Shift from high-stakes student testing part of new education plan

Georgia wants to put service and support at the center of education.

The state Department of Education released its first draft for the federal Every Student Succeed Act on June 15, and now it’s the public’s turn to provide feedback.

The act, signed into law in late 2015, replaces the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 and amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, according to UnderstandingEssa.org.

ESSA shifts some of the power for K-12 education from the federal level back to the states, allowing them more flexibility. Many of the state’s schools, including those in Bibb, already have some wiggle room under the Strategic Waivers School System.

“ESSA returns many key education policy decision to states and districts,” Andrew Ujifusa, a reporter for Education Week, said during the Education Writers Association 2017 national conference. “States and districts have a lot more power, but with that power comes great responsibility.”

The new law takes full effect for the 2017-18 school year, and states have been busy developing plans that must be submitted to the federal government and revised as necessary.

The U.S. Department of Education has already approved proposals from 16 states and Washington, D.C., according to Understanding ESSA. By Sept. 18, all remaining states must have released drafts, held public comment periods and submitted proposals to the federal education department.

Georgians can review the state’s 92-page proposal and offer feedback at www.gadoe.org/essa until July 14.

“This plan captures the Georgia Department of Education’s shifting role from one focused on compliance to one focused on service and support,” Georgia school Superintendent Richards Woods says in the introduction for the plan. “This plan supports the alignment of tools, resources, initiatives, programs and efforts so they work in a more effective and efficient way to ultimately impact the classroom.”

The proposal focuses on educating the “whole child” through more personalized learning, strong early learning foundations, better understanding of school climate, and an emphasis on students’ overall well-being, according to the document.

“The state plan really is an opportunity for Georgia to define our goals for students and what we want our education to be and some really broad strokes of what we need to get there,” said Dana Rickman, policy director for the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education. “Hopefully, we won’t be asking more from districts without giving them resources to deliver.”

NO REDUCTION IN TESTING

Georgia has reworked the College and Career Ready Performance Index so it is more clear and consistent, goal-driven, and geared toward school and student growth, according to the state. ESSA doesn’t reduce the amount of testing required, but states will have a lot more flexibility on how they use those tests, Ujifusa said.

The Georgia Department of Education wanted to move away from high-stakes, end-of-the-year testing that only looked at if students pass or failed, Rickman said. The state’s proposal shifts the focus to students’ growth and how much they’re learning over time.

The plan also calls for more partnerships with community and state agencies, growing the teaching profession, mentoring and coaching for school staff, and a four-tier school support system.

“As schools are placed on different tiers, they will be given more intensive and tailored interventions and supports,” the proposal says. “This is a comprehensive, aligned and proactive approach that has never been done by GaDOE or any entity within our state.”

Keith Simmons, the chief of staff for the Bibb County district, said he appreciates the continuous level of support shown in the tiered system. It’s a more robust approach, and it makes the criteria clearer for lower-performing schools.

“I can’t say that I am disappointed in the first draft. I think this draft is an effort to distribute the performance expectations more equitably,” he said.

Another change that stood out to Simmons was the definition of chronic absences, which has gone from a set number of days to a percentage of days that students are enrolled. In addition, performance accountability goals for districts will be recalculated every five years instead of three.

“If the belief is that sustainable change takes four or five years, it doesn’t make sense to expect a school to implement sustainable change in three,” Simmons said.

The Georgia Partnership for Excellence is watching to make sure student subgroups, such as English language and special needs learners, will be measured fairly and accurately under the new plan, rather than lumped in with other students.

“This is not just about educating our current kids. This is about our economic prosperity going forward. Everybody has a stake in how this goes,” Rickman said.

This story was originally published July 3, 2017 at 10:32 AM with the headline "Shift from high-stakes student testing part of new education plan."