Interest in Technology and Engineering Education (TEE) has recently revolved around working to define/redefine who we are, and who we are not; while others in TEE are not interested in a change of identity. An emphasis on design, design education, and design assessment may help clarify the discussion surrounding the future direction of TEE. Adaptive comparative judgment (ACJ), a relatively new approach to assessment, has proven valid, reliable, and feasible for the assessment of open-ended design problems. As TEE incorporates ACJ into design assessment, it can strengthen its own position in K-12 education.