A few hours after President Barack Obama signed a new law that entrusts states with significant education-reform responsibilities, Gov. Kate Brown broadcast her own pledge to Oregonians.

In a short statement, Brown said she is “committed to ensuring every student graduates high school with a plan and opportunities for his or her future” and that under the new Every Student Succeeds Act, the state will continue its focus on “equity, high standards and continuous improvement in our schools.” She lauded the “flexibility” granted by the new law, which, as The Oregonian/OregonLive’s Betsy Hammond reported, transfers the authority to set goals, define progress and select other accountability measures from the federal government to states.

Healthy skepticism is warranted. Oregon does not do accountability well, whether it’s in education or any other number of areas (see our Department of Energy editorial for an example of a state agency that has long escaped it). But more important, how states use their flexibility under the new law can be the difference between a tailored system that rigorously evaluates and seeks improvement for schools and one that hides its failures — such as Oregon’s low graduation rate, chronic absenteeism and persistent gap in progress for low-income students with students overall — behind a façade of weak metrics. Oregon’s success under the new law will require strong educational leadership from an administration that has, so far, shown little interest in making politically difficult decisions.

To be fair, there have been other fires to put out since Brown abruptly became governor last February when Gov. John Kitzhaber resigned amid influence-peddling accusations. But it didn’t take long for legislators to roll back, with Brown’s blessing, one of his key reforms. The Legislature dismantled the Oregon Education Investment Board created by Kitzhaber in 2011 as an effort to comprehensively remake the educational system for children from birth to age 20.

Personnel changes also set back educational initiatives. State Schools Chief Rob Saxton, a strong proponent of adopting higher standards and expectations in schools, retired from the state to take a lower-profile position with the Northwest Regional Education Service District. And the state’s chief education officer, Nancy Golden, whose position was also pared down after Kitzhaber’s resignation, retired three months ago. The position has been filled on an interim basis by Brown’s education policy adviser, Lindsey Capps, a former teachers’ union leader who has no experience as an educator.

Brown then delivered her own blow as well. A teachers’ union-led revolt against standardized tests took hold, resulting in a bill that would allow families to opt their students out of the new, tougher Smarter Balanced exam for any reason. Despite extolling the need for data from such standardized tests to track how well schools are teaching students — particularly low-income and disadvantaged students — Brown buckled and signed the bill. Both the old education law and the Every Student Succeeds Act mandate that at least 95 percent of students in tested grades take the exam. Participation for this year’s test just met that minimum.

In an email, State Schools Chief Salam Noor told The Oregonian/OregonLive editorial board that both he and Brown value the data that such tests deliver and that they are committed to meeting the 95 percent minimum.

“First, whether there was a federal law or not, as sound practice and good stewardship, we need reliable student data,” Noor wrote.” This data is one tool to drive school improvement efforts and aggressively close achievement and opportunity gaps. The Governor believes strongly in data informed policies.”

In the meantime, the state will solicit feedback from parents, educators and the community about “the kind of inspiring and highly-engaging learning we want to see in our classrooms,” Noor wrote. “We have to create learning that leads to greater motivation, critical thinking, creativity, and success for every student so students see a connection between their education and their future.”

The flexibility that Noor and Brown welcome, however, also makes it easy for states to shortchange students, prop up school ratings and weaken teacher evaluations. The U.S. Department of Education is barred from prescribing what measures states should use to track progress or what goals they should set, notes Daria Hall, a vice president with Washington D.C.-based advocacy group, Education Trust. If a state includes school success indicators that mask a problem — for instance daily average attendance — students end up losing.

“States will need to take leadership of this,” she said. “But also advocates in the state need to really keep states honest. Let’s make sure this is about rigorous outcomes.”

Considering Oregon — and Brown’s — reaction so far to rigorous outcomes, education advocates face a lot of work ahead.