The Vermont Agency of Education (AOE) drafted and submitted a Vermont State Plan in response to the requirements of the Vermont Education Quality Standards (EQS) and the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The Plan primarily describes the state’s proposed system for local-level accountability and applications for ESSA-related federal funding, with an emphasis on supporting school and Supervisory Union and District continuous improvement efforts.
The Plan received approval from the US Department of Education on August 31, 2017, and is provided below.
- Press Release: U.S. Department of Education Approves ESSA Vermont State Plan
- Letter from US Department of Education, Approval of the Vermont State Plan
- Final Draft of the Vermont State Plan
- State Plan Feedback from US Department of Education
State Plan Development
As the AOE began to develop the state plan in 2016 - 2017, the agency identified proposed decision points to incorporate into a draft Vermont State Plan. The AOE posted a brief summary of each proposal online, for the public to review and provide feedback. All proposals were designed to reflect ESSA requirements while also aligning to Vermont policy. Proposals were categorized under the four agency workgroups that coordinated the review of the ESSA questions under consideration: Accountability, Consolidated Federal Programs, Educator Quality, and School Effectiveness. One such decision point was related to Researching the Implications of 9th Grade Testing. The AOE collaborated with roughly 2000 stakeholders statewide in the process of drafting the Vermont State Plan.
State Plan Summary Documents
To support Vermont’s educators and the public in their understanding of the Vermont State Plan and its implications for local-level practice, the AOE has developed these one-page summaries of major Plan elements. These resources can be used as a part of staff training, communications with School Board members and parents, or to help grasp State Plan content without having to read the full Plan document.
Some of these summary documents are more technical than others; the degree of complexity of the material in each document is listed below after that document’s description.
- Vermont Education Accountability System: A journey on how Vermont’s education accountability system has evolved from 2002 to present day. Technical Complexity: Low
- ESSA Vermont State Plan: An overview of the goals and major components of the Plan. Technical Complexity: Medium
- Putting The Pieces Together: how the State Plan connects with other prominent Vermont education policies and initiatives, including EQS and the continuous improvement planning process. Technical Complexity: Medium
- Federal Accountability Within a State Plan: How Vermont’s accountability system fulfills federal requirements within a more comprehensive state framework. Technical Complexity: Low
- Annual Snapshot: Multiple Indicators: A list of Vermont’s accountability measures, including the academic measures that meet the requirements of ESSA. Technical Complexity: Medium
- ESSA: All Indicators: a more detailed description of Vermont’s accountability measures, including descriptions of successful performance against each measure. Technical Complexity: High
- Long Term and Interim Goals: How long-term and interim goals were identified, and how the approach to goal setting under ESSA differs from the NCLB approach. Technical Complexity: Low
- Weighting of Indicators: How the academic proficiency performance measures are weighted relative to each other to arrive at an overall rating. Technical Complexity: High
- Annual Snapshot: Report Card: How school performance will be represented publicly, and what how schools and the public can interact with this information. Technical Complexity: Medium
- Student Group N-Size: The rationale behind Vermont’s identification of a minimum number of students needed to make accountability determinations about schools. Technical Complexity: High
- Continuous Improvement Supports: A general overview of the supports that Vermont schools will be eligible to receive, depending on their needs. Technical Complexity: Low
Questions?
Email Chris Case or call (802) 828-4377
Email Patrick Halladay or call (802) 828-4224