How will the “Ultra-Politicized Climate” Impact Assessments Under ESSA?
October 11, 2016
Rafael Heller, principle policy analyst for Jobs for the Future, wrote in Education Week about the challenges that states face with assessments under ESSA, arguing that they are less about the “technical demand of designing and scoring performance tasks,” and more about the “politics of assessment and accountability.” According to Heller, the transition that states face from NCLB accountability systems to “high quality performance assessments” under ESSA will not be easy, and that the “ultra-politicized climate” does not make for a smooth transition.