•December 16, 2015•

By Mike Brothers

Every Student Succeeds is the new federal education act that promises to leave No Child Left Behind, behind.

Using a barrage of federally imposed testing No Child Left Behind tried to improve education by forcing rules from the Department of Education on local school districts.

Every Student Succeeds leaves the U.S. Dept. of Education out and moves those decisions to the state and local level.

Testing will still be a part of the way education progress is monitored, but the states may choose the testing methods.

Grades 3-8 still will take annual tests with one testing required in high school.

The testing, along with other factors, such as graduation rates, school climate and teacher engagement, determine a school district’s ranking.

The state, and not the federal government, will be required to intervene where schools score in the bottom five percent with less than a 2/3 graduation rate.

Every Student Succeeds also changes the funding formula. Programs such as the $500 million School Improvement Grant are folded into a $1.6 billion federal block grant administered through Title 1.

In the past Title 1 had helped fund technology with Sullivan using Title 1 funds to purchase ibooks for students. That funding option is still included in the new Education Act.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.