The eight-year-old No Child Left Behind Act established for the first time a federal benchmark for student achievement. When the Obama Administration took office, the new president promised to stay true to the goal of NCLB while upgrading what critics have termed simplistic, "fill in a bubble" testing to create a more comprehensive…

As 48 states charge ahead with plans to adopt common academic standards, the U.S. Department of Education will enlist experts and the public to help design a $350 million competition for the next step: the development of common tests. In coming weeks, top Education Department officials will travel to Atlanta, Boston, and Denver for a series of…