High-Stakes Teaching

ESEA

1965

In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson Signed the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, or ESEA. While schools have always been governed at the local and state level, this law demonstrated how federal funding can be used to assist school districts that are in need of financial assistance and to hold schools accountable for treating students with equity. The law still exists today. Public Law 89-10, 20 U.S.C. § 236-244 (1965). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-79/pdf/STATUTE-79-Pg27.pdf

A Nation At Risk

1983

In 1983, President Reagan commissioned a report by the National Commission on Excellence in Education, which stated that high schoolers in the United States were falling behind their peers in other countries, and they recommended, among other things, an increase in standards and standardized testing, many which are still used today. National Commission on Excellence in Education. (1983). A nation at risk: The imperative for educational reform. The Elementary School Journal, 84(2), 113-130.

NCLB

2001

In 2001, President Bush signed bipartisan legislation that increased accountability for standards in school, which came in the form of Adequate yearly progress, or AYP. Public Law 107-110, 20 U.S.C. § 6301 (2001). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-107publ110/pdf/PLAW-107publ110.pdf

RttT (ARRA)

2009

Race to the Top (part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) provided grants to states that presented plans for increased teacher accountability.;

ESSA

2015

In 2015, President Obama signed bipartisan legislation granting flexibility to states and local school districts regarding how standards are assessed and reported. While it was a renewal of ESEA and NCLB, it also marked one of the first pieces of legislation since ESEA that expanded local control of accountability measures, including the evaluation of teachers. Public Law 114-95, 20 U.S.C. § 6301 (2015). https://www.congress.gov/114/plaws/publ95/PLAW-114publ95.pdf