House Passes Every Student Succeeds Act
While we generally stay away from politics in this blog, the new federal legislation to replace No Child Left Behind deserves a comment.
For many years we felt like a lone voice in the No Child Left Behind wilderness. While standardized testing may have a role to play in K–12 education, it’s the virtual antithesis of our mission and learning philosophy to focus on higher-order thinking skills and student engagement
While the new legislation doesn’t abandon standardized testing, it appears to be less of an obstacle to a renewed emphasis on authentic learning. For that, we welcome the bill and applaud the bipartisan support it received.
By no means have we had time to understand the full implication of the 1,059 page bill. We’ll be watching closely for further analysis. At first blush though, it seems like a positive development.
And by the way, under the language of the new bill, SmartLabs qualify as both educational technology and blended learning programs—something to keep in mind when exploring funding options.
Case Study
