Many states have adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), which emphasize "deeper learning" skills, such as mastery of core academic content, critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration. But can the new tests being developed to align with the CCSS be used to promote deeper learning and high-quality classroom instruction?…

The Hewlett Foundation commissioned RAND to review research about the effects of assessment and to summarize what is known about assessment as a lever for reform. To explore the likely influence of new assessments on teaching practice and the conditions that moderate that relationship, researchers conducted a series of literature reviews. The…