The Every Student Achieves Act of 2016 (ESSA) eliminates the almost exclusive focus on test scores to rank schools, which was the cornerstone of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. ESSA allows DC to select more meaningful measures of school success. If you care about what educational standards DC’s public schools will be held accountable to in the future, you MUST make your voice heard NOW (read proposal here)!

DC’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education’s (OSSE) current school accountability proposal sets standardized test scores at 80% of a school’s overall rating, with the remaining 20% primarily on attendance and re-enrollment rates. It gives 0% weight to comprehensive school climate measures that are known to help schools improve. (It’s worth noting the draft proposal mentions parents 53 times, yet does not mention parent feedback that the 80% weight toward standardized test is imbalanced).

Parents and teachers have urged OSSE and the State Board of Education (SBOE) to reduce the weight of test scores to the lowest percent legally allowed—around 55% for elementary, less for high schools.