EVERY STUDENT SUCCEEDS ACT RESEARCH PAPER

Every Student Succeeds Act Research Paper

Margaret D. Hauser
Chesapeake College

EVERY STUDENT SUCCEEDS ACT RESEARCH PAPER

In 1965, President Johnson, believing that education should be a national priority,

signed The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) into law. Through this law,
low income students and their families where given the chance, with the help of federal
grants, to increase the quality of education they can receive. This began a process of
redefining the way the government provided aid to those who could not access the
education they were entitled to.
When President Bush made the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) a law in 2002,
the achievement gaps left unresolved by ESEA were brought to light. With this law, the
schools and the educators of the country were now held accountable for the shrinking the
gaps between their students. While No Child Left Behind was attempting to lessen the
gaps of achievement, the goals and standards it set, were unrealistic and not truly
achievable. Soon in 2015, President Obama would improve President Bushs law when
he enacted the Every Student Succeeds Act.
In an effort to even further improve the educational quality of the United States,
President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in to law. Under this
law, ESEA would be altered in order to truly benefit the students of the country. ESSA
took the ideals of NCLB, and used the practices of ESEA, by aiding all students in
accessing education, while keeping the standards and procedures used up to the states and
at levels which all students could reach. While ESSA does do multiple things that NCLB
did not, from increasing college and career readiness and creating a competitive system
that reached across the nation to including the lowest grade levels (Pre- K) and increasing

EVERY STUDENT SUCCEEDS ACT RESEARCH PAPER

and monitoring accountability, the defining difference between the two laws is who is
responsible for setting standards and goals for the education system.
When President Obama signed ESSA, he ensured that the states had the ability to
set their own standards, goals and ways of testing or monitoring the progress of their
students. This is a critical factor to the success of any law that wants to improve
education. ESSA recognizes that each states has many students, all of which are
surrounded by many circumstances and cannot be put under a blanket statement set of
standards given to them by the government. With ESSA, the standards are made by the
states, using the help of the educators who live there. This allows for students the chance
to reach standards that are set for their levels and gives them the ability to get the most
out of their education.
Theres always room for improvement in the practices and procedure of education
in the classroom, that much is publicly known as true. The same can be said for the
governments input and laws about education. While ESSA has improved education
greatly, theres always more that can change for the better and for the benefit of the
students of the country so they reach their full potential.

EVERY STUDENT SUCCEEDS ACT RESEARCH PAPER

References
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). (n.d.). Retrieved September 05, 2016, from
http://www.ed.gov/ESSA