What to Expect As State Assessments Resume in 2022?

The U.S. Department of Education announced in late February that it would not give blanket waivers to avoid state assessments, meaning tests would be given in 2022. The state assessments were suspended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic causing school closures, a Since then, educators and students have faced uncertainty about whether tests would resume. Now, both groups must prepare for the return of high-stakes testing under challenging conditions. Now, teachers and students will face challenges as they try to press on with high-stakes testing.

State assessments in math and reading are required annually in grades .3–8 and once in high school under the Every Student Succeeds Act. We need them to collect crucial data on student and school performance and ensure compliance with federal standards.

Some states, like New Jersey, pushed back. Governor Phil Murphy announced plans to seek a waiver even before the federal decision. Many teachers’ unions support postponing tests. They argue testing will add stress and reduce valuable class time. They will put a great deal of stress on students and teachers while also taking time away from classroom learning. 

Another argument against the tests is that they won’t provide useful information about student performance. It’s expected that there will be poorer performance due to the disruptions in learning over the past year, so the data from the 2021 testing will only confirm this, and won’t provide meaningful information for the accountability of those schools. 

However, The Department of Education believes testing will provide value say data will help identify learning gaps and show how schools are recovering. The test data could show how different schools are handling the pandemic and let parents know the degree to which their children are facing issues.

What Does This Mean For Students and Teachers?

Assistant Secretary Ian Rosenblum confirmed that blanket waivers are off the table. States can still request flexibility in reporting. States will still be able to apply to waive the accountability requirements so the unanticipated effects of the pandemic don’t alter their long-term plans for demonstrating their schools’ performance. This removes some pressure on schools to improve performance. 

States will now look for the option that lets them give assessments without altering their previous plans for the 2020/2021 school year. The announcement encourages schools to give their English-language proficiency assessment later in the year since the normal dates for it are already approaching. The test may be given later in the year or even past the 2020-2021 school year into the summer or fall. 

The department discourages requiring students to enter schools solely for testing. Remote assessments are being developed and may soon be ready. It is open to remote assessments, which are being worked on by test companies and will potentially be ready to use. Still, setting up and proctoring remote standardized tests can be a challenge for teachers, administrators, and test-taking students. 

There may be issues with test security, online accessibility, and other technical conflicts. Testing later in the year may not reflect what students actually learned in class. Schools may shorten tests to collect data efficiently without using too much teaching time. 

The scenario in 2022

Students and parents can expect most schools to administer the tests and should expect the testing at some point this year, though experiences will vary from state to state and some exemptions are possible.

This news is a result that many educators hoped to avoid, as they were already frustrated by the focus on high-stakes testing. Still, the lack of emphasis on accountability and performance reviews in schools means that the test data will serve to help parents and educators see how the pandemic has impacted students in different ways over the difficult past years.