ESSA Requirements: How They Affect Students and Schools

ESSA requirements shape education across the United States and are designed to make sure every child gets a quality education, no matter their background or where they live. 

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which replaced and updated the No Child Left Behind Act in 2015, helps schools set high standards and offer the right support to students and teachers alike.

What Is ESSA?

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is the main federal law guiding K–12 public education in the United States. Its goal is to make sure every student has access to quality education while holding schools accountable for their progress.

ESSA gives states more freedom to decide how they meet educational standards while helping students prepare for college and future careers.

At its core, ESSA focuses on fairness and inclusivity in education. Based upon these federal guidelines, each individual state takes the lead in setting goals and tracking student success, paying close attention to groups that have faced educational challenges in the past. This includes:

• Students from low-income families
• Students of color
• English language learners
• Those receiving special education services

Each state develops its own plan to reach these goals, focusing on areas such as testing, academic standards, and holding schools accountable. The law also invites families to share their ideas, making sure their input helps shape better student results.

Setting Academic Standards

One of the first things ESSA addresses is academic standards, which outline what students need to learn at each grade. While the US Department of Education allows each state to set its own standards for what students should learn in reading, math, and science, it’s important to remember that these academic standards need to be rigorous.

The standards also apply to all students, including those with learning disabilities. This means that while states can tailor their educational goals to meet the unique needs of their students, the curriculum should still prepare them for future success, whether they choose to pursue higher education or a career.

Annual Testing Requirements

ESSA requires states to test students in reading and math every year from grades 3 through 8 and once in high school. It also requires testing in science at least once during elementary, middle, and high school. Additionally, states are expected to provide accommodations for students who need them, with these supports outlined in their Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) or 504 Plans.

These tests show how well students are learning and help track their progress. While testing can sometimes feel challenging, it’s a useful way to see where students are doing well and where they might need extra support.

School Accountability

ESSA requires states to take responsibility for how well schools are helping students learn. Each state must create a plan to identify struggling schools and find ways to support them.

To measure how schools are performing, states are expected to use at least five indicators, starting with these four:

• Academic achievement: How well students are doing in key subjects
• Academic progress: How much students are improving over time
• English language proficiency: How well students learning English are progressing
• High school graduation rates: The percentage of students graduating on time

These four academic indicators are the most important and carry the most weight. For the fifth measure, states can choose how to track school quality or student success. This could include areas like kindergarten readiness, advanced coursework, college readiness, or discipline rates.

Setting Achievement Goals

Under ESSA, states are required to set clear goals to measure student improvement. These goals are especially important for students who face more challenges, such as those who receive special education services.

States are expected to set challenging yet achievable goals for students who face the biggest hurdles in their education. For example, a state might work toward getting more students in special education to graduate high school. To help with this, they might set short-term targets to track progress and make sure students are on track.

These goals are intended to help struggling students catch up and close the gap with their peers. Each state’s ESSA plan outlines these goals to ensure that they stay focused on supporting every student.

State and Local Report Card

Another important ESSA requirement is that report cards be made available to the public. States and school districts are required to provide clear information about school performance. This helps families understand how well schools are meeting students’ needs and where improvements might be needed.

Report cards should include, among other things:

• Test score results
• High school graduation rates
• Teacher qualifications
• School funding details

They should also include data on specific groups of students, such as children from low-income families, students of color, students in special education, and English language learners.

If a school or student group is struggling, states are expected to notify their families so they can participate in the effort to improve education in their communities.

Supporting Underperforming Schools

ESSA requires states to identify struggling schools and provide support to help them improve. Two types of schools need extra attention:

• Targeted Support and Improvement Schools: These are schools where certain groups of students, like those from low-income backgrounds or students with disabilities, are falling behind.
• Comprehensive Support and Improvement Schools: These are the lowest-performing schools in a state.

Once a school is labeled as struggling, states and school districts need to devise a plan to help turn things around. These plans need to focus on proven teaching methods and strategies that can make a real difference in students’ success. The goal is to give every student, no matter where they go to school, the chance to get a quality education.

The Role of Families and Caregivers in ESSA

ESSA ensures families and caregivers have a voice in how schools are held accountable. Their input helps focus attention on students who may need extra support. Families and caregivers can get involved in two main ways:

Sharing Feedback on the State’s ESSA Plan

Families can share their thoughts on important areas such as academic goals, school accountability, and support for struggling students. This ensures the needs of all students are considered when the state education plans are developed.

Engaging With State Report Cards

Families can review school performance with information on test results, graduation rates, and the progress of different student groups. This keeps schools transparent and gives families the information they need to support their child’s education.

Building a Stronger Education System for All Students

By setting clear standards and expectations, ESSA helps create a fairer education system where every student has the chance to reach their full potential. It focuses on accountability, transparency, and support for all students, including those who face unique challenges.

Understanding ESSA’s requirements is important for families and schools to stay informed and actively participate in the education process. With resources like state report cards, families can better advocate for their children’s success.

To further support students’ progress, TestHound offers an easy-to-use tool that helps schools track and manage testing data, keeping them on top of ESSA requirements. Pathways is another tool that helps track student progress toward graduation.

If your school is interested in new ways to improve the learning experience for children, you may also be interested in automating tasks and streamlining processes so that your teachers have more time to teach. Education Advanced offers a large suite of tools that may be able to help:

• Evaluation: A solution for documenting every step of the staff evaluation process, including walk-throughs, self-evaluations, supporting evidence, reporting, and performance analytics.
• Pathways: A graduation tracking tool that enables administrators and counselors to create, track, and analyze graduation pathways, ensuring secondary students stay on track to graduate.
• TestHound: Our test accommodation software helps schools coordinate thousands of students across all state and local K-12 assessments while considering various accommodations, such as for reading disabilities, physical disabilities, and translations.