Final answer:
The potentially lasting positive impact of NCLB on the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and future educational initiatives is likely the c. greater emphasis on local and state control, with states gaining more responsibility over their educational accountability systems.
Step-by-step explanation:
No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
It is generally conceded that a potentially lasting positive impact of NCLB on ESSA and all likelihood later reauthorizations is the Greater emphasis on local and state control. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was enacted in 2015 as a replacement for the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which had been in effect since 2002. Despite the initial increase in federal involvement in education under NCLB, the transition to ESSA marked a significant shift away from federal oversight, with more responsibility placed back into the hands of state and local jurisdictions.
With the introduction of ESSA, annual testing is still mandated, but states now have increased flexibility in creating accountability systems and are required to submit their own plans to the U.S. Department of Education for approval. This shift supports the argument that one positive legacy of NCLB is the heightened role of states in the education sphere, allowing them to tailor their strategies to their unique demographic and educational needs.
While NCLB focused on standardizing education and received criticism for teaching practices that prioritized testing over learning, ESSA aims to rectify some of these issues. It maintains academic accountability but offers states more latitude to decide how to achieve and measure educational progress without the strict federal requirements of NCLB. Ultimately, the move toward empowering states and local entities indicates a significant change in the approach to education reform.