Next-Generation Assessment Systems

By Stanley N. Rabinowitz

An unprecedented confluence of factors—economic, political, and educational—is causing many states to rethink their student-assessment programs. But careful thought and expert guidance will be needed if they are to avoid the problems of the past and take advantage of promising new developments.

Most state assessment programs, regardless of their history or goals, were revised early in the last decade to meet the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act: All assess reading/language arts and mathematics in grades 3-8 and high school, and science in elementary, middle, and high school. Collectively, they are increasingly homogeneous, largely multiple-choice, with some sprinkling of constructed-response and direct writing.

Change is in the offing. The upcoming reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, of which No Child Left Behind is the current version, is likely to result in changes to assessment requirements, allowing more flexibility and providing greater support for innovative assessment models. Dissatisfaction with current limited options, coupled with the Common Core State Standards Initiative’s potential impact—assessments covering fewer but clearer objectives, and advancing more-rigorous content and skills requirements—will necessitate a broad reconceptualization of assessment. This inevitably will mean a shift away from state standardized testing as the only game in town, and a move toward the development of innovative state assessment systems .