Editing Education reform (section)

==== 2016–2021: Every Student Succeeds Act ====
The [[American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009|American Reinvestment and Recovery Act]], enacted in 2009, reserved more than $85 billion in public funds to be used for education.

The 2009 [[Council of Chief State School Officers]] and the [[National Governors Association]] launch the [[Common Core State Standards Initiative]].

In 2012 the Obama administration launched the [[Race to the Top]] competition aimed at spurring K–12 education reform through higher standards.<blockquote>"The Race to the Top – District competition will encourage transformative change within schools, targeted toward leveraging, enhancing, and improving classroom practices and resources.

The four key areas of reform include:

* Development of rigorous standards and better assessments
* Adoption of better data systems to provide schools, teachers, and parents with information about student progress
* Support for teachers and school leaders to become more effective
* Increased emphasis and resources for the rigorous interventions needed to turn around the lowest-performing schools"<ref>{{Cite web|title=Race to the Top|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/node/174631|access-date=2021-04-27|website=The White House|language=en|archive-date=2017-12-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171228004741/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/node/174631|url-status=dead}}</ref>
</blockquote>In 2015, under the Obama administration, many of the more restrictive elements that were enacted under No Child Left Behind (NCLB, 2001), were removed in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ed.gov/essa|title=Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) {{!}} U.S. Department of Education|website=www.ed.gov|language=en|access-date=2018-07-09}}</ref> which limits the role of the federal government in school liability. [[Every Student Succeeds Act]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=U.S. Congress |title=PUBLIC LAW 114–95 |date=2015 |publisher=U.S. Congress |location=Washington D.C. |url=https://www.congress.gov/114/plaws/publ95/PLAW-114publ95.pdf |access-date=5 June 2023}}</ref> reformed educational standards by "moving away from such high stakes and assessment based accountability models" and focused on assessing student achievement from a holistic approach by utilizing qualitative measures.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Close|first1=Kevin|last2=Amrein-Beardsley|first2=Audrey|last3=Collins|first3=Clarin|date=2020-04-13|title=Putting teacher evaluation systems on the map: An overview of states' teacher evaluation systems post–Every Student Succeeds Act|url=https://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/view/5252|journal=Education Policy Analysis Archives|volume=28|pages=8|doi=10.14507/epaa.28.5252|issn=1068-2341|doi-access=free}}</ref> Some argue that giving states more authority can help prevent considerable discrepancies in educational performance across different states.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.brookings.edu/research/how-the-u-s-department-of-education-can-foster-education-reform-in-the-era-of-trump-and-essa/|title=How the U.S. Department of Education can foster education reform in the era of Trump and ESSA|last=Jacob|first=Brian A.|date=2017-02-02|work=Brookings|access-date=2018-07-09|language=en-US}}</ref> ESSA was approved by former President Obama in 2015 which amended and empowered the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Maranto |first1=Robert |last2=McShane |first2=Michael Q. |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=9781137030931 |doi=10.1057/9781137030931_7 |chapter=Reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act |title=President Obama and Education Reform |year=2012}}</ref> The Department of Education has the choice to carry out measures in drawing attention to said differences by pinpointing lowest-performing state governments and supplying information on the condition and progress of each state on different educational parameters. It can also provide reasonable funding along with technical aid to help states with similar demographics collaborate in improving their public education programs.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education-k-12/reports/2016/03/02/132053/strategies-to-improve-low-performing-schools-under-the-every-student-succeeds-act/|title=Strategies to Improve Low-Performing Schools Under the Every Student Succeeds Act - Center for American Progress|work=Center for American Progress|access-date=2018-07-09|language=en-US}}</ref>