Developing State Assessment Systems That Support Teaching and Learning: What Can the Federal Government Do?
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) invited states to use multiple measures of “higher-order thinking skills and understanding,” including “extended-performance tasks,” to create state assessment systems that support teaching for deeper learning. However, few states have been able to navigate federal assessment requirements in ways that result in tests with these features that can support high-quality instruction. This brief describes three ways that federal executive action can help states realize their visions for more meaningful assessments:
Better align technical expectations for assessment quality with ESSA’s intentions
Enable ESSA’s Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority to better support innovation
Create additional pathways to higher-quality assessments through existing or new funding mechanisms
The report on which this brief is based can be found at https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/ product/developing-assessment-systems-federal-support.