tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/essa-23679/articlesESSA – The Conversation2020-09-15T11:49:25Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1459792020-09-15T11:49:25Z2020-09-15T11:49:25ZDeVos vows to require standardized tests again: 4 questions answered<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/357724/original/file-20200911-16-5clq9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=322%2C125%2C2472%2C1734&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Is the government's plan feasible?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/secretary-of-education-betsy-devos-listens-during-a-white-news-photo/1255048799">Alex Wong/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/03/devos-enforce-school-testing-mandates-408626">Education Secretary Betsy DeVos</a> announced on Sept. 3 that the government intended to enforce federal rules that require all states to administer standardized tests at K-12 public schools during the 2020-2021 school year. <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=uUXDvV4AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Nicholas Tampio</a>, a Fordham University political scientist who researches <a href="https://jhupbooks.press.jhu.edu/title/common-core">education policy</a>, puts this declaration into context.</em> </p>
<h2>1. What did DeVos say?</h2>
<p>Since the passage of the <a href="https://www.edweek.org/ew/section/multimedia/no-child-left-behind-overview-definition-summary.html">No Child Left Behind Act of 2001</a>, U.S. public school students have had to take federally mandated standardized tests every year. </p>
<p>Students got a break <a href="https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/helping-students-adversely-affected-school-closures-secretary-devos-announces-broad-flexibilities-states-cancel-testing-during-national-emergency">in the spring of 2020</a> when DeVos announced that states could apply for waivers due to the pandemic. “Neither students nor teachers,” she explained, “need to be focused on high-stakes tests during this difficult time.”</p>
<p>In September, DeVos reaffirmed her commitment to federally mandated testing. “It is now our expectation,” DeVos wrote in <a href="https://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/Secretary%20DeVos%20Letter%20to%20CSSOs%2009%2003%202020.pdf">a letter to chief state school officers</a>, “that states will, in the interest of students,” administer standardized tests at the end of the 2020-2021 school year.</p>
<h2>2. How is testing data used?</h2>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=uUXDvV4AAAAJ&hl=en">As a political scientist</a> who researches education policy, I know that money is the main lever for the federal government to influence states and local school districts. For example, the federal government sets conditions that states must accept to secure <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/index.html">Title I funding</a>, which supports schools where many children are being raised in poverty. </p>
<p>Only about 8% of the roughly <a href="https://theconversation.com/federal-spending-covers-only-8-of-public-school-budgets-142348">US$720 billion that all levels of government spend on public schools</a>
comes from federal sources. Yet federal education <a href="https://theconversation.com/federal-spending-covers-only-8-of-public-school-budgets-142348">money is vital</a> because it helps state and local governments boost their budgets for the education of some of the most vulnerable students, including those with special needs.</p>
<p>In the spring of 2019, the DeVos team <a href="http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2019/04/betsy-devos-arizona-essa-testing-act-sat-high-school.html">threatened to withhold</a> $340 million in federal education funds from Arizona. Why? Because the state had not complied with the testing requirements of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-every-student-succeeds-act-still-leaves-most-vulnerable-kids-behind-46247">Every Student Succeeds Act</a>, which replaced No Child Left Behind in 2015. </p>
<p>In short, states may face a financial hit if they do not heed DeVos’ warning about testing. And if states lose federal funding, they may, in turn, cut their funding for local school districts.</p>
<p>In her letter, DeVos called federally mandated tests “among the most reliable tools available to help us understand how children are performing in school.” This data provides information to teachers, parents, policymakers and the public about how schools compare to one another. Without this data, in DeVos’ view, the American people will not have transparency and accountability in public education. </p>
<h2>3. What challenges might schools and students face?</h2>
<p>But getting good data during a pandemic may prove challenging. The recent precedent for large numbers of students taking standardized tests online, rather than at school or another appropriate public place, isn’t promising.</p>
<p>After the College Board administered <a href="https://apcoronavirusupdates.collegeboard.org/students/taking-ap-exams">Advanced Placement</a> tests online in the spring of 2020, <a href="https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2020/05/18/students-complain-they-cannot-submit-ap-tests">students and their families</a> complained when they were not able to upload their exams. </p>
<p>What’s more, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0216362">research shows</a> that physical conditions where the testing happens matters. If administrators cannot adjust the thermostat in a public school building, for example, it can skew test outcomes. As a result, I’m concerned that unequal conditions at students’ homes could make students who face economic hardship or have other challenges where they live score lower than they should – making their scores a less meaningful way to measure their academic strengths and achievements.</p>
<p>In response to questions about whether testing will be feasible during the 2020-2021 school year, <a href="https://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/Secretary%20DeVos%20Letter%20to%20CSSOs%2009%2003%202020.pdf">DeVos has asked chief state school officers</a> to get more creative. “I am reminded of the old saying: Necessity is the mother of invention,” she stated. </p>
<p>DeVos also <a href="https://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/Secretary%20DeVos%20Letter%20to%20CSSOs%2009%2003%202020.pdf">told chief state school officers</a> to follow “the guidance of local health officials.” And yet, her letter lacks any specific guidance on how states could administer tests in case students cannot safely take the tests in public school buildings due to COVID-19 surges.</p>
<h2>4. Could a Biden administration waive testing?</h2>
<p>Democratic presidential nominee <a href="https://joebiden.com/education/#">Joe Biden’s official position on education</a>, as spelled out on his campaign’s website, doesn’t mention high-stakes testing. Nor does his campaign say anything about <a href="https://www.the74million.org/article/its-nearly-time-to-reauthorize-the-every-student-succeeds-act-4-priorities-otherwise-distracted-national-leaders-should-set-to-make-the-k-12-law-stronger/">revising the Every Student Succeeds Act</a>, which Congress must revisit and possibly change through an <a href="https://www.senate.gov/reference/glossary_term/authorization.htm">upcoming reauthorization process</a> after the 2020-21 school year.</p>
<p>In her letter to the chief state school officers, DeVos observed that “statewide assessments are at the very core of the bipartisan agreement that forged ESSA.” DeVos noted that a <a href="https://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/Secretary%20DeVos%20Letter%20to%20CSSOs%2009%2003%202020.pdf">bipartisan coalition supports administering tests this year</a>. </p>
<p>[<em>Deep knowledge, daily.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/the-daily-3?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=deepknowledge">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter</a>.]</p>
<p>One of Biden’s senior education policy advisers is <a href="https://www.future-ed.org/an-education-policy-veteran-on-the-biden-team/">Carmel Martin</a>. A former Obama Education Department staffer, Martin until recently worked for the <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/07/tom-steyer-steps-down-from-clinton-linked-think-tank-board-in-midst-of-2020-run.html">Center for American Progress</a>, a liberal think tank with strong ties to the Democratic Party that DeVos cited in her decision to proceed with federally mandated testing. </p>
<p>If Biden becomes president, therefore, I think it’s reasonable for schools to assume that his education team will only grant waivers, like the one DeVos issued in <a href="https://oese.ed.gov/files/2020/03/COVID-19-OESE-FINAL-3.12.20.pdf">March 2020</a>, in “extraordinary circumstances.”</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/145979/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicholas Tampio does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Millions of public school students are learning online, mostly at home. Any standardized tests they take in this unusual school year may not yield reliable data about their academic progress.Nicholas Tampio, Professor of Political Science, Fordham UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1370492020-05-06T12:19:17Z2020-05-06T12:19:17ZSkipping standardized tests in 2020 may offer a chance to find better alternatives<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332549/original/file-20200504-83740-rsnp5z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5121%2C3411&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Not in 2020.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/students-taking-a-test-in-classroom-royalty-free-image/170126270">Compassionate Eye Foundation/Robert Daly/OJO Images/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/helping-students-adversely-affected-school-closures-secretary-devos-announces-broad-flexibilities-states-cancel-testing-during-national-emergency">Education Department</a> is letting states cancel standardized tests. The move is a practical one: <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2020/04/21/coronavirus-schools-reopen-closures-fall-2020/5167726002/">School buildings across the nation are closed</a> due to the coronavirus pandemic, even though distance learning efforts are widespread.</p>
<p>As a result, 2020 is the first year without federally mandated standardized testing in nearly two decades. Washington has required all states to use these tests to evaluate students, teachers, principals, schools and entire school systems, first in accordance with accountability measures shaped by the 2002 <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/schools/nochild/nclb.html">No Child Left Behind Act</a> and later under the 2015 <a href="https://www.ed.gov/essa?src=rn">Every Student Succeeds Act</a>. </p>
<p>Until now, students in <a href="https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/your-childs-rights/basics-about-childs-rights/every-student-succeeds-act-essa-what-you-need-to-know">third through eighth grade</a> were taking standardized tests annually for language arts and math, and then at least once again in high school. In addition, they took at least one science standardized test in elementary, middle and high school. All told, not counting practice sessions and drills, students <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED569198">spend between 20-25 hours a year</a> taking standardized tests. By the time many Americans graduate from high school they’ve taken approximately 112 of them.</p>
<p>As an <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=VCyO-rYAAAAJ&hl=en">educational researcher</a> who explores the concept of assessment in my book “<a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781475812930/Teaching-with-Purpose-An-Inquiry-into-the-Who-Why-And-How-We-Teach">Teaching with Purpose: An Inquiry into the Who, Why, and How We Teach</a>” and the father of two school-aged children, I do believe students should be assessed on a regular basis. But I wonder whether they are taking too many standardized tests and if there are better ways to evaluate whether students are on track.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332510/original/file-20200504-83725-1txo2l8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C33%2C5531%2C3009&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332510/original/file-20200504-83725-1txo2l8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C33%2C5531%2C3009&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/332510/original/file-20200504-83725-1txo2l8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332510/original/file-20200504-83725-1txo2l8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332510/original/file-20200504-83725-1txo2l8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332510/original/file-20200504-83725-1txo2l8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332510/original/file-20200504-83725-1txo2l8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/332510/original/file-20200504-83725-1txo2l8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Between kindergarten and high school, students take more than 100 standardized tests.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/exam-royalty-free-image/470151253">gece33/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Evaluating teachers</h2>
<p>States get to decide how their public schools use standardized test scores when they <a href="https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2017/11/15/are-states-changing-course-on-teacher-evaluation.html">evaluate teachers</a>. For example, scores in New Mexico count as 35% toward evaluation, while Florida school districts choose how much weight they give test scores for this purpose. Some states, including Alaska, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina and Oklahoma no longer include scores in their system of teacher evaluation.</p>
<p>There are states, including Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi, that have <a href="https://www.ecs.org/wp-content/uploads/State-Info-Request-Teacher-Evaluations-During-COVID-19-Closures.pdf">suspended or waived their teacher evaluations</a> altogether for the 2019-2020 school year. Others, such as Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania have waived some of their requirements. And still others, such as Ohio, Texas and Virginia have granted school systems flexibility and discretion.</p>
<h2>Guiding instruction</h2>
<p>Teachers may use <a href="https://www.ericdigests.org/2003-4/standardized-test.html">test data</a> to guide instruction. For example, if a student gets a low score on a portion of a standardized test, the teacher might focus on that area of weakness to better meet the needs of that student through individualized or small group instruction. However, this practice isn’t always helpful because <a href="https://inservice.ascd.org/can-standardized-tests-inform-instruction/">as many as four months can elapse</a> between when students take tests and teachers get to see their scores.</p>
<h2>Telling parents about their child’s progress</h2>
<p>At least in theory, standardized test scores are supposed to let parents and other guardians know if their children are on track. In practice, that’s not always the case. It’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/want-to-understand-your-childs-test-scores-heres-what-to-ignore-62155">usually quite challenging</a> for anyone unfamiliar with educational terms and metrics to decipher what the results indicate.</p>
<h2>Alternatives</h2>
<p>Standardized testing is a fraught issue. Many educators and parents are concerned that there are <a href="https://theconversation.com/test-data-misuse-reaches-absurd-levels-42585">too many of them and that the scores are misused</a>. Other widespread concerns are that schools are narrowing the curriculum by <a href="http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/mar11/vol68/num06/High-Stakes_Testing_Narrows_the_Curriculum.aspx">overemphasizing subjects like math and reading</a> and that high-stakes testing is <a href="https://theconversation.com/stressed-out-the-psychological-effects-of-tests-on-primary-school-children-58913">making children suffer high levels of anxiety</a>. </p>
<p>Many teachers and educational researchers question <a href="https://www.epi.org/publication/bp278/">whether test scores say anything about teacher performance</a> and whether the <a href="https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/11/29/13testcosts.h32.html">costs of administering them</a> are justified.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, school systems can’t function without assessing their students and teachers. They will need to figure out how to proceed without standardized tests.</p>
<p>Moving forward, in my view, school systems and other authorities can take advantage of this remarkable time to <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/01/06/371659141/what-schools-could-use-instead-of-standardized-tests">seek alternatives</a> to standardized tests. One good option is a portfolio-based assessment system that includes a diverse range of student work, along with systematically giving students <a href="https://ncte.org/statement/formative-assessment/">immediate feedback</a> on their work. </p>
<p>For a broader sense of whether all students are learning, I think that the <a href="https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/">National Assessment of Educational Progress</a>, also known as the Nation’s Report Card, is very valuable in providing data on how students are progressing in reading and math. Large representative samples of fourth and eighth graders who attend public and private schools take this standardized test every other year.</p>
<p>[<em>You’re smart and curious about the world. So are The Conversation’s authors and editors.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=youresmart">You can read us daily by subscribing to our newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/137049/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James D. Kirylo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Washington has made all states use these tests to evaluate students, teachers, principals, schools and entire school systems for nearly two decades.James D. Kirylo, Professor of Education, University of South CarolinaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/748072017-04-27T01:51:13Z2017-04-27T01:51:13ZFederal role in education has a long history<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/166909/original/file-20170426-2838-1b35jhj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C307%2C3062%2C2342&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Though many of Thomas Jefferson's educational policies were never passed during his lifetime, they became the foundation of federal education today.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AThomas_Jefferson_by_Mather_Brown%2C_1786_-_DSC03165.JPG">Portrait by Mather Brown / Wikimedia Commons</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/04/26/record-press-call-education-federalism-executive-order">has directed</a> the United States Department of Education to evaluate whether the federal government has “overstepped its legal authority” in the field of education. This is not a new issue in American politics.</p>
<p>Ever since the Department of Education became a Cabinet-level agency in 1979, opposition to federalized education has been a popular rallying cry among conservatives. <a href="http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ684842.pdf#page=2">Ronald Reagan advocated</a> to dismantle the department while campaigning for his presidency, and many others since then have called for more power to be put back into the states’ hands when it comes to educational policy. In February of this year, <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/899/text">legislation was introduced</a> to eliminate the Department of Education entirely.</p>
<p>So, what is the role of the state versus the federal government in the world of K-12 education?</p>
<p>As a researcher of education policy and politics, I have seen that people are divided on the role that the federal government should play in K-12 education – a role that has changed over the course of history.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/166910/original/file-20170426-2831-4oqj0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/166910/original/file-20170426-2831-4oqj0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166910/original/file-20170426-2831-4oqj0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166910/original/file-20170426-2831-4oqj0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166910/original/file-20170426-2831-4oqj0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166910/original/file-20170426-2831-4oqj0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166910/original/file-20170426-2831-4oqj0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">President Donald Trump holds the signed Education Federalism Executive Order. Wednesday, April 26, 2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Andrew Harnik</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Growth of public education in states</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/bill-of-rights-transcript">10th Amendment</a> to the United States Constitution states:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This leaves the power to create schools and a system for education in the hands of individual states, rather than the central national government. Today, all 50 states provide public schooling to their young people – with 50 approaches to education within the borders of one nation.</p>
<p>Public schooling on a state level began in 1790, when Pennsylvania became the first state to <a href="https://isminc.com/pdf/free/administrators-faculty/history_education.pdf#page=3">require free education</a>. This service was extended only to poor families, assuming that wealthy people could afford to pay for their own education. New York followed suit in 1805. In 1820, Massachusetts was the first state to <a href="https://www.raceforward.org/research/reports/historical-timeline-public-education-us">have a tuition-free high school for all</a>, and also the first to require compulsory education.</p>
<p>By the late 1800s, public education had spread to most states, in a movement often referred to as the <a href="http://education.stateuniversity.com/pages/1871/Common-School-Movement.html">common school movement</a>. After World War I, urban populations swelled, and vocational education and secondary education became <a href="http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/lkatz/files/why_the_united_states_led_in_education_lessons_from_secondary_school_expansion_1910_to_1940_1.pdf">part of the American landscape</a>. By 1930, <a href="https://oregonstate.edu/instruct/ed416/ae4.html">every state</a> had some sort of compulsory education law. This led to increased control of schools by cities and states.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/166911/original/file-20170426-2843-iflrcn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/166911/original/file-20170426-2843-iflrcn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166911/original/file-20170426-2843-iflrcn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166911/original/file-20170426-2843-iflrcn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166911/original/file-20170426-2843-iflrcn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=594&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166911/original/file-20170426-2843-iflrcn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=594&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166911/original/file-20170426-2843-iflrcn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=594&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Massachusetts was the first state to offer tuition-free schooling for all students.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_English_High_School#/media/File:EnglishSchool_KingsBoston1881.png">Artist: George Clough / Wikipedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Federal role in education</h2>
<p>As for the federal government’s role, education is not specifically addressed in the Constitution, but a historical precedent of central government involvement does exist.</p>
<p>In 1787, the Continental Congress, the central government of the United States between 1776 and 1787, passed the <a href="http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/document/northwest-ordinance/">Northwest Ordinance</a>, which became the governing document for Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin and part of Minnesota. </p>
<p>The ordinance included a provision encouraging the creation of schools as a key component of “good government and the happiness of mankind.” Just two years earlier, the <a href="http://www.in.gov/history/2478.htm">Land Ordinance of 1785</a> required land to be reserved in townships for the building of schools.</p>
<p>The role of the federal government in general grew much larger after the Great Depression and World War II, but this growth <a href="http://lwv.org/content/history-federal-government-public-education-where-have-we-been-and-how-did-we-get-here">largely excluded K-12 education</a> until the 1960s. In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X024003004">included education policy</a> in his vision of a “<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/lyndonbjohnson">Great Society</a>.”</p>
<h2>Elementary and Secondary Education Act</h2>
<p>In 1965, President Johnson signed the <a href="https://federaleducationpolicy.wordpress.com/2011/02/19/1965-elementary-and-secondary-education-act/">Elementary and Secondary Education Act</a> (ESEA) into law. This law <a href="http://www.edweek.org/ew/section/multimedia/the-nations-main-k-12-law-a-timeline.html">decidedly changed the role of the federal government</a> in the world of K-12 education. </p>
<p>ESEA doubled the amount of federal expenditures for K-12 education, worked to change the relationship between states and the central government in the education arena, called for equal treatment of students no matter where they reside and attempted to improve reading and math competency for children in poverty. </p>
<p>ESEA was passed with the intention of bridging <a href="http://prde.upress.virginia.edu/content/WarOnPoverty">a clear gap</a> between children in poverty and those from privilege. <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/index.html?exp=0">Title I</a> of the ESEA, which is still referenced frequently in K-12 education policy, is a major provision of the bill, which distributed federal funding to districts with low-income families.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/166912/original/file-20170426-2822-1qvk8t4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/166912/original/file-20170426-2822-1qvk8t4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166912/original/file-20170426-2822-1qvk8t4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166912/original/file-20170426-2822-1qvk8t4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=414&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166912/original/file-20170426-2822-1qvk8t4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166912/original/file-20170426-2822-1qvk8t4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166912/original/file-20170426-2822-1qvk8t4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=520&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">President George W. Bush passed one of the most well-known reauthorizations of ESEA in 2001, with No Child Left Behind.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>ESEA today</h2>
<p>ESEA is still the law of the United States today. However, the law has required periodic reauthorization, which has led to significant changes since 1965. One of the most well-known reauthorizations was President George W. Bush’s <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/107th-congress/house-bill/1">No Child Left Behind</a> (NCLB) Act of 2001. NCLB called for 100 percent proficiency in math and reading scores nationwide by 2014, and expanded the role of standardized testing to measure student achievement.</p>
<p>Under President Barack Obama, <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-assessment/index.html">Race to the Top</a> was established, requiring states to compete for federal grants through a point system, which rewarded certain educational policies and achievements. This resulted in nationwide changes in the way teachers are evaluated, and placed even more emphasis on test results.</p>
<p>In 2015, Obama signed the <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/1177">Every Student Succeeds Act</a> (ESSA) into law. This is the latest reauthorization of ESEA, and <a href="http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/12/07/the-every-student-succeeds-act-explained.html">returns some federal power</a> over education back to states, including evaluation measures and <a href="https://theconversation.com/will-the-new-education-law-allow-for-teachers-with-lower-qualifications-54999">teacher quality standards</a>.</p>
<h2>The debate continues</h2>
<p>Since the 1980s, a growing trend in the field of K-12 education has been the growth of <a href="http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/choice/">school choice and charter schools</a>. Every state has its own policy regarding these issues, but during the presidential campaign of 2016, President Trump assured that his administration <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/09/08/trump-pitches-20-billion-education-plan-at-ohio-charter-school-that-received-poor-marks-from-state/">would provide federal money</a> to help students attend a school of their choice. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos <a href="https://theconversation.com/who-is-betsy-devos-70843">has dedicated her career</a> to the cause of school choice.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/166908/original/file-20170426-2834-k98kof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/166908/original/file-20170426-2834-k98kof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166908/original/file-20170426-2834-k98kof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166908/original/file-20170426-2834-k98kof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=419&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166908/original/file-20170426-2834-k98kof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166908/original/file-20170426-2834-k98kof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/166908/original/file-20170426-2834-k98kof.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=526&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One of Trump’s first budget proposals called for significant reductions to the Department of Education.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Jon Elswick</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On April 26, President Trump signed the “<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/04/26/record-press-call-education-federalism-executive-order">Education Federalism Executive Order</a>,” which requires the United States Department of Education to spend 300 days evaluating the role of the federal government in education. The <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2017-04-26/donald-trump-to-order-education-department-to-study-government-overreach">purpose of the order</a> is to “determine where the Federal Government has unlawfully overstepped state and local control.” This comes on the back of a proposed <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/trump-seeks-to-slash-education-department-but-make-big-push-for-school-choice/2017/03/15/63b8b6f8-09a1-11e7-b77c-0047d15a24e0_story.html?tid=a_inl&utm_term=.896aa1c3cf95">13.5 percent cut</a> to the national education budget.</p>
<p>It’s not yet known what the results of this study might conclude. But, in my opinion, it may impact ESEA and the current funding structure that has been the norm for over 50 years, dramatically impacting funding for students in poverty and with special needs.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74807/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dustin Hornbeck does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Trump has ordered a task force to look into the federal government’s role in schools. Where does this executive order fit in the country’s long history of federal versus state educational policies?Dustin Hornbeck, Ph.D. Student in Educational Leadership and Policy, Miami UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/658692016-11-09T11:06:39Z2016-11-09T11:06:39ZAre wealthy donors influencing the public school agenda?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144904/original/image-20161107-4711-ztg3ae.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A campaign for Los Angeles Unified School District school board candidates. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/local99/8554994975/in/photolist-e2YzXn-e2YA84-9eURCL-9chSab-e35hi1-e2YzTv-ayha1Q-e35huU-e2YAdX-e35h5w-e35hbS-e35gVy-e35hmm-e2YzFr-e2YAma-e35hwd-67s9Nw-e35hrh-e35h9j-e2YApM-e35hcY-e35hjf-e2YA2P-e2YzJk-e2YA9H-e2YzLn-Jtmtf-e35ho1-e35hej-e2YzYR-e2YzQP-e35gSN-6RxVaY-e35h2s-e2YzMX-9vMoNQ-suGwU9-e35hpy-apfKHG-j2ybSo-j2v9DE-j2vnro-j2uKj2-e35h4u-8LAmzc-bjog9-9kwJUR-vMQG5J-k2H3L-4nKVq">SEIU Local 99 | Education Workers United Follow</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>School boards have often been portrayed as old-fashioned and dysfunctional, so much so that <a href="http://educationnext.org/lost-at-sea/">some school reform leaders have advocated</a> for eliminating school boards altogether. </p>
<p>It is no surprise then that school board elections have mostly been known as being <a href="http://educationnext.org/the-union-label-on-the-ballot-box/">sleepy affairs</a>. Most candidates in the past have been known to <a href="https://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/HessFeb2011.pdf">spend less than US$1,000</a> toward campaign expenses such as campaign literature and name recognition efforts. In 2010, for example, <a href="https://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/HessFeb2011.pdf">less than 3 percent</a> of candidates reported spending more than $25,000. </p>
<p>However, this reality, as we have known it, is changing. Of late, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2012/11/04/school-board-races-attract-big-outside-money/">out-of-state donors are writing</a> very large checks to support candidates and <a href="http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/05/23/32adv-local.h31.html">political action committees (PACs)</a> in local school board elections. Yes, there are PACs now involved in local school board elections. </p>
<p>Recent school board elections in places such as <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/big-money-bad-media-secret-agendas-welcome-americas-wildest-school-board-race/">Denver</a>, <a href="http://www.indystar.com/story/news/education/2014/10/27/behind-five-figure-fundraising-ips-board-races/17980029/">Indianapolis</a>, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-lausd-election-money-20150515-story.html">Los Angeles</a>, <a href="http://www.startribune.com/out-of-state-money-pouring-into-minneapolis-school-board-race/280863712/">Minneapolis</a> and <a href="http://www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2012/10/orleans_parish_school_board_ca.html">New Orleans</a> have seen candidates routinely raising at least 50 times as much money as the 2010 national average. </p>
<p>Why is this happening? And how might the involvement of these large wealthy donors change our local schools?</p>
<p>We are scholars of politics and education. Our research shows that such large donations have the potential to change who is elected to govern and, as a result, how our schools are reformed. </p>
<h2>Why do school boards matter?</h2>
<p>First, let’s look at the unique arrangement of power in the U.S. education system to understanding why this new infusion of funding is significant. </p>
<p>The U.S. education system is highly decentralized, with control of schools spread across over <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d12/tables/dt12_098.asp">13,000 independent, local school districts</a>. Most boards, comprising five to eight members, <a href="https://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/HessFeb2011.pdf">enjoy considerable power</a> <a href="https://www.nsba.org/about-us/frequently-asked-questions">over many areas,</a> <a href="https://www.aei.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/20060228_SchoolBoards.pdf">including</a> whom to hire, what to teach, when to hold school and how to allocate budgets.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144896/original/image-20161107-4704-1c6wsy8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144896/original/image-20161107-4704-1c6wsy8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144896/original/image-20161107-4704-1c6wsy8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144896/original/image-20161107-4704-1c6wsy8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144896/original/image-20161107-4704-1c6wsy8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144896/original/image-20161107-4704-1c6wsy8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144896/original/image-20161107-4704-1c6wsy8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">State of Maryland school board meeting.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mdgovpics/6973055520/in/photolist-bCbJtb-4x9RNU-oR7oB7-sq8LAW-qLARnd-hcKA2y-bCbCDq-bCbWwY-bR6oNz-bCbLKw-bR6Tpt-bCbZZm-bR6Pj8-bR6E7P-bCbStq-bCc97A-bR6tTk-bCcavG-bR6JZ6-bR6Lui-bR6FJe-bCc7VY-bR6BY4-bR6Rpa-6Hz6yp-bCc2uS-bR6LMP-bR6jhx-bR6rHt-CqJyt-sqg7q2-4TgSjk-bCbWKG-bR6DLv-bR6KTa-bCbRBS-bCbXSf-bCbMTC-bCbFn9-bCc8vs-bCbZHq-bCbLn7-bCbR2b-8Zdkbv-bCc1E3-bCc64f-bR6Jpn-bCbEj7-bBLYhZ-bR6N4V">Maryland GovPics</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>It is true that of late, the decision-making power of school boards has been curtailed by recent national (e.g., <a href="http://www2.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml">No Child Left Behind</a> and <a href="http://www.ed.gov/essa">Every Student Succeeds Act</a>) and state (e.g., <a href="http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED473720">state takeover laws</a>) policies. For example, when NCLB came up with its own guidelines for “highly qualified teachers,” school boards had to ensure that their definition for teachers’ qualifications aligned with federal standards and not only with local priorities and standards. Ignoring these federal guidelines was accompanied by the potential loss of federal funding. </p>
<p>Even with these recent limitations, however, school boards nonetheless remain important. They can modify, regulate, innovate and resist state and federal policy demands. </p>
<p>This ability to resist or modify policy guidelines was evident recently after the Obama administration released its <a href="http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-201605-title-ix-transgender.pdf">“Letter on Transgender Students,”</a> which advised school districts to treat transgender students based on their expressed gender identity rather than their sex assignment at birth. </p>
<p>School boards across the country were called upon by local citizens to resist this policy. In some cases, <a href="http://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/education/2016/02/23/lgbt-brevard-school-meeting-draws-crowds/80814556/">local school boards voted</a> to not comply with the Obama administrations guidelines. </p>
<p>Thus despite their relatively low profile, school boards have the power to dramatically shape local educational experiences by modifying, or even at times ignoring, state and federal rules and regulations. </p>
<h2>How widespread is outside money?</h2>
<p>This ability to alter or resist state and national policy may be the motivating force behind the recent investment by wealthy, national donors. </p>
<p>To examine this rise in donations to local school board candidates, <a href="http://uar.sagepub.com/content/early/2016/08/09/1078087416663004.full.pdf?ijkey=VwXQR0XzBxo8aFx&keytype=finite">we investigated over 18,000 campaign contributions</a> in local education elections between 2008 and 2013 in five cities (Bridgeport, Denver, Indianapolis, Los Angeles and New Orleans). We selected these five sites for examination because they were geographically and politically diverse and yet all five had school board elections where national donors became involved. </p>
<p>We found that donations from outside donors were widespread and significant. In the 2012-2013 elections, for example, we found that large outside donors gave over $2.8 million to school board candidates and committees, comprising 44 percent of all funds contributed by individuals. <a href="http://uar.sagepub.com/content/early/2016/08/09/1078087416663004.full.pdf?ijkey=VwXQR0XzBxo8aFx&keytype=finite">This represents a significant increase</a> from 2009-2010, when large outside donors comprised only 4 percent of donations in the cities we examined. </p>
<p>The figure below shows the growth of out-of-state donations by individuals in each city. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144610/original/image-20161104-27925-ymve9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144610/original/image-20161104-27925-ymve9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144610/original/image-20161104-27925-ymve9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144610/original/image-20161104-27925-ymve9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144610/original/image-20161104-27925-ymve9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=584&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144610/original/image-20161104-27925-ymve9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=584&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144610/original/image-20161104-27925-ymve9d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=584&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In-state vs. out-of-state individual donations by city and by year.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Data Source: Authors’ Data</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Who’s making the contributions?</h2>
<p>By examining publicly available campaign finance disclosure reports, which are filed by all candidates, including school board candidates, and list each donor and the amount donated, we were able to track a list of wealthy donors who contributed at least $1,000 in one election cycle (<a href="https://ethics.lacity.org/campaignfinance.cfm">see here</a> for an example of how to access these data). In total, we found 96 large national donors involved in education philanthropy and education reform. These donors included, for example:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/reed-hastings-netflix-bio-2015-8">Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix</a>, who donated in Los Angeles in 2011 ($150,000) and 2013 ($100,000) and in New Orleans in 2013 ($2,500). The high-tech billionaire is active in supporting the development of new charter schools and founded educational organizations such as NewSchools.org and Aspire Public Schools. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144898/original/image-20161107-4683-10ajx7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144898/original/image-20161107-4683-10ajx7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144898/original/image-20161107-4683-10ajx7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144898/original/image-20161107-4683-10ajx7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144898/original/image-20161107-4683-10ajx7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144898/original/image-20161107-4683-10ajx7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144898/original/image-20161107-4683-10ajx7e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Reed Hastings.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/re-publica/16760697834/in/photolist-rx5XwS-stYCEg-scMne8-9jdZbs-j3EXbe-5BQvAf-srNyUo-q8qJnA-egnoEy-scEEdw-scEsMY-9jasn7-A5FGZ-eaTzdN-fvZNk6-sud3qH-9UgLqZ-eaTAFf-eaMYHV-eaMXbP-eaMY8a-iZu339-2AJju-eggDGg-5BQvAC-2WrM-egnoUA-sGZuJY-n9ETU-61T2xM-5BLdKZ-9UgLr6-82WugK-sccaXs-xkS59-5BLdNg-82ZCUA-9UgLr8-6qW2ct-4SeARf-5BQvzq-47aZAA-476V2t-9TvUCF-snKfP-9UgLri-5qJi5-sK7ZVJ-5BQvwQ-5BQvz1">re:publica</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=4509275&privcapId=4509225">Alan</a> and Jennifer Fournier, who donated in Indianapolis in 2012 ($4,000), Los Angeles in 2013 ($2,000) and New Orleans in 2012 ($2,200). Alan Fournier is <a href="http://www.insidephilanthropy.com/wall-street-donors/alan-fournier.html">founder</a> of Pennant Capital Management, which manages $6 billion in assets. Alan Fournier cofounded (with <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/2016/08/15/david-tepper-hedge-fund-manager-on-guard-toward-stock-market.html">David Tepper</a>, a hedge funds manager), <a href="http://b4njkids.org/">Better Education for Kids</a>, which advocates for tenure reform and greater teacher accountability. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.citybridgefoundation.org/team/katherine-bradley/">Katherine Bradley</a>, the president of CityBridge Foundation, which “finds, incubates and invests in the most promising practices in public education,” who donated in Denver in 2009 ($500) and 2013 ($6,500), New Orleans in 2012 ($2,500) and Los Angeles in 2013 ($2,000). </p>
<p><a href="http://www.forbes.com/profile/laurene-powell-jobs/">Laurene Powell Jobs</a>, wife to the late Steve Jobs and founder of Emerson Collective, who donated to Los Angeles in 2009 ($1,000) and 2013 ($103,000), New Orleans in 2012 ($2,500) and Denver in 2009 ($2,525). She is active in school reform and is a board member for several education nonprofits including Teach for America, the New Schools Venture Fund, and Stand for Children. </p>
<h2>Could the top 0.01 percent change local schools?</h2>
<p>Outside money may not be a bad thing if the values and interests of donors align with residents in the communities. It might even be a good thing if outside donations raise the visibility of school board elections, so often plagued by disengagement.</p>
<p>Perhaps bigger campaign war chests and close election battles will fuel engagement in school board elections, increase voter turnout and increase awareness of education issues. But these presumed benefits rest on the assumption that these elite donors share the same values and interests of the local community. </p>
<p>Research suggests that this assumption is unlikely to hold because policy preferences among the very wealthy differ from most Americans. Research by prominent academics working on economic inequality, <a href="http://faculty.wcas.northwestern.edu/%7Ejnd260/cab/CAB2012%20-%20Page1.pdf">Benjamin I. Page, Larry M. Bartels and Jason Seawright</a>, captures these differences. These scholars found that,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“[o]n many important issues, the preferences of the wealthy appear to differ markedly from those of the general public.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>These different preferences are borne out in our data as well. We found that <a href="http://uar.sagepub.com/content/early/2016/08/09/1078087416663004.full.pdf?ijkey=VwXQR0XzBxo8aFx&keytype=finite">national donors favored</a> “reform” candidates, or, put simply, those who supported policies such as school choice, performance-based accountability and adoption of the Common Core of State Standards. </p>
<p>School choice offers parents the ability to choose a their child’s public school rather than being assigned one based on one’s home location. Performance-based accountability plans generally require that school or teacher performance evaluations be based upon student standardized test scores. Schools or teachers <a href="http://www.edweek.org/rc/articles/2008/03/04/sow0304.h27.html">may face sanctions</a> if these targets are not met. The <a href="http://www.corestandards.org/about-the-standards/development-process/">Common Core of State Standards (CCSS)</a>, adopted voluntarily by states, outline what students should know and be able to do at the end of each grade. </p>
<p>We found that candidates who received union support <a href="http://uar.sagepub.com/content/early/2016/08/09/1078087416663004.full.pdf?ijkey=VwXQR0XzBxo8aFx&keytype=finite">received almost no support</a> from large, national donors. This targeted funding ultimately shaped, at least in some cases, the focus of the election debate.</p>
<h2>Here is why it matters</h2>
<p>The concentration of funds on candidates with particular policy agendas can squeeze out other policy issues. For example, a candidate we interviewed who was very interested in restoring adult education programs for immigrant parents noted,</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“It [money] changes the discourse…their [the reform candidates] message is the only message. Not just the dominant message anymore. It’s the only message that people are hearing.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>While this candidates wanted to focus on the importance of providing adult education programs for immigrant parents, he felt his message about the importance of this issue was unable to compete with the messages being put forth by the reform candidates because he lacked funding to promote his policy agenda. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144895/original/image-20161107-4669-113sdsr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144895/original/image-20161107-4669-113sdsr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144895/original/image-20161107-4669-113sdsr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144895/original/image-20161107-4669-113sdsr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144895/original/image-20161107-4669-113sdsr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144895/original/image-20161107-4669-113sdsr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144895/original/image-20161107-4669-113sdsr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">What changes in public schools when wealthy donors get involved?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/6233339252/in/photolist-auPuAq-eowcsm-nXst2t-gZxNxQ-aDoLpP-7NTPGn-nocbWr-dMbHcy-7z7nA8-pdkaV2-aEdWc5-6NzxWW-6Nzx1A-5wCB3M-8UAvRs-eKsFxB-ajCYNC-rk2pPy-8ruiG5-o6UDG7-dz27wr-enWtJ8-8rqyqn-4ahAgw-7zeVz-5CKuKa-nocygt-aDoUpH-5PR25T-5vmkcz-cbLMj1-8Gn5bq-3Rbvct-8zWhxG-fzk4cn-Ma595-nxNiDK-mYoBUQ-5HtRMq-oHQAkx-9YU2Bc-8MKniF-6r5HQf-9a6x89-7FMndG-newNtp-aa1tWH-dMaX4L-nXmJB-eM7jWY">woodleywonderworks</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In our interviews, candidates who received outside funds noted that additional funding enabled them to reach voters more often and through multiple strategies. One candidate supported by large, national donors explained that in addition to mailings and yard signs, more traditional forms of reaching voters, the additional funds enabled him to hire a professional videographer who filmed and edited three vignettes that were shown on TV: one at his home with his family, one in a local library in the community and one in a classroom. </p>
<p>Even traditional forms of contact were given an upgrade. For example, a candidate noted that her materials were “more polished” with “nice photos,” something other candidates were unable to do because of a lack of funds. </p>
<p>Some candidates we interviewed felt voters benefited from this, whereas others worried that voters were “inundated” with information from just a few candidates. One candidate described how a friend received seven mailers from a candidate supported by outside funding in a single day. Candidates without this level of funding repeatedly noted that their message couldn’t compete. </p>
<h2>Increasing polarization</h2>
<p>As with state and national elections, we heard from several candidates that outside donations were also leading to increased conflict during campaigns and less willingness to compromise once elected. </p>
<p>One candidate described the polarization of the local board as being “very much like our federal government” where board members were either “a charter school candidate or a union backed candidate” and when on the board, “nobody can cross the line.” </p>
<p>As a result, some expressed concern that voters were becoming more cynical and less confident in their local public schools.</p>
<p>One candidate shared that she heard from voters on several occasions to “please stop calling” because “I’ve already gotten 10 calls this week about the election.” This candidate was concerned that disengagement in the form of low voter turnout was a direct result of citizens being turned off by the election.</p>
<h2>What does this mean for public schools?</h2>
<p>We certainly support greater attention to improving our public education system. But reform takes time. It takes compromise. It takes understanding of the day-to-day realities of local schools. </p>
<p>The old fashioned school boards, with all of their faults, were often slow and pragmatic, a force that could shield school leaders, teachers and students from broader political forces that whip the local agenda back and forth. </p>
<p>It remains to be seen whether school boards are strengthened by the nationalization of local school board elections or whether the injection of national funds will hinder the ability of schools to improve.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/65869/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Jacobsen receives funding from the Spencer Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>The Spencer Foundation provided us with a small grant for research on this topic.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sarah Reckhow receives funding from the Spencer Foundation and W.T. Grant Foundation. </span></em></p>The involvement of large wealthy donors in local schools is influencing who gets elected to govern on school boards. Why does it matter?Rebecca Jacobsen, Associate Professor of Teacher Education, Michigan State UniversityJeffrey Henig, Professor of Political Science and Education, Teachers College, Columbia UniversitySarah Reckhow, Assistant Professor of Political Science , Michigan State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/621552016-09-30T01:18:23Z2016-09-30T01:18:23ZWant to understand your child’s test scores? Here’s what to ignore<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139806/original/image-20160929-27026-zjhukn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What do you need to know about test score reports?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-425607436/stock-photo-mother-helping-daughter-with-her-homework-at-the-table-in-the-dining-room.html?src=1d99UY_Zz1bXOZR4tlBnTg-10-40">Mother image via www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Now that the first month of school is over, parents can get ready for the next milestone of the school year – they will soon get reports of the state tests their children took last year.</p>
<p>My estimates show that approximately 26 million students in public schools took statewide tests in reading and math last year. Many of them also took statewide tests in science. These tests provide important information to parents about how well their children are doing in school. </p>
<p>However, my research also shows that when parents receive their child’s test score report, they may have a tough time separating the important information from the statistical gibberish.</p>
<p>What’s more, the results might not even give them accurate information about their child’s academic growth.</p>
<h2>Is your child ‘proficient’?</h2>
<p>The No Child Left Behind law, enacted in 2002, required all states to set “achievement level standards” in reading and math for grades three through eight, and for one grade in high school, typically 10th or 11th grade. States were also required to develop tests to measure students’ level of <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/legislative_sap_107-1_hr1-r">“proficiency”</a> on each test. </p>
<p>The new federal law passed in December 2015, the <a href="http://www.ed.gov/essa">Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)</a>, will continue this practice. </p>
<p>As a result, the test reports parents receive classify children into achievement levels such as “basic” or “proficient.” Each state decides what these classifications are called, but at least one category must signify “proficient.” </p>
<p>These achievement level categories are described on the test score reports, and so this information is easily understood by parents. For example, I find it helpful each year to see if my sons reach proficiency in each subject area.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139810/original/image-20160929-27037-up5dft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139810/original/image-20160929-27037-up5dft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139810/original/image-20160929-27037-up5dft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139810/original/image-20160929-27037-up5dft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139810/original/image-20160929-27037-up5dft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=579&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139810/original/image-20160929-27037-up5dft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=579&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139810/original/image-20160929-27037-up5dft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=579&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How is student growth being measured?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-352138571/stock-photo-boy-climbing-the-stairs-made-of-books.html?src=GDQj56a0VhPLyUbHVilZ9g-1-40">Student image via www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But children’s test scores in a given year, and their achievement level, are not the only information reported in some states. A new statistical index, called a “student growth percentile,” <a href="http://kuow.org/post/state-releases-new-student-achievement-statistics-experts-balk">is finding its way into the reports</a> sent home to parents in 11 states. Twenty-seven states use this index for evaluating teachers as well. </p>
<p>Although a measure of students’ “growth” or progress sounds like a good idea, student growth percentiles have yet to be supported by research. In fact <a href="http://www.umass.edu/remp/news_SGPsResearchBrief.html">several studies suggest</a> they <a href="http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED563445.pdf">do not provide accurate descriptions</a> of student progress and teacher effectiveness. </p>
<h2>What does it mean?</h2>
<p>What exactly are “student growth percentiles”?</p>
<p>They are indexes proposed in 2008 by <a href="http://nepc.colorado.edu/author/betebenner-damian-w">Damian W. Betebenner</a>, a statistician who suggested they be used as a descriptive measure of <a href="http://www.nciea.org/publication_PDFs/normative_criterion_growth_DB08.pdf">students’ “academic growth”</a> from one school year to the next. The idea was to describe students’ progress in comparison to their peers.</p>
<p>Like the growth charts pediatricians use to describe children’s height and weight, student growth percentiles range from a low of one to a high of 99. However, their calculation involves a lot more error than physical measurement such as height and weight. Our research at the University of Massachusetts Amherst indicates <a href="http://www.umass.edu/remp/pdf/WellsSireciBahryEE_in_SGPs.pdf">substantial error</a> in their calculation. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139797/original/image-20160929-27014-ql2gha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139797/original/image-20160929-27014-ql2gha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139797/original/image-20160929-27014-ql2gha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139797/original/image-20160929-27014-ql2gha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139797/original/image-20160929-27014-ql2gha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139797/original/image-20160929-27014-ql2gha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139797/original/image-20160929-27014-ql2gha.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The scores do not actually measure children’s growth.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-140540089/stock-photo-school-kids-using-laptop-at-lesson.html?src=uKm7oF4uF6kcagm27-o61A-1-74">Children image via www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Student growth percentiles are derived from test scores, which are not perfectly accurate descriptions of students’ academic proficiency: Test scores are influenced by many factors, such as the questions asked on a particular day, students’ temperament, their level of engagement when taking the test or just the methods used to score their answers. </p>
<p>Each student’s growth percentile is calculated using at least two different test scores, typically a year or more apart. The most recent test scores of a student are then compared to the most recent test scores of students who had similar scores in previous years. This is to see which of those students had higher or lower scores this year. </p>
<p>The problem, however, is that each of the calculations carries some measurement error. Further calculations only compound that error. So much so that the results end up with twice as much error. <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/emip.12062/abstract">No statistical sophistication</a> can erase this error. </p>
<p>The question is, why are so many states using such an unreliable measure?</p>
<h2>Using it for accountability</h2>
<p>The use of student growth percentiles is due in part to a desire to see how much students learn in a particular year, and to link that progress to accountability systems such as teacher evaluation. </p>
<p>In 2010, the <a href="http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop/phase1-resources.html">Race-to-the-Top grant competition</a> invited states to come up with innovative ways of using test scores to evaluate teachers, which paved the way for this new measure of “growth” to be quickly applied across many states.</p>
<p>However, the use of student growth percentiles began before research was conducted on their accuracy. Only now is there a sufficient body of research to evaluate them, and all studies point to the same conclusion – they contain a lot of error. </p>
<p>In addition to our research at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, research on the accuracy of student growth percentiles has been conducted by education nonprofits such as <a href="http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED563445.pdf">WestEd</a>, <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/emip.12062/abstract;jsessionid=EE60D9A2ECD66164111467AE5D35F001.f04t01">Educational Testing Service</a> <a href="http://epm.sagepub.com/content/early/2016/07/27/0013164416659686">and</a> other <a href="http://www.aefpweb.org/sites/default/files/webform/AEFP21.pdf">research institutions</a>. Researchers <a href="http://cepa.stanford.edu/events/jr-lockwood">J.R. Lockwood</a> and <a href="http://epm.sagepub.com/search?author1=J.+R.+Lockwood&sortspec=date&submit=Submit">Katherine E. Castellano</a> <a href="http://epm.sagepub.com/content/early/2016/07/27/0013164416659686">recently concluded</a> that “A substantial research base already notes that student growth percentile estimates for individual students have large errors.”</p>
<p>However, many states seem to be unaware of these research findings. Massachusetts even goes so far as to <a href="http://www.doe.mass.edu/mcas/2015/pgguide/g3-8-10English.pdf">classify children with growth percentiles</a> less than 40 as “lower growth” and children with growth percentiles greater than 60 as “higher growth.” </p>
<h2>Measuring teacher performance</h2>
<p>As I mentioned earlier, 27 states are using student growth percentiles to classify teachers as “effective” or “ineffective.” Research on the use of growth percentiles for this purpose indicates they could <a href="https://www.ets.org/research/policy_research_reports/publications/article/2015/juff">underestimate the performance</a> of the most effective teachers, and <a href="http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED563445.pdf">overestimate the performance</a> of the least effective teachers – the exact opposite of what these states are trying to do with their teacher evaluation systems. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139811/original/image-20160929-27058-1c00i9a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/139811/original/image-20160929-27058-1c00i9a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139811/original/image-20160929-27058-1c00i9a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139811/original/image-20160929-27058-1c00i9a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139811/original/image-20160929-27058-1c00i9a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139811/original/image-20160929-27058-1c00i9a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/139811/original/image-20160929-27058-1c00i9a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=531&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">These measures are being used for teacher performance as well.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-405849895/stock-photo-education-school-teacher-student-digital-tablet-technology-concept.html?src=jySilPadj2412PVoZS0XYw-1-41">Teacher image via www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A recent report by WestEd evaluated the use of student growth percentiles for evaluating teachers and <a href="http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED563445.pdf">concluded</a> they “did not meet a level of stability” that would be needed for such high-stakes decisions. </p>
<h2>Let’s go back to traditional measures</h2>
<p>I believe student growth percentiles have taken us a step backwards in the use of educational tests to improve student learning.</p>
<p>Traditional measures of children’s performance on educational tests, such as whether they are “proficient” in a given year and their actual test scores, give a good idea of how well they performed in math or reading in a particular year. </p>
<p>These traditional percentile ranks are still reported on many educational tests, just like they were when we as parents were in school. Traditional percentile ranks compared us to a national or state group in a given year, rather than comparing us to how other kids in the nation or state were “growing” across different tests they took in different years, as student growth percentiles attempt to do.</p>
<p>Given what we now know about student growth percentiles, my advice to parents is not only to ignore them on their children’s test score reports, but also to contact their state department of education and ask why they are reporting such an unreliable statistic. </p>
<p>Developing measures of how much students have learned over the course of a year is a good goal. Unfortunately, student growth percentiles do not do a good job of measuring that.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/62155/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Sireci does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Eleven states have introduced a new test score. Here’s what you need to know.Stephen Sireci, Professor of Educational Policy, UMass AmherstLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/549992016-03-25T09:41:03Z2016-03-25T09:41:03ZWill the new education law allow for teachers with lower qualifications?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116399/original/image-20160324-17859-ala8y7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Will the new education law help the most vulnerable kids?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gibsonsgolfer/6364640471/in/photolist-aGqrSx-edqwHo-8hae8U-3AhYfz-M6zAX-fgsvSZ-cUT1o-8ha9Y9-7k916-Fpm2F-ah5bwa-3cinC-agCAEK-agCxKa-52xgwn-7k8ZT-4P2Xd1-ePVgFH-8h6Xpc-dvbq3y-a1eKau-3rSJpd-5F3g8e-dXGJDR-agFqW5-dk9RyV-a3xe6j-bTY7RK-aWQtC-8mkPzu-7k951-66sVQy-5JRF37-oWX2LJ-agCAqr-9NR32t-6oZV6B-65n5N6-g5qA1-agCG6H-7htvt-3jZGSN-mLaHU-7k99u-8h6Wvp-fgGnPm-NrkJA-2Dvce-fHoFh-4FiGbH">Bob Cotter</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>On December 9, Congress passed the <a href="http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2015/11/esea_reauthorization_the_every.html">reauthorization</a> of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, called the <a href="http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2015/11/esea_reauthorization_the_every.html">Every Child Succeeds Act</a>. A replacement for the <a href="http://www2.ed.gov/nclb/overview/intro/execsumm.html">much criticized</a> <a href="http://www2.ed.gov/nclb/overview/intro/execsumm.html">No Child Left Behind Act of 2001</a>, the reauthorization gained support from groups as diverse as <a href="http://www.publiccharters.org/press/national-alliance-releases-statement-house-passage-student-succeeds-act/">The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools</a>, the <a href="http://www.nea.org/home/64705.htm">National Education Association</a>, the <a href="https://www.pta.org/newsevents/newsdetail.cfm?ItemNumber=4676">National Parent Teacher Association,</a> <a href="https://cdn-files.nsba.org/s3fs-public/reports/120715_NSBA_ESEA_Senate_Ltr.pdf?AWgmJxaOek35vswurnHvRFiSeXL.tzy8">The National School Boards Association</a>, the <a href="http://www.nga.org/cms/home/news-room/news-releases/2015--news-releases/col2-content/nations-governors-endorse-esea.html">National Governors Association</a> and <a href="http://www.fairtest.org/congress-vote-no-child-left-behind-overhaul">Fairtest</a>, an organization that addresses issues related to fairness and accuracy in testing. </p>
<p>With such overwhelming support, it could well be argued that it must be a sound legislation. But, is it?</p>
<p>We have been elementary and secondary school teachers as well as professors and researchers of elementary education, teacher education and teacher development for more than 35 years. And we believe that despite its efforts to redress the problems caused by NCLB, ESSA contains at least one disturbing provision. </p>
<p>We are alarmed by the section of the law that allows states to authorize the establishment of alternative-track teacher education academies, with lower standards and accountabilty for teaching qualifications.</p>
<h2>Teacher academies</h2>
<p>The support for the ESSA has largely come from its reducing much of the heavy-handed federal oversight of education. States and local school districts can now make more decisions about how best to support student learning. </p>
<p>We are happy that the ESSA <a href="http://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/king-announces-guidance-states-help-reduce-testing">supports less testing</a>. In addition, it emphasizes a “well-rounded education.” <a href="http://www.arteducators.org/advocacy/advocacy-esea-reauthorization">Students will study arts</a> alongside the academic subjects that were favored under No Child Left Behind.</p>
<p>However, our concern is the inclusion in Title II of the ESSA of language which authorizes routes to teacher certification that attempt to fast-track the preparation of teachers for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade positions. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116429/original/image-20160324-17840-1l8iwpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116429/original/image-20160324-17840-1l8iwpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116429/original/image-20160324-17840-1l8iwpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116429/original/image-20160324-17840-1l8iwpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116429/original/image-20160324-17840-1l8iwpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116429/original/image-20160324-17840-1l8iwpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116429/original/image-20160324-17840-1l8iwpz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The ESSA will reduce testing. But what about teacher certification?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/albertogp123/5843577306/in/photolist-9UnRWS-fVKsw-aDhmtY-oJBHAS-dADXAU-oN12Lt-hFhsUk-niaHHt-8bZwYd-beBA2e-5gmRgy-8bVZpF-8bZiqC-8bZieb-kiPm9T-6kv8oX-fQNLfa-cDphCL-4KgiQw-b2fiNB-9NXZsk-ctAYKo-5JsjGp-9NYaL8-5qbe5L-nHok3V-9P1XH5-qbyPUU-8bWduk-9P1ZyQ-7RiX8C-kxeLJR-KQKNj-7RiWXw-peSg9Z-7zibzw-qtTg17-raPXsA-ij1N68-hFgdyF-dq2888-9P1C7u-9LjLS2-r94UqV-8bZiz3-9P1QTS-s2NAXY-9P1GdU-9P1QBW-9P1APG">Alberto G.</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Nationwide, in order for graduates of teacher education programs based in colleges and universities to gain state certification as a teacher, the <a href="http://teach.com/where">programs must follow state requirements</a> such as required entrance and exit exams and the number of credit hours in specific subjects such as reading, math and special education. </p>
<p>In the new ESSA legislation, the envisioned fast-track academies will be exempt from states’ teacher certification requirements. </p>
<p>In other words, they do not have <a href="https://aacte.org/news-room/press-releases-statements/504-aacte-commends-congress-on-esea-reauthorization-urges-responsible-implementation">to meet the standards for accountability</a> and accreditation required of university-based teacher education programs. </p>
<p><a href="https://education.uw.edu/people/faculty/kenzeich">Kenneth Zeichner</a>, a professor of teacher education at the University of Washington at Seattle, has described this as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/12/05/the-disturbing-provisions-about-teacher-preparation-in-no-child-left-behind-rewrite/">“promoting the growth of entrepreneurial teacher education programs.”</a></p>
<p>As Zeichner and another education researcher, <a href="https://www.tcrecord.org/AuthorDisplay.asp?aid=22645">César Peña-Sandoval</a>, note, while most of the new ventures in public education, including already <a href="http://auslchicago.org/">existing</a> <a href="http://www.relay.edu/">alternative certification programs</a>, are nonprofits, <a href="http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentId=17539">they gain serious tax advantages</a> from their public status. Such programs receive public funding, and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/private-equity-and-venture-capital-look-at-public-schools-2012-8">contract out services to for-profit providers</a>, which in many cases are associated with the financial backers of the venture. </p>
<p>Indeed, with the market size of American public education at nearly US$800 billion and legislation friendly to private investment in public education increasing, education is <a href="http://www.thenation.com/article/venture-capitalists-are-poised-disrupt-everything-about-education-market/">the new great field for entrepreneurial profit</a>. </p>
<h2>Teachers without adequate qualifications?</h2>
<p>We find it troubling that the legislation allows states to use federal funding for the creation of academies and stipulates that its graduates will be recognized with the same state-issued certification as those who have completed a university-based teacher education program. </p>
<p>States may choose – but are not required – to use up to 2 percent of their <a href="http://www.ccsso.org/Documents/2016/ESSA/CCSSOComparisonofSelectElementsofESEA12142015.pdf">education budget to support the academies.</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/114/s1177/text">But then, the legislation limits state oversight as well.</a> For example, states will not be allowed to require those teaching at the academies to have experience, degrees or training in education, to hold advanced degrees or to conduct academic research. </p>
<p>This leaves the door open for academies to hire faculty that suit their religious, moral or philosophical values. Or for supporting profit-making ventures, which include promoting the use of commercially manufactured curriculum materials, <a href="http://www.brookings.edu/%7E/media/research/files/reports/2012/4/10%20curriculum%20chingos%20whitehurst/0410_curriculum_chingos_whitehurst.pdf">which may not support student learning</a> as compared to research-based methods. </p>
<p>What’s more, the academies are not required to obtain accreditation.</p>
<p>And what this means is that state departments of education, which hold credentialing authority for teachers, will not be able to mandate that the academies require a specific number of courses or types of coursework such as courses on the teaching of reading or mathematics. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116430/original/image-20160324-17817-1xenqji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116430/original/image-20160324-17817-1xenqji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116430/original/image-20160324-17817-1xenqji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116430/original/image-20160324-17817-1xenqji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116430/original/image-20160324-17817-1xenqji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116430/original/image-20160324-17817-1xenqji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116430/original/image-20160324-17817-1xenqji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The new law will dilute standards for teacher certification.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/cityyear/6129766021/in/photolist-akEDT4-hsXvCX-8yArnp-9cXazR-aCncwM-akHrUN-8yAs28-akHtfm-65n5M8-bxUJ7K-N345a-akEDwc-akHs6E-5PvH34-6EkJRr-rmjgBg-89FwtD-9fyC1h-6MyJDn-3E8RNs-7Hy9g3-dRdSMd-93uqz-9tBFCn-p14HCx-e3qNSv-PdVS-7AahV9-5mVY9F-7muXqt-9BVnBh-9zaAoi-9GDUMs-gBY2gb-bX1sBF-nNvCHT-n8qYXx-arjs94-5sKKaE-4iWh2R-9qtHgw-aMGWEv-nZ4KHz-o7d7Gj-EpPeSQ-2qeM4M-94fDet-d14wbN-frpVnM-975JzC">City Year</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Additionally, the academies do not have to have physical infrastructure, paving the way for entirely on-line teacher preparation programs. </p>
<p>Once someone graduates from an academy, according to the legislation, the certificate may be treated as the equivalent of a master’s degree in education for the purposes of hiring, compensation, retention and promotion. <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/114/s1177/text">Here</a> is what the act says.</p>
<h2>Back to testing?</h2>
<p>So why do we find the elimination of standards for teacher education in the ESSA so troubling? </p>
<p>We have two major concerns.</p>
<p>The first is the assumption in the new ESSA that if the teacher knows enough to pass a state-designated content exam in, for example, social studies, science, literature or math, then that teacher is prepared to teach the content. An understanding of how to teach and what is learned beyond testable content is ignored. </p>
<p>Content exams suggest that teacher candidates have the minimum level of knowledge to teach. Passing these tests, which is required in most states, is intended primarily to signal that candidates have a minimum level of knowledge and competency, but <a href="http://aer.sagepub.com/content/46/1/146.short">does not predict their future effectiveness</a> in the classroom in teaching that content. </p>
<p>Teacher education programs therefore include a strong emphasis on developing pedagogic knowledge and a research-based understanding of student learning. </p>
<p>Pedagogical knowledge – how students learn or fail to learn and how that understanding must be incorporated in approaches to teaching – <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/1167272?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">is well established</a>.</p>
<p>It involves not only student learning of subject matter, but teaching in ways that support students to develop confidence in their own capacities to ask and answer questions in the world, as well as to <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/1167272?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">to think and engage actively, creatively and critically</a>. </p>
<p>However, such pedagogical knowledge is not required for graduates of alternative academies.</p>
<p>By way of “quality control,” the legislation does require that the teacher candidate demonstrates that she or he is effective at boosting student achievement. The candidates must be placed in classrooms as teachers prior to the completion of their program. This does not require <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/12/05/the-disturbing-provisions-about-teacher-preparation-in-no-child-left-behind-rewrite/">notification to parents of the teacher’s status</a>. </p>
<p>What it may mean to boost student achievement is not specified in the law.</p>
<p>Our second concern is that raising student test scores will be the primary metric of this assessment. </p>
<p>If testing remains, as it has been under No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, the primary measure of a quality education, then once again it is the students, their families, communities and ultimately the nation that will be saddled with the fallout of a narrow and alienating curriculum.</p>
<h2>Who will be affected?</h2>
<p>We are also deeply troubled by the prospect that if virtually unregulated teacher certification academies with little academic quality control are allowed to proliferate, the employers of their graduates will be either charter schools, many operating in high-poverty communities, or traditional public schools that lack the resources to be selective and competitive in hiring the best-qualified teachers. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116426/original/image-20160324-17859-19qwauh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116426/original/image-20160324-17859-19qwauh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116426/original/image-20160324-17859-19qwauh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116426/original/image-20160324-17859-19qwauh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116426/original/image-20160324-17859-19qwauh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116426/original/image-20160324-17859-19qwauh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/116426/original/image-20160324-17859-19qwauh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The most vulnerable kids will be the ones most affected.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/departmentofed/9607323677/in/photolist-fCY3BF-9LTPbH-4eYFPY-b9wjYa-tRiKJ-qsdECK-nqrzAr-rKHjzu-dNpu5F-ddVJVs-EkKh5B-eLRoYK-pwHVu7-6pCMmY-6pCMa3-e6kGCa-6pCsff-pUGAhs-dtiHQs-dtihzL-EkKtfx-py7KjS-6dQ3Uk-qPVceP-b9wYDz-ejzKFQ-pcdJvz-s5Ct1X-6pCXV9-9cjSUX-npg6mN-r94Ape-rtQh5Q-8SiKDg-5fsoht-gc1F4t-cXJdEo-hx3G6s-4TQRjV-6pCXAb-b9wX5k-eVanCr-7mRtFW-dz27Mg-eLUYBv-dYzi6Y-b9wkkk-5UU9Le-dUo3ju-dtid33">US Department of Education</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The law itself describes its intention to prepare teachers to work in “high-needs” areas, which include both communities and subject or specialization areas experiencing teacher shortages. </p>
<p>High-poverty urban and rural schools are <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/how-can-students-learn-without-teachers-high-poverty-schools-often-staffed-by-rotating-cast-of-substitutes/2015/12/04/be41579a-92c6-11e5-b5e4-279b4501e8a6_story.html">far more likely to be subject to teacher shortages</a> than schools serving a wealthier population. These high-need schools are also most likely to be staffed by the <a href="http://people.terry.uga.edu/mustard/courses/e8420/Clotfelter-Teachers.pdf">less experienced, least effective teachers</a>.</p>
<p>Once again, as often happens under the privately managed charter school model, <a href="http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ846746">underprepared teachers</a> will end up in the poorest and neediest schools, thereby exacerbating the problem of inequitable educational outcomes for children living in poverty. Studies have shown that the <a href="http://www.brookings.edu/research/articles/1998/03/spring-education-darling-hammond">student achievement gap widens</a> <a href="http://people.terry.uga.edu/mustard/courses/e8420/Clotfelter-Teachers.pdf">when teacher qualifications are unequally allocated</a> to students by race, income and location. </p>
<p>We believe that the provisions in the new law that have the potential to undermine teacher quality can and should be scrutinized before states begin their implementation. States do not have to elect to support these academies. </p>
<p>The American public can and should demand that our schools serve the civic good and the well-being of children and their communities by staffing schools with well-qualified teachers who are prepared to support all children as active, creative and critical thinkers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/54999/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The ESSA, or the Every Child Succeeds Act, was considered to be a welcome replacement of the No Child Left Behind law. However, scholars point to some disturbing provisions in the new law.Gail L. Boldt, Professor of Education, Penn StateBernard J. Badiali, Associate Professor of Education, Penn StateLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/526042015-12-30T13:26:13Z2015-12-30T13:26:13Z2015, the year that was: education<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106924/original/image-20151222-27894-1r46xgv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">2015 showed how much race still matters in education.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/illinoisspringfield/14028616900/in/photolist-nnEk4b-eiuvry-KDhJy-ej1W7q-55XtUM-eiVc1e-ej1W31-eiVcN4-eiVbVi-ej1Wgh-eiVbJt-nnE5di-nDRU4x-nE8SN7-nDRTSF-nnEixq-eiVd42-eiVcyz-4SzDm9-bXYQjm-bXYQfb-ekDWdG-ekyb2e-ekDW4N-eioLFi-nE8Vx5-eiVcng-ej1VDd-eiVc7n-eiVbRe-eiVbwp-eiVbpt-nDWs9C-nE9MZD-nE9Mx6-eiVbFa-ej1Wkm-ej1V2w-ej1UUC-ej2fzj-eiVvST-bWUZvG-nDWtLq-nDRVyB-nnE6BR-nnEjSE-nnE8qj-nFWawZ-nDWsDf-nDWstf">Illinois Springfield</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>As we approach 2016, we look back at the big stories of The Conversation’s education coverage over the past 12 months.</em></p>
<p>2015 was a year of much turmoil: higher education witnessed student activism not quite seen <a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-how-history-is-shaping-the-studentblackout-movement-51078">since the free speech movement</a> of the 1960s.</p>
<p>The spark for the protests came from the University of Missouri – where students’ demands for racial justice <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-long-and-troubled-racial-past-of-mizzou-50639">had gone unheard</a>. With the football team joining the protesting students, events took a different turn and resulted in the resignation of the president, Tim Wolfe. Thereafter, protests spread to <a href="https://www.eab.com/daily-briefing/2015/11/24/student-protests-spread-to-more-than-100-campuses-nationwide">over 100</a> other campuses.</p>
<h2>Racism on campus</h2>
<p>Over the past year, scholars writing for The Conversation have emphasized how much race continues to be a factor in students’ success – and not just in college, but even through their early school years.</p>
<p>As some have pointed out, academia suffers from a <a href="https://theconversation.com/inside-academia-black-professors-are-expected-to-entertain-while-presenting-46249">“stunning lack of diversity.”</a> Black scholars <a href="https://theconversation.com/reflections-of-a-black-female-scholar-i-know-what-it-feels-like-to-be-invisible-39748">describe experiences</a> ranging from <a href="https://theconversation.com/inside-academia-black-professors-are-expected-to-entertain-while-presenting-46249">racial slights</a> to outright discrimination. At the K-12 level, research shows that black students <a href="https://theconversation.com/with-harsher-disciplinary-measures-school-systems-fail-black-kids-39906">are more likely</a> to receive out-of-school suspensions for minor violations of the code of conduct. </p>
<p>On campuses, students have been <a href="https://theconversation.com/does-missouri-president-ouster-offer-lessons-to-universities-grappling-with-a-racist-past-50493">demanding for some time the renaming</a> of buildings whose names evoke a troubled racial past. Many universities and their past leaders were <a href="https://theconversation.com/unsurprised-by-missouri-scholars-on-the-roots-of-racial-unrest-on-campus-50636">intimately connected</a> to the slave trade and slavery. This year further escalated some of the tensions.</p>
<p>In this environment, Fisher v University of Texas, a <a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-crucial-texas-case-on-race-considerations-in-college-admissions-44117">case</a> challenging the University of Texas’s race-conscious admissions policy, took on <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-scholars-emphasize-the-need-for-affirmative-action-43692">even greater significance</a>. The policy <a href="https://theconversation.com/ban-on-affirmative-action-in-medicine-will-hurt-all-39904">allows the university</a> to build a racially and ethnically diverse student body. But the case challenging it says it violates the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.</p>
<h2>Tenure, college costs, guns</h2>
<p>The debates on university campuses in 2015 were many, and not just to do with race. </p>
<p>The issue of academic freedom became a fractious one after Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker put forward a proposal to slash spending on education and <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-else-will-we-lose-when-wisconsin-faculty-loses-tenure-42929">modify the state laws</a> on tenure.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106925/original/image-20151222-27890-phlnmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/106925/original/image-20151222-27890-phlnmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106925/original/image-20151222-27890-phlnmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106925/original/image-20151222-27890-phlnmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106925/original/image-20151222-27890-phlnmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106925/original/image-20151222-27890-phlnmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/106925/original/image-20151222-27890-phlnmb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There were many issues of concern this year.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dustpuppy/6852779/in/photolist-B86n-B6Lt-B6YW-B7Ps-B8mC-B84A-B8ht-B7nq-B87p-pjYumV-pztNyb-aExUV3-B6E4-B7MX-B8ck-B6FR-B7u4-B7HG-B7eu-B8f3-B7zp-B7Vz-B733-B835-B76t-B7BW-B7bp-B8ko-B6Rn-B71h-B7wz-B786-B7py-B81G-B6K3-B7L7-B7DZ-B6Xo-B6SS-B79N-B7Xb-B7jt-B6Q8-B7cL-B8ac-B6MU-B7Tj-8ZPW1y-ym1o-ym1c">Björn Láczay</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>All over again, issues of college affordability were <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-reduce-debt-give-students-more-information-to-make-wise-college-choice-decisions-46064">brought center-stage</a> by Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s announcement of a US$350 billion debt-free college plan. <a href="https://theconversation.com/clintons-debt-free-college-comes-with-a-price-tag-46378">Our experts argued</a> how such a large expansion in federal dollars would come at a cost. </p>
<p>And while students struggled with debt, smaller colleges struggled to keep student enrollment high enough. One of them, Sweet Briar, a women’s liberal arts college, was <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-can-we-learn-from-sweet-briars-near-death-44055">among those hit hard</a> by declining enrollment. While the board voted to close the doors, its alumnae made efforts to keep it going for at least another year.</p>
<p>In Texas, meanwhile, a “Campus Carry” gun law passed in spring 2015, <a href="https://theconversation.com/will-guns-on-campus-lead-to-grade-inflation-40748">raising faculty fears</a> about the possibility of grade inflation. </p>
<h2>Teachers, testing, new ESSA</h2>
<p>If higher education was in turmoil, so was K-12. </p>
<p>Testing pressures led to an ever-growing number of parents, teachers and students “opting out” of testing <a href="https://theconversation.com/students-are-opting-out-of-testing-how-did-we-get-here-40364">across all 50 states</a>. Some experts <a href="https://theconversation.com/arne-duncans-legacy-growing-influence-of-a-network-of-private-actors-on-public-education-48790">put the blame</a> on the influence of a “network” of private actors over the policies implemented under US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who will be leaving office at the end of this year.</p>
<p>A number of scholars commented on how policies have left schoolteachers <a href="https://theconversation.com/crisis-in-american-education-as-teacher-morale-hits-an-all-time-low-39226">highly demotivated</a>. In an effort to <a href="https://theconversation.com/a-somber-message-on-world-teachers-day-2015-our-teachers-are-at-risk-48550">improve the “annual yearly progress”</a> of their students, some schools not only <a href="https://theconversation.com/no-child-left-behind-fails-to-work-miracles-spurs-cheating-38620">resorted to unethical practices</a>, but also punished teachers for low scores. </p>
<p>How then are teachers being evaluated? It isn’t clear. Not least when music teachers can be <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-it-get-more-absurd-now-music-teachers-are-being-tested-based-on-math-and-reading-scores-47995">evaluated</a> based on the math and reading scores of students.</p>
<p>In answer to some of these concerns, before the end of the year, President Obama signed The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) – which will replace the NCLB and end many of testing and evaluation policies, although <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-every-student-succeeds-act-still-leaves-most-vulnerable-kids-behind-46247">experts still urge caution</a> on wholeheartedly embracing the ESSA.</p>
<p>Despite the odds, schoolteachers and university professors remained unfailing in their commitment, innovation and dedication to their students. Indeed, innovative examples of teaching were among our best-read stories as well. Here are some:</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-understanding-the-prisoners-dilemma-can-help-bridge-liberal-and-conservative-differences-46166">How understanding the prisoner’s dilemma can help bridge liberal and conservative differences</a></p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/want-more-innovation-try-connecting-the-dots-between-engineering-and-humanities-42800">Want more innovation? Try connecting the dots between engineering and humanities</a></p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/a-teacher-uses-star-trek-for-difficult-conversations-on-race-and-gender-43098">A teacher uses Star Trek for difficult conversations on race and gender</a></p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/through-the-brewing-class-what-beer-making-can-teach-students-about-business-42396">Through the brewing class: what beer-making can teach students about business</a></p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/using-wikipedia-a-scholar-redraws-academic-lines-by-including-it-in-his-syllabus-39103">Using Wikipedia: a scholar redraws academic lines by including it in his syllabus</a></p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/teaching-artists-creative-ways-to-teach-english-to-immigrant-kids-42588">‘Teaching artists’: creative ways to teach English to immigrant kids</a></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/52604/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
The year 2015 escalated many of the tensions that have existed on university and college campuses for a long time. It will be remembered as the year of student activism.Kalpana Jain, Senior Religion + Ethics Editor/ Director of the Global Religion Journalism InitiativeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.