A number of preschool and kindergarten assessment systems are being put into place across the nation, with a variety of purposes and collection methods. The "Assessing the State of State Assessments" symposium was convened to provide an opportunity for persons working most closely with state assessment systems to identify common challenges and share ideas. This special report presents a compilation of perspectives on assessment issues discussed at the symposium. Chapter 1, "Assessing Young Children: What Policymakers Need To Know and Do" (Sharon Lynn Kagan, Catherine Scott-Little, and Richard M. Clifford), reviews basic principles that should guide early childhood assessment policies and outlines critical policy issues related to assessment systems. Chapter 2, "A Risk Management Approach to Readiness Assessment: Lessons from Florida" (Susan Muenchow), defines several readiness assessment terms and presents four potential benefits of readiness assessment systems. Chapter 3, "Assessing School Readiness: System Design Framework and Issues" (Gary T. Henry), argues that a key design element of an assessment system is discerning the purpose for which the assessments are being conducted, and presents important issues that should be taken into consideration when making assessment design decisions. Chapter 4, "Issues in Implementing a State Preschool Program Evaluation in Michigan" (Lawrence J. Schweinhart), addresses a variety of design and implementation issues encountered by the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation's evaluation of the Michigan School Readiness Program. The final chapter, "Instrumentation for State Readiness Assessment: Issues in Measuring Children's Early Development and Learning" (John M. Love), examines technical issues related to assessment, providing a system-level review of the elements of readiness, along with current political and education factors that affect readiness assessment systems. The chapter includes criteria for evaluating both an individual measure as well as a set of measures used in an assessment system. Two attachments include "Readiness" dimensions identified by the Goal One Technical Planning Group of the National Educational Goals Panel, and discussion of how Head Start Performance Measures are aligned with the Goal One Dimensions. The document concludes with an essay on the challenges and next steps of statewide school readiness assessments (Martha Zaslow and Tamara Halle). (HTH)