HOT SPRINGS -- The new federal education law offers a chance to continue positive trends and establish best practices for the foreseeable future, a national education leader said Tuesday at a statewide conference.
The Every Student Succeeds Act, which was signed into law Dec. 10, 2015, by President Barack Obama, reauthorized the 50-year-old Elementary and Secondary Education Act and replaced the No Child Left Behind initiative.
"We led the charge to change this law," said Chris Minnich, executive director of the Council of Chief State School Officers. "We felt like states had, for too long, been focused on single metrics, a single test score, as many of you probably would agree. Now, the hard part is ... we have to make decisions about what do we do to make sure every kid is successful when they leave our education system."
Minnich was the keynote speaker for the Arkansas Public School Resource Center's 2016 Fall Conference in Horner Hall at the Hot Springs Convention Center.
The 50 state education commissioners and education leaders in Washington, D.C., and the U.S. territories make up the 58 members of the Council of Chief State School Officers, and the organization supported the Every Student Succeeds Act.
"In implementing this law, we need to stop talking about what we can't do because of either federal or state regulations and start talking about what we can do for these kids in Arkansas and across the country," Minnich said.
Minnich said the Every Student Succeeds Act made major changes in accountability, assessments, English language learning, federal funding, and teacher and leader quality. Funds are available for states to help districts.
States must still administer "high-quality" assessments for English language arts and math annually in grades 3-8 and once in high school, as well as once in each of three grade spans for science.
The Every Student Succeeds Act has increased flexibility and options for states to administer one summative assessment or multiple interim assessments, use available funding to audit state and local assessments, and alter the time devoted to assessment administration for each grade, he said. Minnich said standardized tests must increase in value and relevance to students and schools.
Minnich also said he feels multiple choice tests inhibit students and do not fully access their knowledge, critical thinking or creativity. He said schools face challenges with technology to adequately administer tests and the increased difficulty of the "high-quality" tests. He said feedback from teachers indicates the new tests better represent what they teach in class.
The Every Student Succeeds Act requires each state to define an accountability system. States will submit proposals to the U.S. Department of Education next year.
"I think we are at a moment in education, if we don't get this right, we are going to be stuck with it for another 15 years," Minnich said.
Metro on 10/23/2016