How far will testing leeway extend under ESSA?

Dive Brief:

Many have lauded the Every Student Succeeds Act for the decision-making power it returns to states, particularly in regard to how they conduct assessments and how many tests students are required to take, but federal pushback to state accountability plans has raised uncertainty around how onerous federal regulation will be, according to Education Week.
Oklahoma submitted a draft of its accountability plan to the U.S. Department of Education for approval, indicating it is offering school districts a choice between using the SAT or ACT for assessment, and a response from the department indicated the state would be required to make a choice between the two tests.
Oklahoma is considering pursuing a waiver for ESSA in order to let districts have a choice in the matter, but there has still been no word a month since making that announcement — and New Jersey, Florida and Kentucky are also seeking ESSA waivers, some of which pertain to assessments.

Dive Insight:

Though many supporters and critics initially assumed that under the tenure of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who has been a school choice advocate and repeatedly criticized federal education oversight, there wouldn't be a heavy regulatory hand from Washington. However, the initial responses to plans from states like Delaware have led some reconsider this assessment, as states have been criticized by the U.S. Department of Education for not setting ambitious enough goals for student achievement. It remains to be seen how else the department will react when the rest of the states submit their own accountability plans this fall, and whether the department’s advice to some of those states signals a continuing federal presence, despite ESSA’s promise to offer states more autonomy.

For schools and districts trying to formulate their own kinds of assessments, the uncertainty can make things more difficult. Many critics of No Child Left Behind maintain, as Oklahoma education officials are contending, that too much attention was given to formative assessments to a point where it was detrimental for students. As more districts seek a balance between formative and summative assessments utilizing ESSA’s flexibility, it is important that district leaders don't feel pressured to not pursue multiple measures because of uncertain signs regarding accountability from the feds.