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MBAE has been a staunch supporter of statewide accountability systems that are designed to raise student achievement and focus attention on areas for improvement since we helped make sure this was a central component of the Education Reform Act of 1993. More recently, we have played an active role on the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE) Accountability and Assistance Advisory Council, which helped link technical assistance and support to identified needs for district action through development of the new Framework for District Accountability and Assistance. So, it was only because of our confidence in the potential of this state system and the absence of action by Congress to address the problems with the current federal system that we supported the state’s application for an ESEA waiver.
MBAE shared our concerns about the DESE request for the ESEA Waiver during the public comment period, and supported the waiver “conditioned on Commissioner Mitchell Chester’s assurance that he has ‘no interest in watering down our standards and expectations’ and that he plans to continue the state’s vigorous support of high standards, rewards for strong performance, and aggressive pursuit of continuous improvement”.
We will hold the Commissioner to this commitment and continue to advocate for high standards of performance and accountability for meeting these in every level of public education in the Commonwealth.
The state’s request, and the U.S. Department of Education’s response are online at the U.S. DOE website. Additional information about the state’s application can be found on the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education website.