I'd like to know about this. Can you link to something about the incentive programs? I thought that they were heavily regional, but I admit that I haven't looked too deeply.
Well, the negative side is mostly the consequences for failing to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) under the NCLB.
ESSA, OTOH, maintains the basic structure of NCLB, including the same kind of accountability system, but leaves detailed setting of standards and interventions to the states. It may weaken, but seems unlikely to eliminate, the pressures against advanced promotion (particularly in grades 3-8, where it continues the requirement for annual testing) created by NCLB and its AYP-based interventions.