Editor's Note: This is a re-blog of a timely post by guest bloggers Daniel Hickey and Brian Nelson. You can find the post in its original form here. The authors argue that the opportunity to institute true reform in assessment practices is now, and those leading the government's Race to the Top Assessment Initiative must think more broadly about how we measure progress in schools.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan has set aside up to $350 million of Race to the Top funds for the potential purpose of supporting states in developing a next generation of assessments of student learning. The competitive grant program is called Race to the Top-Assessment (RTT-Assessment). Members of the MacArthur Foundation’s 21st Century Assessment Project are scrutinizing this initiative. Our investigation reflects the project’s continuing analysis of assessment practices that reveal the reasoning, communication, and learning needed for economic, social, creative, and civic success in a networked 21st century world. We encourage feedback on our findings.… more