Every Student Succeeds Act Explainer

Approved ESSA Plans: Explainer and Key Takeaways From Each State

April 21, 2017 | Updated: October 04, 2018 1 min read
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U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has approved ESSA plans from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The law gives states significant new leeway to set student achievement goals and calls for looking beyond test scores in gauging school performance.

Jump to:

  1. What is a state plan?
  2. Map: Where do states’ plans stand?
  3. What are states planning for ESSA?

What is a state plan?

The Every Student Succeeds Act pushes states to move beyond test scores in gauging school performance and gives them all sorts of new flexibility when it comes to funding, turning around low-performing schools, and more. But states still have to submit an accountability roadmap—including long-term goals for student achievement—to the U.S. Department of Education for approval.

The Every Student Succeeds Act technically went into effect for the 2017-18 school year. But before a state can put its plan into effect, the U.S. Department of Education needs to sign off. This analysis reflects our best understanding of approved state ESSA plans.

Where do states’ plans stand?

Check the map below to see where your state’s ESSA plan stands.

What are states planning for ESSA?

Scroll down to see key details from your state’s plan, including long-term goals, academic indicators that will be used to rate schools, and more:

A version of this article appeared in the April 19, 2017 edition of Education Week as Key Takeaways: State ESSA Plans

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