Last week, the U.S. Department of Education gave Massachusetts the green light to “pilot a new kind of science test for fifth and eighth-grade students” as part of a federal innovative assessment program for the 2020-2021 school year. This approval will give the state the...
Last week, the Aurora Institute released “its broad-based education policy agenda” in two documents—one focusing on state policy actions and another outlining federal policy priorities to accelerate education innovation. The agenda includes “a set of 15 recommendations to make the nation’s education system fit for...
According to Chris Domaleski at the Center for Assessment, the disruption to ESSA school accountability systems is likely to reach well beyond 2021. Given the fact that many “state ESSA accountability systems rely on a bundle of multi-year data,” returning to the status quo quickly...
In 2018, New Hampshire became only the second state “approved to participate in the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority (IADA) pilot program under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).” The program, known as Performance Assessment for Competency Education (PACE), is an “innovative assessment system that determines...
Even as policies shift “to accommodate experimentation on the path to better assessment,” progress remains slow despite traditional, standardized approaches not producing the desired results, according to Education Dive. As more educators recognize the “need for more creative and critical thinking,” they are increasingly turning...
According to the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE), ESSA has “provided new opportunities for creating innovative assessments that fulfill accountability requirements while contributing to learning and teaching.” On August 7, at 3:00 PM ET, NASBE will host a webinar featuring Abby Javurek,...
With community schools gaining attention (and ground) in the education space, Brookings’ Reuben Jacobson takes a look at how states are leading the way in innovating for such schools, which “engage families and community organizations to provide well-rounded support to students.” In recent years, he...
Rick Hess opines in Education Week that those “who want to improve the American public education system are facing a unique moment with an abundance of levers to drive change,” including ESSA, which “provides states and localities with increased flexibility in setting goals and designing interventions, which were once...
According to the Ouachita Citizen, the Louisiana Department of Education recently “announced the state’s proposal to pilot an innovative English assessment,” which is the first to be approved by the U.S. Department of Education under.” The five school districts that will serve as initial partners...
According to Alyson Klein at Education Week, Louisiana is the first state to get approval from the U.S. Department of Education to participate in ESSA’s “Innovative Assessment” pilot, which “allows up to seven states to try out new kinds of tests in a handful of...
