D.C. is now the only state to have its waiver request for federally-required assessments approved by the Education Department, even as handfuls of other states saw their requests to cancel spring tests this school year denied. Deputy Education Secretary Ian Rosenblum cited D.C. having among...
New York and Michigan added their names to the list of states again requesting a waiver of annual assessments required by ESSA, citing continued disruption imposed by the pandemic. While the states join a few others in asking for the tests to be called off,...
Changes to New Jersey’s graduation requirements have resulted in an almost five percent increase in the preliminary graduation rate for schools in Newark. State officials scrapped a rule requiring high school graduates to pass state standardized tests after state tests were cancelled in the spring...
After months of uncertainty, education leaders, teachers, researchers, and advocates received an answer to whether state annual assessments would resume this school year following an abrupt cancellation this past spring due to the coronavirus. In a letter to all state superintendents – not just the...
After having announced their intent to request a second waiver of federally-required standardized assessments, the South Carolina Department of Education has created a survey to collect public feedback on the move. Though required by ESSA, State Superintendent Molly Spearman said “it is critical that students,...
In a recent notice, the U.S. Department of Education proposed collecting new data on how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the ways in which states use federal aid and flexibility. Specifically, the department is interested in reviewing state data pertaining to federally granted waivers of...
Following the cancellation of state testing for the 2019-20 school year due to the spread of COVID-19, Virginia will waive its accreditation ratings for schools for the second year in a row. Data from the Virginia Standards of Learning tests, annually required by ESSA, typically...
After recently receiving a one-year waiver from ESSA’s testing and accountability requirements, Ohio legislators “subsequently passed emergency legislation canceling the spring administration of Ohio’s state tests and waiving report card requirements other than reporting of some limited, available data.” Shortly thereafter, Governor Mike DeWine “announced...
A recent piece in Education Week highlights the various ways in which different states, districts, and schools are monitoring and tracking attendance in light of nationwide school closures due to the coronavirus. While “the federal Every Student Succeeds Act requires states to report chronic absence...
The U.S. Department of Education granted preliminary approval to “Virginia’s request for waivers from provisions of the Every Student Succeeds Act and the General Education Provisions Act that govern how and when federal education funds must be spent by states and local school districts.” Without...
