Alex Cohen is the Director of Learning and Evaluation for the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation. In Indiana, high school students can earn one of three diplomas—a Core 40 diploma, a more challenging Honors diploma and a less rigorous general diploma. But under new federal guidelines that are part of the Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA, Indiana would not be allowed to count the roughly 12% of graduates earning the general diploma toward its official high school graduation count. The new ESSA guidelines have sparked debate and raised an important question about the importance of establishing high standards for high school diplomas. Some support the general diploma because it offers […]

Claire Fiddian-Green is the President & CEO of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation. On June 30, 2017, the Indiana Department of Education released the first draft of Indiana’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan for public comment. ESSA is the federal law for K-12 schools enacted in 2015 that replaced the federal law No Child Left Behind. It requires states to create student academic achievement goals – based on outcomes like test scores and graduation rates – as well as a detailed plan for ensuring every school receives the necessary assistance to support all students in Indiana. While reviewing the academic proficiency goals proposed by the Indiana Department of Education […]