Minnesota Department of Education to host regional meetings on new measure
The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) will be hosting a series of regional meetings for stakeholders – school districts, state and local education leaders, parents, families, teachers, students, community and business members and the general public – concerning the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) over the course of the next month. Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius and department staff will be on hand to share thoughts about ESSA and the vision for the Minnesota State Plan so far.
The ESSA, the nation’s latest pre-kindergarten through grade 12 education law, was signed into law in December 2015. ESSA is the newest version of the 50-year-old federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act and replaces the 2002 reauthorization known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB). NCLB shined a light on where students were making progress and where they needed additional support, regardless of race, income, zip code, disability, home language or background. The law was scheduled for revision in 2007, and, over time, NCLB’s prescriptive requirements became increasingly unworkable for schools and educators. Recognizing this fact, work began to sculpt a better education law that focused on the clear goal of fully preparing all students for success in college and careers.
ESSA preserves many of the same goals and priorities as NCLB and NCLB Flexibility Waivers. States are still expected to pursue educational equity for all students, as measured by student outcomes, access to high-quality educators and opportunities to build college and career readiness. Under ESSA, however, states and districts have greater flexibility in many areas than they did under NCLB or the flexibility waivers issued in the past few years.
All states are required to submit a new state plan to the United States Department of Education for the 2017-2018 school year. Minnesota’s NCLB Flexibility Waiver remained in effect until August 1, 2016. This 2016-2017 school year will serve as a transition year. Most of the changes will not take effect until the 2017-18 school year. As states receive guidance from the United States Department of Education on a process of orderly transition from NCLB to ESSA, the MDE will communicate this information.
Following is a Minnesota overview of key ESSA topics –
+ Math and reading or language arts assessments required in grades 3-8 and once in grades 10- 12.
+ Science assessments required once in grades 3-5, grades 6-9, and grades 10-12.
+ For all K-12 students identified as English Learners (EL), annual English language proficiency assessments are required in reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
+ Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) system eliminated. Schools are still expected to reach 95% participation for each group, but the consequences for missing that target are up to the state.
+ States may set a limit on time spent testing.
+ 1% statewide cap on participation in alternate assessments for students with severe cognitive disabilities (i.e. Minnesota Test of Academic Skills, of MTAS). This new 1% cap on alternate assessment participation will require consideration. It is unclear how it would be decided which students could not take alternate assessments, and this has significant implications given that assessment options are documented in students’ Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).
Good news is that Minnesota’s current assessment structure will be largely unaffected by ESSA. As Mountain Lake Public Elementary School Principal Karl Wassman notes, “This change will have implications on testing, however, we have been told that these will be only ‘minimal’ changes.”
Under ESEA Flexibility, Minnesota has developed an accountability system that is focused on closing the achievement gap and promoting high growth for all students. A Multiple Measurements Rating (MMR) is given to all schools in the state on an annual basis and measures school performance in the areas of proficiency, growth, achievement gap reduction and graduation rates. A second rating, the Focus Rating (FR), is also used to measure a school’s success in reducing achievement gaps between student groups.
Minnesota’s accountability system under ESSA will be developed over the course of the 2016-2017 school year. According to proposed federal regulations, the ESSA-defined accountability system will be used to identify schools at the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year using data from the 2016-2017 school year.
The nearest regional meeting – this for the Marshall area – will be held on Thursday, October 13, at Marshall Middle School from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The school is located at 401 S. Saratoga. To register, go to: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/3048386/ba9fa2885e44.
More about ESSA and the state’s plan can be found at http://education.state.mn.us/MDE/dse/essa/. There are other ways to engage with the state during this process. You can call 651-582-8800 or send your thoughts to mde.essa@state.mn.us or to: Minnesota Department of Education, 1500 Highway 36 W, Roseville, MN 55113.
The U.S. Department of Education maintains a page explaining ESSA, and the text of the law is also available online.
