Why reimagine state assessment? Why now?
A changing world requires new models for learning that improve upon the existing approach used by most schools, and these models will require new assessment approaches that are coherent with their goals and design. This creates an essential question: what vision for assessment should guide us in a world where we aim to transform the student experience while also preserving the core goals—rigor, transparency, and fairness—of our current assessment systems?
This paper is designed to help state policymakers answer that question.
A Long-Term Vision for State Assessment
We propose a clear long-term North Star for future assessment systems, anchored in four principles:
- Continue to serve essential public functions—and set the guardrails.
- Integrate instruction, assessment, and real-world application.
- Assess a broader and more rigorous set of outcomes.
- Encompass new governing models.
What State Leaders Should Do Now
The paper outlines five near-term actions for state leaders navigating the bridge period, including concrete examples of initiatives currently underway in states:
- Preserve and strengthen what works
- Avoid over-promising what the current system can deliver
- Build R&D capacity to create what comes next
- Create space for innovation
- Protect public trust at every step
The task before state leaders is to safeguard the essential purposes of statewide assessment while deliberately investing in what could come next. In a moment defined by polarization and uncertainty, the country is hungry for state policymakers with the courage, discipline, and vision to step into leadership of this work.
