No Child Left Behind is gone, replaced by the Every Student Succeeds Act.

No Child Left Behind is gone, replaced by the Every Student Succeeds Act. President Obama signed ESSA last month and it’s quite different from NCLB. Perhaps the most striking thing about ESSA was the process; the law was drafted in a bipartisan way from the beginning. It’s a balance between returning some powers to the states and the federal government keeping some oversight. Here are the highlights.

Less testing (hopefully)

ESSA still requires accountability testing, but has brought the requirements down somewhat. Students will still be tested in grades 3-8 and once in high school in math and reading. Data still has to be captured for each school as well as various subgroups. Although it’s still early, there is also language that says states and districts can opt to use a national test, like the ACT or SAT, as their high school state accountability test.

While that is only a slight change, the biggest departure when it comes to accountability is that states have almost complete control over setting their own goals, coming up with accountability systems for schools and districts, and what happens if a school or district is underperforming. The law leaves teacher evaluation completely up to the states.

Required intervention

That being said, the Department of Education still has oversight in certain areas, particularly when schools or subgroups are struggling.

The new law requires states to intervene in certain situations:

• The bottom 5 percent of all schools
• High schools in which the graduation rate is 67 percent or less
• Subgroups, such as English language learners or minorities, that are struggling

However, the states have a wide berth in what that intervention looks like. As long as it is research-based and peer-reviewed, the federal government will approve it.

What about the Common Core?

The law only states that individual states need to adopt “challenging standards”. There is no other definition given, except it is noted that the current Common Core State Standards qualify. In fact, the Department of Education is expressly prohibited from forcing or even encouraging states to choose a particular set of standards.

Funding

Overall, the new law takes existing money from various pots and consolidates it into fewer pots, but sometimes with broader goals. For example, anything having to do with school improvement now falls under Title I. New money, from old sources, will be going to physical education, Advanced Placement, counseling, and investments in education technology.

Many college-bound high school seniors start putting their studies on cruise control around this time of the year.

Many college-bound high school seniors start putting their studies on cruise control around this time of the year. That is especially true if they have already been accepted to the college of their choice. For many reasons, this can be a mistake. Here are some reasons to keep your foot on the gas.

Colleges can take back your acceptance

Many seniors think that an acceptance letter is a contract. The truth is that, although rare, acceptance can be withdrawn by the college. This tends to happen to students who suddenly drop all of their difficult classes or have their grades slip too far due to “senioritis”. There might not be anything more embarrassing than telling everyone you’re going to your first choice and then ending up at your safety school.

Crucial information will still be covered

Tuning out your teachers can still be detrimental. There is obviously the consideration of grades and final exams. But they might also be covering material you will need to know in your fall college classes. You want to be able to hit the ground running as soon as you get on campus.

Graduation mix-ups do happen

Perhaps you know someone from previous years who thought they were on track to graduate only to find out that they needed one more half credit of visual art. If they’re lucky, they can switch out their final semester schedule, otherwise they will need to make up the credit after school or during the summer. Check in one more time with your guidance counselor to make sure that doesn’t happen to you.

Responsibilities only multiply from here

Yes, the final semester is a busy time. You’re trying to keep up with your schoolwork, an afterschool job, and extracurriculars, not to mention prom and graduation. Letting things drop might seem like a solution. But rest assured, responsibilities are only going to increase. You will have all of those next year, as well as feeding yourself, paying bills, and sorting out a social life in a new place. The best way to transition is to keep up with your good habits.

You’ll never have this time again

Ask anyone. Senior year of high school was one of the best times of their lives. You want to get the most out of it in every aspect. This is the last time you’ll have with your favorite teachers, your teammates, and your friends. You might be letting things drop that you’ll never be able to get back.

Although your child might want items that are decidedly non-educational, there are still some gift ideas that can advance them academically while still being fun.

Black Friday was the unofficial start to the holiday shopping season. Although your child might want items that are decidedly non-educational, there are still some gift ideas that can advance them academically while still being fun.

Drones

Drones are going to be huge this year, even though most of them only amount to radio-controlled helicopters. What aren’t talked about are their educational benefits. Hand/eye coordination is drastically improved. They can open up discussions about aerodynamics and weather. And perhaps most importantly, they get your child playing outside. Drones can range from around $50 to thousands, with or without cameras and advanced equipment for balance and guidance.

Weather balloon

Along the same lines (but much higher in the air), weather balloons have become popular projects in science classes. People attach a camera and send the balloon on its way. It’s great for meteorology as well as geography, since the camera allows students to study the land around them. This kit is around $80, but there are others available.

Telescopes

Telescopes are making a comeback, thanks to recent media attention on the exploration of Mars and other celestial bodies, as well as the celebrity status of astrophysicists like Neil DeGrasse Tyson. A cheap one can let your child get a good view of the moon, but if you go up to around $100 they can study near-Earth bodies.

Raspberry Pi

The Raspberry Pi is a single-board computer. It has all of the components of a computer, but comes completely blank. Educationally, it is meant for students to explore coding, networking, hardware, and other STEM concepts. Because the community is non-profit, the Raspberry Pi is extremely cheap ($35) and is offered by a foundation rather than a company. The foundation’s website provides online ordering as well as repositories for project ideas and technical assistance.

Snap circuits

Another popular STEM toy, snap circuits are easy to use circuit boards where children snap in various components to build basic electronic tools, like FM radios and voice recorders. With the right components, the possibilities are almost limitless.

The non-submitting student has to be stronger in other aspects than their counterpart who has an impressive score in their pocket.

This past year, 47 colleges and universities announced that they would adopt “test-optional” admissions, meaning students can be considered for admission without submitting an SAT or ACT score. Nationwide, there are 850 such schools according to the National Center for Fair and Open Testing.
Why are colleges going test-optional?
The goal of these colleges is simple: to broaden their application pools. With larger pools of students to choose from, they can be more selective. If they appear to be more selective, they can possibly move up US News and World Report’s annual rankings.
For the student, the implications are a little more complicated. First, these schools tend to be smaller liberal arts colleges. Fewer large universities have joined the test-optional ranks. If your child has big dreams at a big school, skipping the test is probably not an option yet. For competitive prospective majors, such as pre-med or engineering, non-submittal is usually not an option altogether.
Which students should consider not submitting a score?
Of course, the prospective student who chooses not to submit a score fits an obvious profile: they are strong overall but have underperformed during the testing process (or have avoided it altogether).
The non-submitting student has to be stronger in other aspects than their counterpart who has an impressive score in their pocket. Test-optional schools tend to have more strict cutoffs in other areas, particularly GPA and class rank. According to the New York Times, one school (George Mason University) will not consider a non-submitter with lower than a 3.5 GPA and a top-20 percent class rank. AP scores, International Baccalaureate participation, and extracurriculars play a bigger part.
So, if your child is exceptional in everything but their test scores, not submitting might be an option (although working toward an exceptional score might open up new college opportunities).
If your child is borderline all around, they still need to strive toward an impressive SAT or ACT score. It can make a big difference, no matter which school they are trying to attend.
Does the increase in test-optional schools signify the death of standardized testing? Probably not. Both tests are spending a lot of time, money, and effort revamping themselves to increase their relevance to the colleges. What colleges are always trying to see throughout the process, with the help of all the evidence, is a picture of the kind of student your child will be.

Many outside activities, whether sports or clubs, are pursued with other students and guiding adults.

Although electronic pursuits have an increasing presence in a student’s life, plenty of children still participate in interests outside of school. Those students are enjoying some benefits that are not only valuable in their current lives, but for their future as well.

Making commitments

Video games and apps do not require a commitment. Students can turn them off for weeks at a time and resume wherever they left off. Most extracurriculars teach a student what it means to follow through on a long-term commitment. Colleges love this benefit because they accept students who are likely to see their education through to the end.

Time management and prioritizing

Inherently, a student with extracurricular activities is busier than one without. This forces the student to organize their time wisely and prioritize their activities. Again, this is a valuable life skill in college and beyond.

Collaboration

Many outside activities, whether sports or clubs, are pursued with other students and guiding adults. Collaboration might be the most valuable skill that a student can learn to prepare themselves for the working world.

Self-esteem

Because students are usually working together as a group, club, or team, they tend to experience more success. For students who believe they cannot be successful in their pursuits, this is a valuable self-esteem boost. They also often find that they become valuable, if not indispensable, members of the group.

Less chance of negative behavior

Although this might not be a concern for some students, if a child is busy with activities outside of school, they are less likely to seek less desirable activities to pass their time. These activities can range from wasting away indoors all the way to drug use and criminal activity.

Try new things

Many afterschool activities feature students who didn’t think they would be interested at first. Perhaps they only sung in the shower, yet joined a chorus or glee club and found out they have a passion for it. Maybe they find the speed they had on the elementary playground has translated to success in track. Finding a new interest—and success—can make the difference toward becoming a well-rounded student.

Enhanced academic performance

Although the science is still forming, it’s starting to become apparent that interests outside of academic actually help a student’s academic pursuits. It might have to do with brain development, or it could simply be the self-esteem, collaboration, and time management benefits at work.