This document reports on the third year of the assessment component of the California New Teacher Project (CNTP). In the first 2 years, research focused on pilot testing innovative forms of new teacher assessment. Part of the third year study was a careful review of the state of assessment practices in California. The study was designed to yield information about existing assessment practices at the college and university level, the local school district level, and the State level within the context of the legal, social, and economic situation facing California educational systems and to provide information that would lead to the conceptual base and design of a new system of support and assessment for beginning teachers in California. This report, organized into six chapters, begins with an introduction describing the assessment component of the CNTP, the current context for assessment of California teachers, the essential design features of the study, guiding constructs for an ideal statewide assessment system, and developing interview protocols. The remainder of the report is organized into chapters covering institutions of higher education assessment practices, local education agency assessment practices, the State assessment practices substudy, experiences of beginning teachers, and a summary of findings across substudies and conclusions. Two appendices are attached: Sample Items from the California Basic Educational Skills Test (CBEST); and Comparisons with Phase II Assessments. (LL)