Will Higher Education’s Other Pressures Undercut ESSA’s Promises?
August 12, 2016
In a piece from Education Week, Arnold Shober, an associate professor of Government at Lawrence University in Appleton, WI, writes that ESSA “promotes higher education as a primary destination after K-12” but “higher education’s other pressures may undercut ESSA’s promises.” Questions about the purpose of college – do students go to “have fun” or “be challenged” – are coming at a “politically awkward time for colleges and universities.” Shober notes that colleges and universities “pose a political threat to the larger ESSA project and to themselves.” He says that changes to standards and curricula under the law might change attitudes toward the Common Core and aligned assessments.