2020 is an Opportunity to Rethink State Assessments
By: Steph Frenel
Tags: Covid 19, Racial Justice, Equity, Assessment, Education

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was an elementary school Principal, spending each day responding to crises and solving for unknowns during an unprecedented disruption in our traditional educational practices. As a black first-generation American and an educator, the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor were another reminder of the systemic injustices and racial inequalities that have plagued our institutions. For many educators, this year brought us back to the drawing board to think about how to best address the issues caused by the dual pandemics of COVID-19 and racial injustice within our education system. It illuminated for many the growing disparities and issues our most vulnerable student populations must tackle in order to merely survive in this country and the need for us to rethink how we measure our students’ progress through existing assessments that have long put students of color at a disadvantage.

While many organizations and communities demanded change and reckoning to address the effects of the dual pandemics, these demands were met with resistance and hostility from those who would like to maintain the status quo. As a direct challenge to the acclaimed 1619 project, which aims to teach the full history of slavery in the U.S., President Trump issued the 1776 Commission, claiming that school curriculum should teach a patriotic and positive view of U.S. history, attempting to negate the historical experiences and trauma that black people endured and erase the connection between history and the systemic racism we currently see in the U.S.

As the curriculum war wages on, a lesser-discussed piece of the education system is the assessments that accompany the curriculum. The Trump Administration under the leadership of Education Secretary Betsy Devos have also pushed to reinstate state assessments. While assessments themselves are not inherently problematic, the way in which we use assessments within the U.S. has been incredibly biased against communities of color. Instead of viewing assessments as a tool to gauge student progress and identify the areas where teachers need to fill learning gaps, state assessments are often used to judge the character of the learner, determine the salary of the teacher, and calculate the amount of funding a school should receive. Yes, student achievement and accountability are incredibly important, and we need to be able to understand the learning loss caused by school closures. However, when we are using assessments without considering factors that could impact the validity of the assessment and these assessments are used to make decisions outside of what should be taught in the classroom, we are continuing to send our education system down a path that is harmful to children and will make progress impossible. Additionally, the use of these assessments has done very little to improve the achievement of students of color. According to a study conducted by Stanford’s Center for Education Policy Analysis, the white-black and white-Hispanic achievement gaps have remained large for the last 30 years.

Teachers should not have to bear the oppressive structures created by state assessments and their related policies. Instead, teachers need to broaden the scope of their teaching to prepare students for the world in which they live. Not only should teachers want this, but parents want this as well. A recent study by the American Enterprise Institute found that 73% of parents want schools to provide educators with training that “promotes cultural sensitivity and addresses implicit bias.” In addition to teaching standards-based content, teachers need to help students develop their social-emotional skills, understand their identity and community from an asset-based perspective, and objectively recognize the injustice and racism that imbues U.S. society. This would be moving us towards a culturally-responsive pedagogy, and it is not just for communities of color. Students from white affluent communities need to understand the true history and social structures of the U.S. if they are to truly become allies willing to dismantle the injustices within the system. If we are to go back to assessments to understand student gaps and hold educators accountable, these assessments must include all of these elements of a strong education, not only standards, as that will be the only way to gauge if students are truly ready for the 21st century and become influential members of our society.

Biden’s victory has invigorated many across the United States, including educators and teachers who’ve been at the forefront of responding to the pandemic by educating the next generation of leaders under incredibly challenging circumstances. I myself rejoiced on Saturday, November 7th, viewing the Biden-Harris win as a glimmer of hope during what has been a difficult year. A new presidential administration and the disruption of education as we know it requires us to be innovative and rethink our systems.

Assessment developers and policy makers: let’s use this opportunity to rethink our education values and how we evaluate student preparedness. This may be the only opportunity in our lifetime, and the decisions we make now will have a lasting impact on future generations.