Trusted Brokers: How Multiple Measures of Student and School Success Emerged in ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act)

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 8:00 am Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
  In Roundtable Session: Global Perspectives on Sociology of Education (Table 11)

Abstract

The transition from No Child Left Behind (NCLB) to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) brought a notable shift: from a singular focus on test scores to a mandate for multiple measures of student and school success. This paper explores how this shift became central to school accountability despite limited initial research. Drawing on interviews with dozens of high-ranking federal policymakers and educational advocates, we traced the evolution of student and school success measures, uncovering differences in how “professional” and “policy” social scientists influenced the process. Findings reveal how “trusted brokers”—individuals and organizations outside of academia—mediated policymakers’ research utilization. These brokers—and the case studies they relied on—shaped the incorporation of research evidence into federal policy.

Authors

• Prudence L. Carter, Brown University

• Rebecca A. Cruz, Johns Hopkins University

• Sarah Hodgman, Brown University