Assessment as Strategic Resistance: Leveraging Evidence for Equity Under Political Constraint

Abstract

Escalating anti–Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) legislation has reshaped U.S. higher education governance, constraining how institutions name, measure, and address inequity. In this climate, assessment risks becoming a tool of compliance — vulnerable to weaponization under the guise of objectivity and legal neutrality. This article reframes assessment as strategic resistance: a justice-oriented practice that preserves institutional agency, documents harm, and sustains commitments to student success under constraint. Drawing on the ACCELERATE framework, I operationalize ten assessment principles through four praxes: making institutional values legible and defensible, resisting co-optation by documenting structural inequity, practicing harm reduction through ethical data governance, and reclaiming power by cultivating a justice-oriented culture of assessment. Using the 2025 U.S. Department of Justice funding memorandum as a case example, I show how practitioners can design evidence systems that align with mission, withstand legal scrutiny, and center student well-being. Assessment professionals thus serve as stewards of care and accountability.