Council of Chief State School Officers

The current forms of state educational assessments do not allow us to fully measure critical thinking skills and higher-order problem solving and performance. With the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act there is a new unprecedented influx of resources to build assessments used to measure such student progress. This request from the Counsel of Chief State School Officers (Washington DC), a nonpartisan, nationwide, nonprofit organization of public officials who head departments of elementary and secondary education in most states, will help develop a more extensive knowledge base of state officials, measurement experts, national organizations, and most importantly, the US Department of Education (USED), as the development of new assessments is financially supported. CCSSO's goals include: 1. Educate key policymakers about the components for a new system of assessments. 2. Support a more coordinated body of testimony, reflecting an assessment framework, that will be offered by key state experts in three regional briefings sponsored by USED. 3. Develop a detailed framework to guide states and state consortia in building new assessments. 4. Establish a cadre of key leaders who are knowledgeable about new assessment possibilities and prepared to develop integrated systems of assessment, supported by curriculum, instructional supports and professional development. This request would be an important building block for the Education Program's proposed 21st century competencies component, as it would create openings for states to develop new assessments that measure these competencies across various grade levels and disciplines. (New, $100,000/6 months; 100.00% of project budget)