Civil Rights Organizations Make Recommendations to NY on Accountability
September 20, 2016
In conjunction with Education Trust-New York, an “unprecedented coalition” of 12 education, business, and civil rights organizations, cosigned a policy memo detailing recommendations for the state of New York to use ESSA to create accountability systems that “maintain high standards, prioritize closing achievement gaps, ensure transparency, and provide the urgency and sustained support to address schools that are consistently underperforming for any group of children.” Entitled, “Toward Justice for All? The Opportunities and Risks for Educational Equity in New York State Under ESSA,” the coalition seeks to make sure schools are consistently working to better the education outcomes of underperforming students. The memo included a detailed policy brief, executive summary, and press release, and recommended the following four principles for schools:
- Ensure that academic achievement drives school performance determinations and improvement strategies.
- Require immediate action when schools are not meeting rigorous expectations for any group of students.
- Generate additional data beyond test scores in grades 3-8 and on Regents exams – including addressing teacher equity and resource equity – to help schools improve.
- Make families and educators full partners through transparency and inclusion.