State Board of Education Provides Letter of Support for Accountability Redesign

The State Board of Education endorsed the Agency of Education's proposal to modernize Vermont's accountability system in a letter of support following the Agency's presentation to the Board earlier this month.

The Agency is proposing to redesign how Vermont measures and communicates school performance for the first time in almost a decade. Under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), states are required to develop accountability systems that incorporate multiple measures of school performance, such as academic achievement and graduation rates. The State Board's letter of support is a critical milestone in the shift to a more transparent, technically rigorous, and actionable accountability system.

"Improving student outcomes is a collective responsibility," said Secretary of Education Zoie Saunders. "When everyone has access to clear, meaningful information, we can make better decisions for students. Families deserve to understand their child's learning progress, educators need data to strengthen outcomes, and communities need confidence that schools are continuously improving. That's why we are redesigning our accountability system - to create transparent measures of success that drive improvement, strengthen targeted support for districts, and help the Agency celebrate and share what is working well across the state."

Last week, Secretary Saunders and the Agency's Chief of Strategy and Accountability Grace Shelton discussed the direction of Vermont's accountability redesign with the State Board. "We're taking the time to build this system the right way - grounded in evidence, informed by educators, and shaped through meaningful collaboration and engagement across the state," said Grace Shelton. "That is how we create an accountability system that is more transparent, more actionable, and better aligned to the needs of our schools and students."

Following the presentation, the State Board voted unanimously to submit a letter of support for the Agency's proposal. The Agency has included the letter of support in a request to the U.S. Department of Education for limited, time-bound flexibility to update Vermont's accountability system.

In the letter, State Board Chair Jennifer Deck Samuelson expressed the Board's "unanimous support for the Agency's efforts to modernize the state's accountability system." She described the redesign as an opportunity to "strengthen Vermont's accountability system by improving transparency, incorporating stronger measures of student growth and continuous improvement, ensuring technical quality through independent review, aligning with broader education transformation efforts, and creating a system that supports improvement rather than simply identifying performance."

The proposed redesign will be informed by extensive engagement with Vermont's education community. This input will ensure that the updated accountability system reflects the needs of students, schools, and communities.

"The collaborative design process for the new accountability system will reflect the values held by Vermonters, as well as the expectations set for students and education systems across the country," said Superintendent of the Rutland Northeast Supervisory Union Rene Sanchez. "When these priorities come together, our students will be better prepared for college, career, and life, and districts will have better information to make decisions about where resources are needed most."

The accountability redesign is only one component of the Agency's broader efforts to transform education quality in Vermont. Alongside this work, the Agency is advancing initiatives focused on statewide graduation requirements, literacy through Read Vermont, and mathematics improvement through Count on Vermont. Together, these efforts advance the Agency's vision of creating the best education system in the country - one where every student has the roots to know they belong and the wings to achieve their full potential.

In the video below, Secretary of Education Zoie Saunders shares what this work means for Vermont and how Vermonters can help shape it.