The quality of education determines the country’s future, and therefore, the laws governing this area receive significant attention. In 2015, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act was replaced by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) (U.S. Department of Education, 2017). Currently, ESSA is the leading education law for American public schools. Its fundamental goal is to ensure quality education in public schools for all children without exception. Despite some shared features of the NCLB and ESSA, the adoption of the new law brought significant changes to the education system.
ESSA is a reasonably comprehensive law involving many aspects, and its primary goal is to support the quality of education throughout the country. The law significantly seeks to provide support to groups of students that especially need it – children from low-income families, students with limited English knowledge, people of color, and children requiring special education (U.S. Department of Education, 2017). Another element that the law introduces is the requirement to educate students following high academic standards. This measure is designed to better prepare students for future college admissions and career building. Moreover, the law addresses accountability, testing, learning goals, and supporting schools that have difficulties with academic achievement.
All the key elements that the law introduces are related to an essential change that it makes compared to the NCLB action. In many issues, ESSA transfers responsibility and control over education from the federal level to the states (“Every Student,” n.d.). For example, states set educational goals within a specific federal framework, but plans may differ across various states. The states also set academic standards to which all local schools should strive. ESSA supports literacy programs by allocating grants to them and calling for the creation of the Center on Reading Issues (“The difference,” n.d.). Moreover, the law calls for the expansion of personalized training. Thus, in addition to the emphasis on state control, the law is focused on support for education.
A significant achievement is lifting sanctions for failing schools – on the contrary, they will receive additional funding to improve their work. Moreover, a specific set of actions to improve the schools’ work proposed at the federal level is replaced by the assistance plans prepared by counties and states (“The difference,” n.d.). The methods used in them, in turn, should be evidence-based. A significant part of the efforts within the new law is aimed at accountability (The Hunt Institute, 2016). At the same time, NCLB has focused more on performance and tests. ESSA offers several factors for evaluating schools, including test results in English, mathematics, and reading and high school graduation rates (“The difference,” n.d.). States may also choose an additional factor, but the focus is on academic performance rather than school quality.
Thus, ESSA is an essential and influential law that determines the policy regulating the educational sphere in the United States. After adoption, the law provoked significant changes, especially in comparison with its predecessor, the NCLB. The most significant change is the transfer of responsibility to the state level. After such a measure, the states develop the goals and standards of education. Considerable efforts aim to improve the accountability of schools and support high standards of education. Moreover, the new law seeks to support students who do not have equal opportunities with their peers. ESSA also aims to help struggling schools and students and not punish them. As a result, the law seeks to improve education and eliminate the inequalities present in the system.
References
Every Student Succeeds Act. (n.d.). All4Ed. Web.
The difference between the Every Student Succeeds Act and No Child Left Behind (n.d.). Understood for All Inc. Web.
The Hunt Institute. (2016). Looking forward: School accountability under ESSA – Part I. Web.
U.S. Department of Education. (2017). Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Web.