Commentary
ESSA
The first 17 ESSA accountability plans correct many NCLB-era errors
By Brandon L. Wright and Michael J. Petrilli
Report
Accountability & Testing, ESSA
Rating the Ratings: Analyzing the First 17 ESSA Accountability Plans
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) grants states more authority over their school accountability systems than did No Child Left Behind (NCLB)—meaning that states now have a greater opportunity to design improved school ratings. Rating the Ratings: Analyzing the First 17 ESSA Accountability Plans examines whether states are making the most of the moment.
Podcast
ESSA
ESSA, innovation, and optimism
On this week's podcast, special guest Lizzette Gonzalez Reynolds, vice president of policy at the Foundation for Excellence in Education, joins Alyssa Schwenk and Brandon Wright to discuss whether state ESSA plans have been innovative, and whether they’re cause for optimism. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines the effect of mandatory college entrance exams on college enrollment.
Commentary
ESSA
How states can avoid proficiency rates when measuring academic achievement under ESSA
By Brandon L. Wright
Commentary
Podcast
ESSA
State ESSA plans: Just BS, or reform's BFF?
On this week's podcast, special guest Chad Aldeman, a principal at Bellwether Education Partners, joins Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to discuss his organization’s recent review of state ESSA plans. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines the progress of the high school sophomore class of 2002.
Commentary
ESSA
Three ways to improve Ohio’s ESSA plan
In early June, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) released an updated draft of its ESSA plan for public comment. The department had initially intended to submit its plan earlier this spring, but after heavy pressure, state officials decided to delay submission until September.
Commentary
ESSA
Ohio shouldn’t worry about Delaware’s ESSA plan woes—yet
Early last week, the Trump administration gave three states feedback on their submitted plans for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
Podcast
ESSA
State ESSA plans: More than just pretty words?
On this week's podcast, special guest Chris Minnich, Executive Director of the Council of Chief State School Officers, joins Mike Petrilli and Alyssa Schwenk to discuss the seventeen ESSA plans that have been submitted to the U.S. Department of Education, and what the other thirty-four states can learn from them. During the Research Minute, Amber Northern examines Kentucky’s promising approach to school improvement.
Commentary
ESSA
How should Ohio seek to improve its lowest achieving public schools?
NOTE: The Thomas B. Fordham Institute occasionally publishes guest commentaries on its blogs. The views expressed by guest authors do not necessarily reflect those of Fordham.
Commentary
Commentary
ESSA
Early ESSA plans don't do enough to signal that all students are important
By Brandon L. Wright
Commentary
Commentary
Report
ESSA, Charter Schools, Governance
Leveraging ESSA to Support Quality-School Growth
Under the Every Student Succeeds Act, the federal School Improvement Grants program is gone, but the goal of school improvement remains. States must now use seven percent of their Title I allocation for these efforts, but are no longer constrained by a prescribed menu of intervention options.
Commentary
ESSA
Casting the net too wide: Ohio’s ESSA plans could place most districts in support status
Ohio’s draft plan for implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) came out earlier this month, and we at Fordham continue to
Commentary
ESSA
Ohio’s ESSA plan: The Prepared for Success component
In early February, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) released the first draft of its state plan for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
Commentary
ESSA
Trump and Congress will repeal Obama's ESSA rules: Why that matters and what should follow
By Brandon L. Wright
Commentary
ESSA
Ohio’s ESSA plan: Identifying low-performing schools
One of the hallmarks of school accountability is the identification of and intervention in persistently low-preforming schools.
Report
School Finance, Teachers & School Leaders
(No) Money in the Bank: Which Retirement Systems Penalize New Teachers?
A new teacher’s pension is supposed to be a perk. The truth is that for the majority of the nation’s new teachers, what they can anticipate in retirement benefits will be worth less than what they contributed to the system while they were in the classroom, even if they stay for decades.
Commentary
ESSA
Fordham Institute statement on 2017 Quality Counts ratings
Today Education Week released its annual Quality Counts report card for states. Ohio earned a C with an overall score of 74.2, aligning the Buckeye State for the second year in a row with national U.S. average (also 74.2).
Commentary
ESSA
What is the purpose of teacher evaluation today? A conversation between Bellwether and Fordham
Teacher evaluation was one of President Obama’s signature policies, and a controversial element of education reform during his tenure.
Commentary
Commentary
ESSA
A third way for Ohio teacher evaluations
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) has put the future of teacher evaluations firmly in the hands of states. Ohio is now in full control of deciding how to develop and best implement its nascent system.
Report
Accountability & Testing, ESSA, Advanced Education
High Stakes for High Schoolers: State Accountability in the Age of ESSA (Part II)
Eleven weeks ago, in High Stakes for High Achievers: State Accountability in the Age of ESSA, the Fordham Institute reported that current K–8 accountability systems in most states give teachers scant reason to attend to the learning of high-achieving youngsters.
Commentary
Commentary
Charter Schools, ESSA
What charter school authorizers can teach states on ESSA: It's hard to find indicators of school quality that aren’t test scores
By Kathryn Mullen Upton
Commentary
Commentary
ESSA
Ohio's accountability system is the best in the country for high achievers. Here are 3 ways to keep that focus
Last week, several of my Fordham colleagues published a fantastic fifty-state review of accountability systems and how they impact high achievers. Lamentably, they found that most states do almost nothing to hold schools accountable for the progress of their most able pupils.
Commentary
ESSA
Cultivating America's future leaders
During the No Child Left Behind era of education reform, now winding down, teachers, schools and districts were tacitly encouraged to focus their efforts on raising the floor rather than raising the roof on student achievement. Whether by accident, choice or neglect, high-achievers as well as those merely "above proficient" received little attention. And why should they?
