The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) announced today that it has received approval from the DC State Board of Education (SBOE) for a new updated Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) state plan that describes how the District will meet ESSA’s requirements to measure academic achievement and growth, graduation rates and progress in attaining English language proficiency for subgroups of students. The state plan was drafted with extensive community feedback from multiple sessions with ward education councils, families and education advocacy organizations.
“We believe that every child is capable of learning and achieving at high levels, but we have deep and persistent gaps between specific groups of students that must be addressed,” said State Superintendent Dr. Christina Grant. “Our state-level goals chart out an ambitious yet feasible path toward ensuring every child in every corner of the city is successful. This plan will help the District continue its path from recovery to restoration and direct resources to students and schools most in need.”
Approved changes to the ESSA state plan aim to improve equity in performance measurements; increase the weight and emphasis on academic growth; and strengthen measurement in priority areas, such as gap closure of historically underserved students, post-high school readiness, students with disabilities and attendance.
As the state education agency for the District of Columbia, OSSE must submit a state education plan to the US Department of Education that outlines statewide plans for education, including how DC will support specific groups of students and how the state measures performance of all public schools. OSSE annually calculates the performance of all schools serving pre-K through grade 12 students, and the accountability system informs the public and identifies areas for improvement and celebration.
District of Columbia law requires the SBOE to approve the state accountability plan for the District, as developed by OSSE, ensuring that the plan includes a single statewide accountability system, as required by ESSA. The accountability system approved by SBOE establishes ambitious long-term student achievement goals, which include measurements of interim progress toward meeting those goals, and is based on challenging state academic standards, academic assessments, and a standardized system of accountability across all local education agencies (LEAs) that will be used to hold LEAs accountable for student achievement.
The plan will now be submitted to the US Department of Education for its approval.
To see plan in its entirety and the proposed changes, visit OSSE’s website.