{"id":7051,"date":"2016-10-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-10-12T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/blog\/cw_post\/essas-opportunities-to-rethink-accountability-for-student-centered-learning\/"},"modified":"2020-02-05T12:59:57","modified_gmt":"2020-02-05T17:59:57","slug":"essas-opportunities-to-rethink-accountability-for-student-centered-learning","status":"publish","type":"cw_post","link":"https:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/cw_post\/essas-opportunities-to-rethink-accountability-for-student-centered-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"ESSA\u2019s Opportunities to Rethink Accountability for Student-Centered Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ESSA\"This post originally appeared at iNACOL<\/a> on September 29, 2016.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

For the first time in decades, states have the opportunity to engage communities in redefining student\u00a0success and reimagining the future of education.<\/p>\n

The Every Student Succeeds Act<\/a> (ESSA) opens up flexibility for states to design next generation accountability systems that support student learning. States now have a historic opportunity<\/a> to rethink the purpose, role and design of their accountability systems, reframing them for continuous improvement<\/a> of student learning toward new, more meaningful definitions of success<\/a> through data-rich learning environments.<\/p>\n

A New Definition of Student Success<\/h3>\n

State leaders should start by engaging and listening to diverse stakeholders from across the state, including teachers, students, parents, families, school leaders, community leaders, civil rights groups, philanthropic groups and business groups to chart a new vision for K-12 education. They should answer the question: \u201cWhat do students need to be able to know and do to be successful beyond high school?\u201d<\/p>\n

In crafting a new state plan for ESSA, states can start by rethinking what success means for the whole child<\/a>, for the future of their communities, for meaningful participation in the economy and in a global context.<\/p>\n

Redefining student success\u2014determining what we want students to know and be able to do upon graduating\u2014should be the starting point for creating a coherent education system. Only after states build this broad consensus of what constitutes student success, should they determine what to measure for accountability.<\/p>\n

Driving a new definition of success is crucial to developing coherent system improvements that are built around learning\u2014including instructional shifts, systems of assessments, expanded pathways and better learning environments connected to communities and to the real world. Collaboration and community engagement needs to be sustained and ongoing rather than a one-time activity.<\/p>\n

Multiple Measures in Accountability Systems<\/h3>\n

ESSA requires states to use multiple measures in accountability systems, including: grade level proficiency, English language proficiency, graduation rates, and at least one state-selected \u201cmeasure of school quality.\u201d<\/p>\n

States could include additional indicators to encourage schools to focus on multiple factors of school quality, support continuous improvement and to reward and highlight schools that are meeting the needs of each student.<\/p>\n

States could shift toward a \u201cbalanced scorecard\u201d approach, through multiple measures of the key factors for student success and for school quality. Other measures states could consider include performance levels, extended-year cohort graduation rates<\/a>, student and teacher engagement, advanced coursework enrollment or non-cognitive competencies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

States will want to consider:<\/p>\n