*Testing Programs IDENTIFIERS *No Child Left Behind Act 2001

The new Elementary and Secondary Education Act amendments require states to begin annual testing in grades 3 through 8 in reading and mathematics by the 2005-2006 school year. Only 16 states currently have grade-by-grade tests in reading and mathematics, and only 9 of those have tests aligned with their standards, as the law requires. The rest of the states must fill in the blanks, and to do so, they need to consider whether states, the market, and the public are ready. Four scenarios suggest the different approaches the states might take: (1) purchasing ready-made tests; (2) letting districts use their own local tests; (3) developing new, customized tests; and (4) pooling resources with other states to develop new assessments. If past experience is a guide, the federal government may lay down markers and use the bully pulpit, but state leaders will have to address these testing problems themselves. (SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document