One of the Office of the State Superintendent of Education’s (OSSE’s) most public-facing federal responsibilities is calculating and reporting the school accountability scores required by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). We have written about it before on this blog but in short, OSSE needs to use reliable and comparable metrics to differentiate performance between schools while also accounting for demographics of student populations. We publish accountability scores on the DC School Report Card every year and make school designations on different cycles. Schools with the lowest accountability scores receive hands-on support from OSSE over multiple years to help them improve. While the calculations are complex (our technical guide is around 100 pages but we have a quick explainer here), we work hard to ensure that schools and the public understand the how and why of our process. In this blog, we will explain why we are requesting the federal government to pause accountability scores.

The graphic below shows how we use statewide assessments to measure both student proficiency and growth (the “Expectations” metrics measure proficiency, the “Growth” metrics measure, well, growth!). As you can see from the graphic below, growth metrics make up half of the overall score for an elementary school with pre-K. We need two consecutive years of assessment data to calculate growth.

After 12 years, the District of Columbia will transition to new statewide assessments in English language arts (ELA) and math in the 2026-27 school year. OSSE will not have a reliable measure of student growth until these new assessments produce two consecutive years of data. Therefore, pursuant to 20 U.S.C. §7861 ("Waivers of statutory and regulatory requirements"), OSSE will request a one-year waiver of certain Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requirements from the US Department of Education (USED) to calculate accountability scores and make school designations until the 2027-28 school year. Without growth metrics in 2027, OSSE simply cannot calculate these scores. Specifically, OSSE is requesting a waiver from the following statutory requirements in ESSA:

• Statewide requirements in Section 1111(c)(4)(C) to meaningfully differentiate, on an annual basis, all public schools;
• Statewide requirements in Section 1111(c)(4)(D) and Section 1111(d)(2)(C) to identify schools for comprehensive, targeted, and additional targeted support and improvement; and
• Statewide requirements in Section 1111(h)(1)(C)(i)(IV) to include the system for meaningful differentiation for all public schools on the annual state report card.

In plain language, we are asking to pause these scores until we have all of the metrics we need to calculate those scores. Our overarching goal is to maintain the integrity of its accountability system as a valid and consistent measure of student performance and school quality. And, in previous conversations with stakeholders in fall 2025, the submission of this waiver is OSSE’s best option – over moving up school improvement designations by one year to 2026 or calculating school accountability scores in 2027 without growth metrics.

During this one-year waiver period, OSSE will require a one-year extension and the submission of a one-year addendum to previously-approved school improvement plans to schools currently identified for comprehensive, targeted, or additional support and improvement, unless they have demonstrated improvements in academic achievement in both ELA and math, as measured by the statewide assessment. OSSE will also continue to report all other accountability metrics on the DC School Report Card, including student performance on the new statewide assessment. Schools and families will still receive information about their students’ results. In fall 2028, accountability scores will be calculated and school designations will be made, consistent with our current system.

This one-year waiver request reflects OSSE’s belief that the accountability formulas outlined in our ESSA State Plan—derived from research and community input—is a high-quality system that should be maintained with consistency. We have asked for waivers due to assessment interruptions before. Readers may remember that OSSE did not administer statewide assessments during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic; waivers from 2020 and 2021 are available on our ESSA page.

Just as the ESSA State Plan was created with public input, OSSE committed to ensuring the waiver reflected community input as well by inviting the public to submit comments on the draft waiver. These public comments are available to read, in chronological order by submission, on our ESSA waiver page.

Following public comment, OSSE submitted this request to USED for their consideration and approval. USED has up to 120 days to review an ESSA Accountability Waiver request, provide feedback, and/or issue a decision to OSSE. By August 2026, OSSE anticipates knowing the status of its ESSA Accountability Waiver and to communicate next steps with LEAs in advance of the start of the 2026-27 school year and the first administration of our new statewide assessment in spring 2027.