Education Dive – Tara García Mathewson
“Some argue the No Child Left Behind education law created a disincentive for innovation. Under intense pressure to steadily increase the portion of students meeting standards or face sanctions, many state and local educators found the risks of trying something new and failing to be too high. Doug Mesecar, former deputy chief of staff of the U.S. Department of Education under George W. Bush and current vice president of strategic partnerships for IO Education, sees the Every Student Succeeds Act as a major shift in this area. Under NCLB, Mesecar says states had to beg for permission to try new things, while “ESSA is a beg for forgiveness kind of law.” States have more freedom to innovate, even if the federal government still aims to hold them accountable. “It has really changed the conversation pretty dramatically in a short period of time,” Mesecar said.”(more)