Essa-implementation
My First-Generation Perspective
By Dana Laurens Last month, I had the privilege of speaking at the annual 1vyG Conference--held at the University of Pennsylvania--on a panel alongside Dr. Sean Vereen, Dr. Laura Perna, and Dr....
ESSA’s Financial “Sleeper Provision” Reminds Us ESSA is about Equity
By Dana Laurens Round two of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) state plan reviews is well underway at the U.S. Department of Education (ED), but one little known provision of the now...
U.S. Department of Education Failure to Enforce ESSA – Part 3: Three of ESSA “Big Four” Troubled By State Violations of ESSA Statute
By Charles Barone and Dana Laurens On Capitol Hill and in hip-hop culture, as the saying goes, “word is bond.” Even those not inclined to adhere to this on principle do so simply...
U.S. Department of Education Failure to Enforce ESSA – Part 2: Abandoning Proficiency Benchmarks Takes the “Every” Out of ESSA
By Dana Laurens and Charles Barone Last week, we focused on ED’s failure to enforce ESSA guardrails that quite sensibly require state accountability system indicators be comparable and statewide. A second set of equally...
ED’s Failure to Enforce ESSA Will Hurt Students – Part 1
by Charles Barone and Dana Laurens As the U.S. Department of Education (ED) undertakes its second round of state plan reviews under the “Every Student Succeeds Act” (ESSA), it’s a good time to reflect...
Democratic Voices on ESSA Accountability
by Dana Laurens The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides a great deal of flexibility over the previous federal law when it comes to state design of their school accountability systems. It did, nonetheless,...
Those Talking the ESSA Law Talk Are Not Walking the ESSA Law Walk
by Charles Barone A high-decibel throng of advocates is trying to make the case that the U.S. Department of Education (ED) has overstepped its role in its reviews of state plans under the...
Every Student Succeeds Act Peer Review: Be More Consistent, Not Less Rigorous
by Charles Barone and Dana Laurens Feeling confused lately by the Every Student Succeeds Act peer review process? That’s perfectly understandable. Writers, in both the trade and mainstream press, vary greatly in what they think...
Social-Emotional Learning: Stop, Calm Down, and Think Before You Prejudge
by Charles Barone Those not familiar with the history of the social esteem fad of the 1980’s should read Checker Finn’s brief and appropriately scathing review of it over at Education Week. Finn’s right...
Civil Rights Statement Opposing H.J. Res. 57 to Keep ESSA Implementation Moving Forward
Keep ESSA Implementation Moving Forward -- Oppose H.J. Res. 57 In a letter to the House of Representatives, we joined the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and 28 organizations urging the...