{"id":6968,"date":"2016-06-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-06-30T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/blog\/cw_post\/from-compliance-to-continuous-improvement-accountability-assessments-and-next-generation-workforce-with-essa\/"},"modified":"2020-02-27T14:47:12","modified_gmt":"2020-02-27T19:47:12","slug":"from-compliance-to-continuous-improvement-accountability-assessments-and-next-generation-workforce-with-essa","status":"publish","type":"cw_post","link":"https:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/cw_post\/from-compliance-to-continuous-improvement-accountability-assessments-and-next-generation-workforce-with-essa\/","title":{"rendered":"From Compliance to Continuous Improvement: Accountability, Assessments and Next Generation Workforce with ESSA"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Kids\"This post originally appeared at iNACOL<\/a> on June 7, 2016.<\/em><\/p>\n

There is an incredible window of opportunity for state policymakers with the passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)<\/a>. States now have the flexibility to engage in conversations with local communities to reimagine the future of education and redefine what student success looks like. \u00a0What do we want our students to know and be able to do in the 21st century? How can we rethink preparation programs to ensure our educators have the skills and competencies<\/a> for next generation learning models?<\/p>\n

How do we create policy alignment and support for student-centered learning? Student-centered, personalized learning requires assessments for learning that are meaningful to students and educators alike in providing real-time feedback on a student\u2019s progress toward mastery of learning goals. \u00a0Educators assess evidence of student work for demonstrating knowledge, skills and competency is key to competency-based pathways. \u00a0Summative assessments now can be broken into smaller units and offered as interim assessments to validate student learning and provide a quality control. \u00a0Combinations of performance assessments, computer adaptive testing, formative assessment and these interim assessments will help frame new systems of assessments to support building capacity in sync with educators\u2019 and students\u2019 needs.<\/p>\n

With ESSA passage, states and localities are rethinking how accountability can ensure quality, equity and excellence \u2014 and examining how systems of assessments will support continuous improvement. \u00a0This includes a new role of states for building capacity and creating space for innovation through more student-centered aligned accountability with multiple measures and exploring new designs for certification and licensure through different models of teacher prep (such as with stacked micro-credentials) to equip the next generation of educators.<\/p>\n

Accountability<\/b><\/h3>\n

A forward-thinking accountability system should align state accountability to student-centered learning<\/a> to provide success for each and every student.<\/p>\n

Old accountability models from No Child Left Behind (NCLB) reflect an era of data poverty that measured student proficiency on a single end-of-year test. That \u201cautopsy\u201d approach to testing for accountability purposes does not support student-centered learning nor continuous improvement. Educators and students are interested in knowing where they are on the continuum of learning toward reaching their learning goals and graduating. \u00a0Thus, students, parents and educators need data to help manage meeting each student\u2019s unique needs in personalized learning environments.<\/p>\n

Next generation accountability models will utilize multiple measures and indicators of student progress to support continuous improvement throughout the year. Data will be relevant to inform instruction and differentiate instruction for improving student outcomes on the knowledge, skills and dispositions that matter most for future success. \u00a0Communities and local schools are redefining what success looks like for the \u201cwhole child\u201d and designing next generation accountability to support their vision, values and goals of a new era of K-12 education \u201creimagined.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

Opportunity to Design for Continuous Improvement<\/b><\/h3>\n

The opportunity exists to design new accountability models to ensure equity by focusing on a better balance of indicators for supporting continuous improvement, such as:<\/p>\n