After passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) in 2015, states assumed greater responsibility for designing their own accountability and assessment systems. ESSA requires states to measure "higher order thinking skills and understanding" and encourages the use of open-ended performance assessments, which are essential for…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) opened up new possibilities for how student and school success are defined and supported in American public education. States have greater responsibility for designing and building their assessment and accountability systems. These new opportunities to develop performance assessments are critically important…

Queens College has a program for mentoring undergraduate preservice teachers. In this article, the author reports the students' comments on a variety of topics related to social studies. Many of their opinions are colored by their concerns about high-stakes testing and how it will affect their teaching plans. When asking the participants in the…