Recommendations for ESEA Reauthorization

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee recently began hearings on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) or No Child Left Behind, as the law was nicknamed during its last reauthorization in 2002. The education landscape and conventional wisdom on what our education systems should be aiming for have changed significantly since then. Achieve has found, as documented in our annual survey of the states, Closing the Expectations Gap, that in the last five years alone states have made significant progress on reforming their education systems to value college and career readiness, progress that has happened largely because of state leadership. When ESEA is reauthorized, it's important that the federal law supports - and not hinder - the work of leading states and incentivizes all states toward the shared goal of college and career readiness for all students. With the right level and types of support, states and districts will be better positioned to meet the higher expectations they have set in their schools, especially those serving the most disadvantaged students.

In early May, Achieve submitted recommendations to the Senate HELP Committee that stem from our belief that college and career readiness must be the central driver in ESEA reauthorization. Achieve recommended that the following be considered by Congress as it moves forward:

• Reorient ESEA so that the common end goal is high school graduates who are prepared for college and career.
• Encourage states to develop and sustain new assessment systems aligned to college- and career-ready standards.
• Include indicators of college and career readiness in evaluating high school performance.
• Provide schools with incentives to help students graduate college-and career-ready.
• Don't let the floor become the ceiling. Accountability system metrics need to ensure that all students - from those far below to those well above the standard - are expected to progress academically.
• ESEA should incentivize positive movement towards the goal of readiness for all schools and all students; positive incentives are important for creating an environment in which accountability goals are meaningful and motivate exemplary performance.
• Prioritize and dedicate resources to intervene in persistently low-performing schools.

As states raise standards to a more ambitious college- and career-ready level it will be critical for states to ensure that all students have access to supports to help them reach college-and career-ready expectations.

Achieve has been providing states with specific recommendations on how to develop public reporting and accountability systems aligned to these principles. We believe accountability systems must include a broader range of indicators that capture whether students are successfully completing rigorous courses, achieving on rigorous assessments that measure postsecondary readiness, and attaining meaningful high school credentials. Further, there needs to be better use of public reporting, positive incentives and rewards to create motivating conditions for college and career readiness progress and success. Sanctions are important but negative consequences alone will not motivate educators and students to aim higher. Of additional importance to the college and career readiness agenda are longitudinal data systems that provide schools and districts "early warning" information about individual students so that they can deploy supports, interventions and safety nets accordingly.

With a packed congressional calendar and mid-term elections this November, it's unclear whether Congress will find time to reauthorize ESEA this year. Still, as the discussion heats up and thought pieces, blueprints and draft bills are released, it is critical that the discussion focus on college and career readiness in ways the current law does not. A reauthorized ESEA should support the work of leading states and encourages states to move in the direction of college and career readiness for all.

Resources:

• Download testimony from the full Committee Hearing on May 4th regarding ESEA Reauthorization: Improving America's Secondary Schools here.
• Download testimony from the full Committee Hearing on April 28th regarding ESEA Reauthorization: Standards and Assessments here.
• Download the blueprint and watch the President's address here.