Stanford University

The Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning, and Equity (SCALE) proposes to produce a monograph that will inform those interested in supporting current performance assessment initiatives about the conditions necessary for success. Work will examine the design, conduct, and results of past performance assessment initiatives in the U.S., including those that were successful as well as those that were dismantled. Research will document the design and conduct of earlier studies with the goal of answering two specific questions: What were the conditions that led to some performance assessment initiatives to take root? What were the challenges that prevented others from going forward? This paper proposes to learn from past efforts to adopt performance-based assessments to inform the policy community of those enabling policies and practices that will allow for sustained engagement with and establishment of assessments of deeper learning.