Every Student Succeeds Act Research

Document Type:Research Paper

Subject Area:Social Work

Document 1

The paper explores and unearths the contribution of the legislation in limiting the involvement of the federal government in key educational reforms. I find that according to the policy, implementation would be a primarily states function. Again, I present evidence that the Obama administration recognized the need to enhance equity in public schools. The paper presents key successes and lapses of the policy and offers recommendations on how to achieve maximum gains from ESSA. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Problem Description The main problem that Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) sought to examine entails discriminatory conditions such as poverty that often affect students’ access to quality education, particularly in rural America. The rise in poverty would mean parents have little to save for bills and domestic expenses and cater for the educational needs of their children at the same time.

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Disadvantaging poor children creates a gap between the able and unfortunate kids in the society. Unfair competition might erupt in schools with the poor students set to trail their colleagues in academic performances. Despite entrenched obstacle, poor children have been shown to exhibit more resilience and dedication towards studies as opposed to the abled kids. Moreover, with the introduction of ESSA policy, there is good news for students who have for long suffered poor access to quality education. Contextual Issues Many educators in the U. S. often serve students who are threatened by high levels of poverty and other adverse conditions. Such students suffer opportunity gaps, which hinder them from acquiring quality education. To address the increasing problem of opportunity gaps that sought to disadvantaged students from poverty-stricken remote areas, ESSA substituted the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) policy in 2015 (Zinskie and Rea, 2016).

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Moreover, the preceding doctrines of the law, the NCLB Act that was adopted in 2002 made significant progress in addressing and assisting in the uplifting of the welfare and performance of poor students. Essentially, NCLB managed to make tremendous progress through unearthing areas where students improved as well as highlighting areas that needed redress with more resource support (U. S. Department of Education, 2018). NCLB served all U. However, despite the continuing opposition, the policy has maintained its original scope with the sole objective of improving performances and achieving equality in the education sector. POLICY DESCRIPTION ESSA seeks to provide both financial and in-kind support to underperforming schools. Under the policy, legislatures at the state level would examine and determine how they will use federal finances to provide interventions to schools that record low academic performances (Saultz, Fusarelli, and McEachin, 2017).

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Based on the law, districts and states would determine their description under which schools would require interventions. States would have to draw a clear distinction between the factors that constitute failure then apply evidence-oriented interventions design at the local level in underperforming schools as well as those with low graduation rates. Zinskie and Rea (2016) hold that the policy would be implemented through the adoption of regular testing and examination of student progress. Similarly, ESSA enables schools to use the SAT or ACT assessment methods as opposed to valuations at the state level. The policy also expands the definition of success past standardized performance assessments (Zinskie and Rea, 2016). Besides, the policy also provides for further interstate academic indicators including the development of kids at the preschool and middle school stages as well as measurement on the proficiency of the English language among learners, especially those between grade 3 and 8 and also in high school.

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Implementation of the policy would be the responsibility of both the federal and state governments. Essential federal funding would be channeled to the states’ control through ESSA via the use of regional grants. Despite the money being aimed at improving the education technology, states would have the power of making investment decisions. As a result, the public perception and view that the federal government has monopolized the control of public education would be reversed. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION While ESSA grants states the opportunity and flexibility to make decisions on the appropriate ways of measuring students’ success, two findings by the Center for American Progress (CAP) reveal that schools have primary roles of nurturing students’ basic skills. Competencies like self-belief in their intellectual abilities, generation of a sense of the friendly environment in schools that is characterized by equality as well as the desire to learn in an adverse environment are all school functions (Rosales, 2017).

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To achieve greater heights, the policy has provided for additional experts and professional development that would be instrumental in integrating social and emotional education into the classrooms. ESSA also enhances policy opportunities, granting states the power to allocate money to new projects and adopt new mergers. While ESSA champions for skills and mindset development reforms, environmental factors including the message that students acquire in their surroundings influences their learning capabilities. Through ESSA, students can learn the art of appreciation as well as view challenges as naturally existing components of the learning process. With ESSA, students have the opportunity to receive a quality education, which will result in success and advancement in their career choices. Failure to provide gains in academic scores, schools risked punishments.

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The provision of preschool development grants and funding of arts education has helped ease pressure on low-income American families as well as nurture more talents. The adoption of the all-rounded education technique has also worked to expand the scope of advancing a child’s skills in the process of career development. Abolition of subgroup classification of students and the adoption of super-subgroup practice has been instrumental in addressing inequalities in the education sphere. ESSA is a bipartisan law that was spearheaded by various detractors from both camps of the political divide. Expanded consultation would guarantee maximum gains from the policy. Apart from more participation, there is a need for clarification concerning the role of the federal authority in the implementation process of the policy.

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