Linda McMahon, the Secretary of the Department of Education, issued a statement in September in response to the National Assessment of Educational Progress scores for 8th grade science and 12th reading and mathematics.
At the time, she said that the report, often referred to as The Nation’s Report Card, demonstrated a troubling trend: American students are testing at levels that are historically low across K-12.
“Today’s NAEP results confirm a devastating trend: American students are testing at historic lows across all of K-12. At a critical juncture when students are about to graduate and enter the workforce, military, or higher education, nearly half of America’s high school seniors are testing at below basic levels in math and reading. Despite spending billions on annually on numerous K-12 programs, the achievement gap is widening,” she said.
McMahon also noted that she and Trump have a plan to return control of education to the states “so they can innovate and meet each school and students’ unique needs.”
Now, a few states have taken McMahon up on her offer.
According to Education Week, Idaho is considering allowing high school students choose their own assessments depending upon their post-high school plans instead of them taking standardized tests.
In Indiana, leaders want to use Title I funds for students who would have attended the disadvantaged schools for which Title I funds were intended.
The administration is trying to balance its desire to see states take the lead on K-12 education, more so than the federal government, and adhering to the requirements laid out in ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 that replaced the No Child Left Behind Act).
“It’s actually because we will have assessment and accountability that we will be able to return education to the states,” said Kirsten Baesler, the assistant secretary of elementary and secondary education. She also noted that the goal to better student achievement and increase state flexibility aren’t “binary goals.”
In essence, waiving ESSA must improve student outcomes and not just be an arbitrary maneuver.
Democratic leaders in Congress have their doubts about ESSA waivers, however. Their concern is that the waivers could suppress ESSA’s core purpose: holding states accountable for how well marginalized student groups perform and ensuring those students receive additional support and resources.
“The federal role in education acts as an accountability measure to ensure states provide all children with high-quality education that is not limited by race, color, nationality, gender, ability, immigration status, or socioeconomic class,” top Democratic leaders on the panels that oversee K-12 spending and policy wrote in a statement last May.
“Any negligence or misuse of secretarial authority risks perpetuating disparities and failing the very students these provisions aim to support,” they added.
