By Dale Chu
Alabama is seeking a package of federal waivers under ESSA, but the provision getting the most attention would tweak the high‑school academic achievement indicator. If approved, high school juniors beginning next school year would be required to take both the ACT and the WorkKeys assessment.
State Superintendent Eric Mackey frames the move as giving students a fuller picture of postsecondary options. The goal, he says, is to ensure high schools reflect both college and workforce pathways.
What I Like
- Signals multiple pathways matter: Alabama’s approach acknowledges that readiness isn’t one‑dimensional. Students who excel on career‑oriented assessments but not on the ACT arguably deserve some form of recognition for applied skills.
- Aligns accountability with state priorities: The request fits an emerging federal stance under the current U.S. Department of Education that states should innovate and tailor systems to local workforce and educational goals.
Questions I Have
- Rigor vs. pathways: WorkKeys assesses applied skills, but it isn’t aligned to high school academic standards. As a result, “proficiency” on WorkKeys carries a very different meaning than “proficiency” on the ACT. This risks conflating workforce readiness with academic preparedness.
- Tracking: Tracking in the U.S. carries a fraught history, pushing disadvantaged students into lower-level or dead end pathways while insisting on “college for all.” It’s unclear whether Alabama’s proposal navigates that tension successfully.
Bottom Line
Alabama’s dual indicator proposal poses real policy questions about how we define success for all students. It attempts to account for more than one postsecondary trajectory. But integrating a workforce credential into the federal academic achievement measure raises important concerns about rigor and comparability. How Uncle Sam responds will say as much about the limits of federal flexibility under ESSA as it does about Alabama’s own policy goals.
Thoughts or reactions? Send them my way and we may include your response in an upcoming Waiver HQ post.