By Miriam Raftery

December 11, 2015 (Washington D.C.) – Calling it a “Christmas miracle—a bipartisan bill signing”,  President Barack Obama signed into law the Every Student Succeeds Act, which passed Congress with strong support among both Republicans and Democrats.

The new law preserves the goals and spirit of the No Child Left Behind law enacted under the George W. Bush administration, but eliminates that measure’s unpopular  heavy testing and eases consequences for schools that underperform. The Every Student Succeeds Act offers a more flexible approach to student testing and school accountability, also shifting much of the responsibility for improving troubled schools back to the states.