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Across the country, education leaders are asking a similar question:
Can assessment systems become more useful for instruction without losing accountability and comparability?
For years, most states have relied on the same model: a single statewide test administered at the end of the year. That approach satisfies federal requirements under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), but it has also drawn criticism for providing feedback too late to influence instruction and for concentrating testing into a short window.
In response, states are exploring ways to redesign assessment systems while still meeting federal requirements.
Some are pursuing federal pilots. Others are requesting waivers. Many are experimenting within the flexibility that already exists in federal law.
For a quick overview of the policy landscape, download our companion fact sheet: Why States Are Rethinking Assessment Systems and What Education Leaders Need to Know.
What Federal Law Still Requires
Under ESSA, states must administer statewide assessments that meet several core expectations.
States must test:
- Reading and math every year in grades 3–8
- Reading and math at least once in high school
- Science once in elementary, middle, and high school
The law also requires that results:
- Be comparable statewide
- Be reported for student groups
- Support public accountability systems
These guardrails are designed to ensure that families, policymakers, and educators can understand how schools are performing across a state.
At the same time, ESSA includes several mechanisms that allow states to redesign how assessments work.
The Three Main Ways States are Pursuing Assessment Flexibility
1. Using Flexibility Already Allowed under ESSA
Many states are redesigning testing systems without requesting federal approval by working within existing rules.
Some of the most visible examples emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic. When schools faced significant disruptions, several states shortened their statewide assessments or focused testing on priority standards to reduce testing burden while still meeting federal requirements.
Those adjustments demonstrated that assessment systems can evolve while preserving the core elements of statewide testing.
Today, states are continuing to explore similar changes.
For example:
- Florida administers statewide progress monitoring assessments throughout the school year. These shorter assessments provide earlier feedback to educators and contribute to final statewide results.
- Texas lawmakers have debated replacing long end-of-year exams with shorter tests administered at different points during the year, reflecting growing interest in distributing testing rather than concentrating it in a single window.
- Maine has spent several years developing a through-year assessment model that measures learning across multiple points in the year while still producing a statewide comparable result.
These approaches illustrate how states are trying to make assessments more instructionally useful while maintaining statewide accountability requirements.
2. Applying for Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority (IADA)
ESSA also created the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority, often called IADA.
This program allows states to pilot new types of assessment systems before scaling them statewide.
Under IADA, states can experiment with models such as:
- Competency-based assessments
- Performance assessments
- Through-year assessment systems
- Systems that combine multiple measures
States participating in IADA must demonstrate that these systems can eventually produce valid, reliable, and comparable results statewide.
Because of the technical requirements involved in demonstrating comparability, only a small number of states currently participate in the program.
Still, the program represents an important pathway for states that want to rethink how assessment works.
3. Requesting Federal Waivers
Some states have attempted to go further by requesting federal waivers that would allow larger departures from traditional statewide testing models.
These proposals often explore ideas such as:
- Allowing districts to select assessments from an approved list
- Combining benchmark tests and national exams to replace statewide tests
- Reducing reliance on a single end-of-year assessment
One example that drew national attention was Oklahoma’s proposal to replace statewide summative assessments with district-selected benchmark tests and college-readiness exams.
The proposal raised a central question for federal policymakers: Can states move away from a single common test while still meeting federal requirements for comparability and accountability?
As of early 2026, that proposal has not been approved. But it reflects a broader trend: states are increasingly testing the boundaries of how flexible assessment systems can become under federal law.
Why Flexibility is Becoming a Policy Priority
Interest in assessment redesign is growing for several reasons.
Instructional Relevance
Educators often say that once-a-year tests provide results too late to influence instruction. Systems that spread testing across the year may provide more timely information.
Testing Burden
Long testing windows and multi-hour exams remain a source of concern for educators and families.
Public Trust
Some policymakers believe assessment systems need to evolve in order to maintain confidence in accountability systems.
These pressures are pushing states to explore models that provide more useful feedback while maintaining statewide expectations.
The Challenge: Flexibility versus Comparability
The biggest policy tension in assessment redesign is comparability.
Federal law requires that assessment results mean the same thing across schools and districts. This becomes more complicated when systems include:
- Multiple assessments
- Local flexibility
- Different testing schedules
States experimenting with new models must address technical questions such as:
- Alignment to academic standards
- Linking scores across assessments
- Consistent reporting for families
- Accountability calculations
These requirements are the main reason most new assessment systems evolve gradually rather than through sudden change.
What Education Leaders Should Watch
As states explore new assessment models, several questions will shape policy decisions:
- How will results remain comparable statewide?
- Will new systems reduce or increase total testing time?
- How will scores be communicated clearly to families?
- How will accountability systems work during transitions?
The answers to these questions will determine which assessment innovations are ultimately adopted.
Bottom Line
States are increasingly interested in making assessment systems more flexible and more useful for instruction.
At the same time, federal law still requires statewide comparability, subgroup reporting, and transparent accountability.
That means large changes are unlikely to happen overnight.
Instead, the most likely path forward is continued experimentation within federal guardrails through pilots, incremental redesigns, and carefully structured assessment systems.
For education leaders, the key question is no longer whether assessment systems will evolve, but how they will evolve while maintaining public trust and statewide comparability.
Download the Companion Fact Sheet and Talk with Our Assessment Experts
If your state or district is exploring assessment redesign, Marzano Research can help you evaluate policy options and technical requirements.
Our team has advised states on:
- Innovative assessment pilots
- Assessment procurement and vendor selection
- Comparability and linking studies
- Technical evaluations of assessment systems
Source
Andres, A. (2025, August 28). Policy Memo 1: Oklahoma ESSA peer-review waiver: BLUF, policy analysis, and risk. Marzano Research.
