Dept. of Education Responds to Coalition’s Concerns About Science Accountability

On June 23, the STEM Education Coalition expressed strong concerns to the Department of Education (ED) that the first round of ED feedback sent to Delaware was widely viewed as discouraging states from including science in their state accountability systems under the Every Student Succeeds Act.  These concerns were covered in numerous press stories, including the Washington Post and New York Times. On July 10, the Coalition received a formal response to this inquiry from Acting Assitant Secretary Jason Botel. Mr. Botel clarified ED’s position, “I can assure you that the Department is not discouraging States from including student performance on science assessments in their accountability systems…States have discretion to include science results elsewhere in the State’s accountability system.”

The Coalition is pleased that the Department has reaffirmed their support of science education and looks forward to working with ED to ensure students across the country have access to high-quality STEM opportunities.