ESSA says tests can’t collect personal beliefs.
The law of the land, Every Student Succeeds Act, ESSA, got something right: we shouldn’t be collecting information about how students feel, their personal beliefs, their attitudes.
(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The assessments under subparagraph (A) shall— (iii) be used for purposes for which such assessments are valid and reliable, consistent with relevant, nationally recognized professional and technical testing standards, objectively measure academic achievement, knowledge, and skills, and be tests that do not evaluate or assess personal or family beliefs and attitudes, or publicly disclose personally identifiable information;
Share this little tidbit of ESSA with your legislators and state and local education boards. Also remind them that plenty of folks are also looking at these other laws that edtech and student data collection may be circumventing.
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One has to wonder how data collection via Social-Emotional-Learning and measuring 21st Century skills and “grit” will factor into this ESSA language. This statement in ESSA should also be addressed when considering blended learning, adaptive learning, online personalized learning–whatever you want to call the big push for embedded data collection via Competency Based Education, CBE and formative online tests.
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Congressman Jared Polis recently mentioned this technology data privacy concern while speaking at a hearing with John King, the nominee for U.S. Secretary of Education. You can listen to this short snippet here.
Congressman Polis asks John King how ESSA will balance the issues of over-testing, and states with new “blended ESSA says tests can’t collect personal beliefs. – Missouri Education Watchdog: