeds Act, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Featured, Featured, K12 Education, National, NNPA
By Dr. Elizabeth Primas (Program Manager, NNPA/ESSA Public Awareness Campaign)
Standards have always been a part of society. From standards of measurement and time to driver’s licenses, food preparation in restaurants and language, standards keep us healthy and safe and help us communicate with each other.
In the 1980s, the United States began to expand and formalize public education standards. This process was the driving force behind the education reform movement. Standards in education were supposed to set clear guidelines for what all students were expected to learn and be able to do. The curriculum and assessments were supposed to be aligned with established standards.
In 2001, with the signing of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) by President W. Bush, a significant emphasis on standards took on a life of its own. Under NCLB, all states were required to develop standards and assessments to measure student achievement. Problems occurred when states developed individual standards that measured knowledge and skill levels. There was no way to determine if a student passing one state’s standards was equivalent to a student’s level of accomplishment in another state. Test that were national, like the PSAT, SAT, ACT, and the National Educational Assessment of Progress (NAEP), all indicated that students with passing grades in high school, that met state standards, were not necessarily prepared to be successful in college and career.
In 2009, there was a state-led effort to develop the Common Core State Standards (CCSS); the effort was launched by state leaders, including governors and state commissioners of education from 48 states, two territories and the District of Columbia; CCSS was supposed to remedy the differentiation in state standards under NCLB. The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) worked with educational agencies to create one set of standards that would be uniform for the country. That same year, the Obama Administration developed the Race to the Top Fund, a $4.35 billion dollar competitive grant program designed to ensure that all students graduated high school prepared for college, career, and life. Race to the Top used financial incentives to encourage states to adopt CCSS.
Along with common standards, came high-stakes testing. Most states adopted one of two assessments: the Smarter Balance Assessment or the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC). Many stakeholders saw high-stakes assessments as unrealistic, because all children were required to perform at world-class levels, merely by raising expectations and imposing punishments and sanctions on schools and children who fell short of the standards. The standard implementation did not consider students with persistent challenges that could have impeded them from reaching high-levels of achievement. There was no flexibility in meeting these standards, regardless of socioeconomic status, age, race, gender, cultural or ethnic background, disabilities or family circumstances.
The discussions around the implementation of standards did acknowledge that student learning abilities were not homogeneous. Yet, schools seldom provided the range of training, personnel, and strategy needed to meet all students. Subsequently, when students didn’t meet the goals, they were retained and schools faced sanctions.
Research has indicated that minority students, including English Language Learners (ELL), students living in poverty, and students with disabilities are disproportionately represented in the group of students that do not make sufficient and significant growth to meet the standards and objectives promoted.
Under the “Every Student Succeeds Act” (ESSA), states have been given the leeway to: continue using the Common Core State Standards and/or create and adopt their own rigorous standards. Along with the freedom to select standards best suited for specific state demographics, states can also select what assessments they administer. As states submit their ESSA plans, many states have steered away from the CCSS. Several states have indicated that they will not continue using Smarter Balance or PARCC to measure standard mastery.
The only way to be sure what standards your child must meet is for you, the parent, to get involved, and stay engaged at every level. Your child is our future, and we ask all parents to remain focused in the pursuit of their education.
Every meeting that involves your child’s education is important. Be there, be vigilante, stay persistent, have your voice heard.
Dr. Elizabeth Primas is an educator, who spent more than 40 years working towards improving education for children of diverse ethnicities and backgrounds. Dr. Primas is the program manager for the NNPA’s Every Student Succeeds Act Public Awareness Campaign. Follow Dr. Primas on Twitter @elizabethprimas.
by NNPA ESSA | Mar 3, 2017 | ESSA, Every Student Succeeds Act, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Featured, Featured, National, NNPA, resources
By Wade Henderson (President and CEO, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights)
For the first time in our nation’s history, the majority of students in public schools are students of color. But in most places, communities of color still have little meaningful say in how their states manage and resource education. As a result, too many students in this new majority are in overcrowded classes and inadequate facilities where teachers are overworked, underpaid and stuck with a curriculum that lacks rigor and relevance.
All students deserve the opportunity to learn and work hard in a healthy environment with excellent teachers, but even 62 years after Brown v. Board of Education, our nation is reeling from the unfulfilled promise of an equal education for all. Educational equity is vital to our nation; two-thirds of all future jobs will require some level of higher education, and research suggests that within the next 10 years, our economy will face a deficit of 11 million skilled workers. Continuing policies that fail to prepare all students for college and careers is an immoral and self-defeating choice that stunts our nation’s economic potential — and mocks our democratic ideals.
But now there’s an opportunity for states, districts and schools to make a better choice. The Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA, the federal education law Congress passed late last year, requires that parents and communities be meaningfully engaged in determining how states equitably educate their children.
Under ESSA, every single state and school district is confronted with a question of enormous consequence: Will they work with new majority communities to develop plans and policies that ensure excellent schools for all children? Or will they continue to make their decisions in a bubble, avoid accountability and do a disservice to students in the process?
Progress is not guaranteed. For this new law to improve education for every student, states need to put communities in the driver’s seat and focus on the interests of marginalized students. We have always had strong, clear and diverse voices demanding that our education system serve the interests of their children — but decision-makers rarely listen.
Recent research shows that Black and Latino parents understand what the problems exist in their children’s schools — and they have clear ideas about what should change. They know that the schools their children attend don’t get as much funding as schools White children attend; they know their children aren’t getting as good an education as White children; and they know that race is at least one of the reasons why. But they also believe good teaching and high expectations are critical and they want both for their children.
This is all information that states should be taking into account when determining their policies and programs under the new law. And to do that, states, districts, and schools have to engage new majority parents and communities. They have to build strong accountability systems that identify and target meaningful support and improvement in any school where all students — or any group of students — are not learning. They have to provide robust data and reporting about how well schools are educating students and they have to provide them in formats and languages that parents can understand. And, as communities of color demand, they have to distribute resources — high-quality teachers, challenging coursework, up-to-date facilities and classroom materials — more equitably.
Last year during the debate over the new law, states argued that they were in the best position to make decisions that would benefit all students. Now is the time to prove it.
Every single child in this great country deserves a world-class education. But that can’t happen if states and districts ignore the priorities of the families they serve. Experience shows that this can be done. All we need is the will to sit down, open our minds and listen to what all families are saying.
Wade Henderson is president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition of more than 200 diverse civil rights organizations. Follow The Leadership Conference on Twitter @civilrightsorg and learn more about their work at http://www.civilrights.org.
PHOTO CAPTIONS: Wade Henderson, the president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights says that Continuing policies that fail to prepare all students for college and careers is an immoral and self-defeating choice that stunts our nation’s economic potential — and mocks our democratic ideals. (Freddie Allen/AMG/NNPA)
by NNPA ESSA | Jan 13, 2017 | ESSA, Every Student Succeeds Act, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), National, resources
By Edward Gaston (Florida Star/NNPA Member)
When President Barack Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015, policy makers and educators saw this as an opportunity to invest in new methods for student success—contrary to the No Child Left Behind Act. But, what about parents and community leaders?
Starting with next school year (2017-18), all provisions of ESSA will go into effect. One critical aspect is that it requires local and state school leaders to create standards that will yield acceptable—and in some cases, exceptional—student academic outcomes, based on specific solutions for their schools. For the community as a whole, supporting everything education is just plain ole common sense.
Without hesitation, educators are professionals who care for the minds, bodies, and spirits of our greatest treasure: our children. Public education remains a game changer for so many parents and students facing the challenges of everyday survival. ESSA requires all hands on deck for each community and with the Every Student Succeeds Act we can conquer problems within the education system. Participating in the process to encourage every student to succeed is an ongoing necessity and investment that must be made by each of us in order for there to be a harvest of success.
So what do we do?
We, community leaders, must stay engaged, provide insight, question, and oversee the local and state selection of the administrators for ESSA initiatives. We, parents, must listen to teacher recommendations on improving learning experiences and keep a special note on our phones or in a folder with feedback. Educators want to teach; they want to guide. We must use ESSA to leverage their desire to see students succeed by having a respectful line of communication, which can include texting, emailing, phone messages and in special situations, face to face. Use those responses to push for more resources to come into schools from ESSA and community investors. In fact, every school must be supported with every resource available. From making education a priority for taxpayer revenue to churches conditioning their congregations that every adult working in a school should be applauded, respected and invested in. Local businesses should contact the principal of the community school and request a calendar of the school year. The business should choose to sponsor a breakfast or lunch on teacher planning days and take a moment to explain services and products and offer the educators discounts. Every parent can go beyond the PTA and participate as a judge in the science fair or sign up to volunteer as a chaperone for field trips or reading to the students. Children can never have too many supplies, resources or praise, so the school staff will appreciate the support.
The push against public education must stop.
Public education is our national treasure, so are our children and teachers. In the past, too many standardized tests have proven to be ineffective in validating school success. ESSA changes this. Not having to constantly teach to the many tests, will allow educators to teach in a common sense straightforward method, ensuring students are ready to compete. ESSA presents a balanced approach to holding the local school district accountable by encouraging testing managed on the state level. Community leaders, parents, and educators must participate in the state’s process for fairly measuring progress in each school. In some cases, this will include selecting the superintendent, and in other cases, it will involve creating or approving test questions, changing curriculum, or adding arts programs. Votes and voices can now take center stage as local and state officials take a more active role in determining the state of public education. Staying engaged is necessary and essential for choosing the best team of educators who will implement ESSA strategies necessary to propel our children forward. Supporters of public education must require that committed educational leaders offer clear plans that they will execute immediately in order to conquer education problems and position all schools to succeed. The plans should be constantly communicated to the community and measured with sensible, infrequent standardized tests.
President Obama’s Every Student Succeeds Act brings public education back into the national forefront where it belongs. Many people see an eagle and apple pie as the symbol of America. It is time again, to see public education as the national treasure it is. It remains the primary weapon that must be sharpened and polished and used to battle poverty, crime, and inequality. Principals, teachers, custodians and administrators in schools, especially schools in underserved communities, educate children on the front lines and must be uplifted and applauded by a nation committed to protecting and growing the national treasure known as Public Education.
The Florida Star is a member publication of the National Newspaper Publishers Association. Learn more about becoming a member at www.nnpa.org.
