Under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), federal education mandates will be decreasing, which means states will have more flexibility and authority than they've had in decades. State education agency (SEA) leaders are confronting great change and great opportunity as many agencies move away from a focus on compliance with federal regulations,…

"A Nation at Risk" sounded the call for school improvement and offered recommendations for bringing it about. "No Child Left Behind" was even more prescriptive in its approach to raising student achievement. However, as the author of this article points out, for all their recommendations and strategies, both reform efforts neglect the essential…

This article presents an interview with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. In this interview, Duncan talks about the goal for his work leading American schools and how merit pay, charter schools, and mayoral control would improve student learning.

Nothing is more important to America's future than teaching children the skills they need to be successful. Every child must receive a quality education if America is to be a prosperous and hopeful country. The rapidly changing global economy is creating new industries that compete for highly skilled workers from around the world, and young people…

The federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 (the latest revision of ESEA) has exerted strong pressure on the states to encourage local public schools to improve their standardized test scores. This emphasis reflects a desire on the part of politicians and policy makers for strict accountability in the form of current test scores that can…