Secretary DeVos Releases Guide to Help Families Understand School Report Cards

Washington, D.C. – Building on her commitment to empower parents and guardians with relevant, transparent information on their local schools, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos released today a resource guide to understanding state and local report cards required by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).

ESSA directs states and districts to publish report cards that show important measures of state, district and school performance, and progress. Specifically, states and districts will report on graduation rates, student achievement, school climate, state accountability, teacher qualifications and other key indicators. For the first time ever, states will be required to report funding from federal, state and local sources, and how much money is spent per pupil. Parents will be able to utilize this valuable information to make informed decisions about their child’s current education, as well as future learning pathways.

“Parents deserve to know what is happening in their child’s school,” said Secretary DeVos. “They should not have to parse through a 500-page legal document to understand how a law or policy affects their children’s education. This guide demonstrates our ongoing commitment to providing parents with user-friendly tools and the information necessary to make informed decisions. Informed parents become empowered and engaged parents who are able to better advocate on behalf of their children.”

For more information on ESSA report cards, please see the parent guide that is available here. ESSA requires that report cards be concise, understandable and accessible to the public.

Featured

  • University of Kentucky Receives $150M Gift Toward New Arts District

    The University of Kentucky’s Board of Trustees recently received a $150-million gift from The Bill Gatton Foundation, according to a university news release, to build a new arts district on the campus in Lexington, Ky. The new district will feature a new College of Fine Arts building and a multi-hundred-seat theater, among other amenities.

  • textured paper collage shows a school building on fire as a fire truck sprays water into the flames

    Why a Fire Loss Is More than Flames

    We've all seen what fire damage can do to a property, but the types of damage building owners often encounter after a fire loss can exceed expectations. Having full awareness of the different forms of damage properties can sustain helps owners respond faster, reduce continued damage, and get back on the road to recovery in short order.

  • iPark 87

    Building a Future-Focused Career and Technical Education Center

    A district superintendent shares his team's journey to aligning student passions with workforce demands, and why their new CTE center could be a model for districts nationwide.

  • Massachusetts K–12 District Selects Architect for New Junior High

    Swansea Public Schools in Swansea, Mass., recently announced that it has selected Finegold Alexander Architects to design a new junior high school for the district, according to a news release. The firm will create the Feasibility Study and Schematic Design for Joseph Case Junior High School after a lengthy selection process by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA).

Digital Edition