Gov. Wolf ‘gets it’ on education
It’s a wonderful feeling to work with a leader who “gets it” – who really understands.
And Gov. Tom Wolf, in developing Pennsylvania’s state plan for the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), has demonstrated that when it comes to education, he not only “gets it” – he works hard to get it right.
Educators toiled for years under the No Child Left Behind Act, which was largely developed without consulting teachers. And for more than a decade, educators, support professionals, and parents have been speaking out about the negative impact of high-stakes testing, and Gov. Wolf and his education secretary Pedro Rivera attention.
When NCLB was replaced by the new federal ESSA law, calling for the states to develop new plans, Gov. Tom Wolf asked for Pennsylvania’s educators and parents to give him advice on what actually improves teaching and learning. He listened. He understood. And he made changes.
The plan takes important steps in the right direction for our students.
Pennsylvania’s ESSA plan, approved by the U.S. Department of Education on Jan. 17, 2018, will be fully implemented in the 2018-19 school year. The plan focuses on a more balanced approach to school accountability, reducing time spent on highstakes were paying standardized testing, and increasing supports for Pennsylvania educators and students.
The state ESSA plan relies on multiple measures to track school quality, emphasizing both proficiency and growth on state standardized tests as well as other factors such as graduation rates, growth in English language learner proficiency, chronic absenteeism, and career readiness.
Moving to multiple measures of school success shifts the focus to students and uses standardized tests in a more balanced way. It also ensures the public sees a broad spectrum of information on how a school is performing.
The plan also creates programs to address teacher recruitment and preparation as well as school and student programs emphasizing STEM, career planning, safe school environments, and access to advanced coursework.
It was truly gratifying that the governor and his administration
sought out and included the input of educators in the development of this plan. Together, we made changes to address the toxic overemphasis on standardized testing, along with other issues that have been thorns in educators’ sides for years.
The approved ESSA plan is only the latest display of leadership from Gov. Wolf and his administration. The governor also recently took steps to reduce the testing time frame for the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA).
Beginning in the 2018-19 school year, the PSSA testing timeframe will be reduced from three weeks to two weeks, and the test will be given later in the school year to ease stress on students and give them additional time in the classroom before taking the assessment.
In addition to the recent changes to the PSSAs, Gov. Wolf signed a bill in June 2017 that provides career and