The cornerstones of state and federal accountability in New York include new state accountability rules defined by New York State Education Department (NYSED)’s Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) waiver and annual state report cards which inform parents and communities about student performance.
In September 2011, President Obama invited states to request flexibility regarding specific requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) in exchange for state-developed plans designed to improve educational outcomes for all students, close achievement gaps, increase equity, and improve the quality of instruction. NYSED received approval from the U.S. Department of Education for its flexibility waiver request in May 2012, authorizing New York State to revise its accountability system. Effective from 2012-13 through 2014-15, the new system puts greater emphasis on student growth and college and career-readiness.
In June 2015 New York State received approval from the U.S. Department of Education for its third and final ESEA Flexibility Waiver. The accountability provisions within this latest ESEA Flexibility Waiver will continue through the 2016-17.
More recently the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed into law in December 2015. ESSA re-authorizes ESEA. The ESSA builds upon the critical work States and local educational agencies (LEAs) have implemented over the last few years. The reauthorized law prioritizes excellence and equity for our students and support great educators. The accountability provisions of ESSA begin with the 2017-18 school year or possibly later. More information about ESSA is available here.
The New York State School Report Card is an important part of the state’s effort to raise learning standards for all students. The Report Card provides information on the information used by the state to make accountability determinations. It also includes data about schools’ strengths and weaknesses that can be used to improve instruction and student services.
The state’s accountability system is one measure of school performance that can be used in conjunction with New York City’s evaluation tools, including the School Quality Report, the Quality Review, and the NYC School Survey. While all of these tools provide valuable perspectives on school performance, they are based on different methodologies. Additional information on New York City’s accountability system is available at http://schools.nyc.gov/Accountability/default.htm.
Find your school’s New York State School Report Card here.
Find the list of schools commended by NYSED for achieving high performance or high progress and the list of schools identified as lowest performing under NYSED’s ESEA waiver here.
Educators can find more information about state and federal accountability on theNYCDOE Wiki.