The decisions states make regarding what their assessments look like and what kind of information they produce inevitably shape instruction. Since the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 ushered in an era of testing-based accountability for schools, state assessments have been governed by a set of design decisions that emphasize easily generated,…

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) cemented a standardized testing assessment culture in the United States but research has highlighted the inequities (Au, 2020; Dixon, 1978; Grodsky et al., 2008; Khan, 2020; Moses & Nanna, 2007), unreliability (Hunt et al., 2010; Pizmony-Levy & Green Saraisky, 2016) and negative impacts (Berryhill et al., 2009;…

State leaders have long recognized the value of statewide tests. Many had well-developed testing systems long before the No Child Left Behind Act, signed in 2002, required annual assessments in grades 3-8. Another sign of that recognition is the recent plethora of new state testing requirements for K-3 students. But would states continue to test…

State summative assessments play an important role in measuring student learning and guiding educational improvement efforts, despite their limitations. But there is growing momentum in individual states and nationally to rethink these assessments with an eye toward reducing time spent on testing and increasing the tests' instructional relevance.…