In both incarnations--as NCLB and ESSA--key federal laws have been framed as an effort to strengthen schools and close opportunity gaps, yet they have constrained state and local officials, produced a host of unintended consequences, and largely failed to realize its aims. Moreover, whatever their benefits in data transparency and attention to student subgroups, these ESEA iterations have failed to meaningfully address systematic inequalities affecting racially minoritized students, low-income students, students with disabilities, emerging bilingual students, and others. This report seeks to outline what a more effective and equitable approach to assessment of student learning and accountability for schools and districts might look like.
