New Standards Project Lessons Learned

Author: David Wall Rice and Donovan Ramsey

Consulting Editor: Carl Kaestle

New Standards is a system of performance standards and assessments for students at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. The Project was a partnership of 20 states and districts led by teams from the University of Pittsburgh, the University of California and the National Center on Education and the Economy. “New Standards Project Lessons Learned” is an investigation into the planning, development and implementation of New Standards in student assessment. The authors of this paper are asked to focus on what can be learned from the work done by Professor Lauren Resnick and others who were involved in the movement. A synthesis of their experiences between 1990-1999 will provide context for how movements toward assessment reform can operate today.