Every Student Succeeds Act Requirements
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed in law on December 10, 2015, and the new law builds on key areas of progress in recent years, made possible by the efforts of educators, communities, parents, and students across the country.
ESSA includes provisions that will help to ensure success for students and schools. Below are just a few. The law:
- Advances equity by upholding critical protections for America’s disadvantaged and high-need students.
- Requires—for the first time—that all students in America be taught to high academic standards that will prepare them to succeed in college and careers.
- Ensures that vital information is provided to educators, families, students, and communities through annual statewide assessments that measure students’ progress toward those high standards.
- Helps to support and grow local innovations—including evidence-based and place-based interventions developed by local leaders and educators—consistent with our Investing in Innovation and Promise Neighborhoods.
- Sustains and expands this administration’s historic investments in increasing access to high-quality preschool.
- Maintains an expectation that there will be accountability and action to effect positive change in our lowest-performing schools, where groups of students are not making progress, and where graduation rates are low over extended periods of time.
A key requirement is that ESSA ensures states set high standards so that children graduate high school ready for college and career. Research suggests the following:
- An estimated 20 to 50 percent of students enter a post-secondary education experience without declaring a major course of study. Source: Gordon
- Over 80% of students change their major course of study at least one to three times with an average cost of over $10,000 per change, leading to the additional debt of the college investment. Source: National Center for Education Statistics
- Over 30% of students drop out of college within the first two years. The United States has lowest college completion rate in the developed world. Source: National Student Clearinghouse and the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development
- Over 50% of students are not working a job or career in their major course of study. This is a waste of time and money if you are not working in a job or career based on your time and financial investment. Source: CareerBuilder
- Finally, for over the past 20 years, employers continue to say that graduates coming out of college, university or technical schools continued to lack the soft skills to be able to be successful within their companies or organizations. Source:
Our materials are focused on helping students in three key areas:
- Finding Life’ Direction – this course provides the student with the tools to create a pathway to their future to fulfill their destiny in life.
- Workplace Preparation – to prepare students for the workplace, this course offers the following skills: Critical thinking skills, soft skills and interviewing skills to secure their desired job. As noted, employers expect graduates to have these skills before they enter the workplace and most schools and colleges do not provide this training.
- Focus Lifestyle – we live in an age of distractions with texting, social media and gaming consuming time and energy of young people. Our courses help them create and develop a lifestyle of focus to achieve their goals and objectives.