Latest House Edits on ESEA
The House Education Committee passed two bills last evening that would make significant changes to the accountability system required by the No Child Left Behind Act. The vote was on a straight party line vote of 23-16. The bills now head to the House floor for consideration sometime in the near future.
The two bills, HR 3989, the Student Success Act, and HR 3990, the Encouraging Innovation and Teacher Effectiveness Act, are the House's ESEA reauthorization package. We're encouraged that the bills
- eliminate the impractical components of NCLB's adequate yearly progress system
- strengthen teacher and school leader effectiveness
- continue to require schools and districts to track disaggregated data on student subgroups
- include student growth as a factor in state-developed accountability systems
Overall, the committee's approval of the bill – even on a strictly partisan basis – is a necessary step in the ESEA reauthorization process. Of course, continued refinements to the bills are necessary. In particular, ASCD recommends
