Education Post

There is a window to reframe accountability as states can now think in new and flexible ways.

The passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) has opened new conversations about what matters in education, placing considerable power in the hands of state and district education leaders to define school quality and student progress. ESSA requires states to develop accountability systems based on four indicators—standardized test results, English language-learner proficiency, graduation rates (or, for elementary and middle schools, another academic measure), plus one nonacademic measure that captures “school quality or student success.”