After the passage of "No Child Left Behind," and especially after Obama-era Race to the Top initiatives, rising accountability for improved achievement and widespread dissatisfaction with the instructional value of statewide test reports led many school districts to purchase computer-adaptive "interim" testing systems. A common rationale for making this investment has been that computer-adaptive systems help educators scale up more formative approaches to teaching and learning. In this brief, Paul Zavitkovsky reviews the track record of large-scale "interim" tests, and wonders whether pandemic disruptions, a decade of dismal return on investment and growing demands for instructional equity might begin to turn the tide on their continuing popularity.