This "Profile" offers a snapshot of state assessment systems by describing some of their fundamental characteristics. Its focus is on what individual states are doing in terms of developing their own standards and assessments and how they report these results. Two pages of information are presented for each state (but not for the District of Columbia or territories). Data for the first page are from the annual survey of the Council of Chief State School Officers and the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. Data for the second page come from individual states' assessment or accountability reports and reflect selected reporting practices. Forty-five states have statewide assessment systems. Thirty-eight states have at least one to three different components of testing, and seven states have four or more components. Testing is most frequent in the areas of reading, writing, mathematics, science, and social studies. All states that have a state assessment system test in mathematics, and 39 states test in reading. Six states use only a norm-referenced test, while most of the remaining states use one or a combination of norm-referenced, criterion-referenced, and writing sample tests. Twenty-six states with an assessment system use the results for student accountability purposes, and assessment results are used for school accountability in 40 states. Twenty-three states report that their assessments are currently aligned to their standards, and 21 states report that they are in the process of being aligned. Appendixes present state-level reading and mathematics achievement data, survey items, a glossary and technical notes, and a list of 11 additional resources. (Contains 45 state tables and 95 state graphs.) (SLD)