Most Americans have heard of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), even non-teachers and parents. It was a controversial piece of law, designed to increase school accountability through an emphasis on annual testing and teacher qualifications, reports on academic progress, as well as changes in funding. However, it was blamed for an increase in “teaching to the test,” where teachers focused on readying their students for test questions so that they could demonstrate the required amount of academic progress, at the cost of achieving an in-depth understanding of the curriculum. It also failed to recognize great strides classrooms were making with struggling students if they didn’t quite reach what NCLB considered “proficient.”

Near the end of 2015, the Every Student Succeed Act was signed into law, replacing the No Child Left Behind Act. The question of course becomes: What has this new act changed?

What is the Every Student Succeeds Act?

This new piece of law replaced the No Child Left Behind Act and returned a lot of the power to the states and school districts. Rather than the federal government mandating when and how testing must be administered, states now have the power to break the assessments into smaller sections and find a variety of tests that more accurately capture what students have learned. States are also empowered to create their own accountability goals and plans, which are then approved by the Department of Education.

One of the biggest criticisms of NCLB was what happened when a school was unable to meet achievement goals. In order to continue to receive federal funding they had a variety of choices that ranged from firing the principal and most of the staff to closing the school entirely. Under ESSA, the intervention methods are much more flexible. It’s up to the state to determine how they want to help schools that are at the bottom 5% of assessment scores or have less than a 67% graduation rate.

How Does ESSA Empower Schools to Use Digital Education?

Also included in ESSA is the authority for states to pursue innovative educational technology solutions. Up to $849M of the funds granted through ESSA can be used to pursue educational technology, which is 60% of the funding provided through grants. This is a reflection of the growing interest in technology. A recent study found that 56% of teachers surveyed reported that digital tools make them better educators. By streamlining the lesson planning, reporting, grading, and personalization process, education technology allows teachers to spend more time being highly effective — working with struggling students, designing creative solutions, and engaging in professional development.

By handing over much of the control and decision-making to the states and school districts, the federal government has realized that a one-size-fits-all approach to education is unfair to both teachers and students. ESSA is one step closer to providing a solution that is flexible and encourages approaches such as education technology that are being embraced by teachers and administrators.

To learn more about how Wowzers K-8 Online Math program can help schools incorporate technology in the classroom, contact our team or try a free trial.  

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