Annual standardized testing lies at the heart of the accountability system that American education reformers and policymakers have established during the past decade in an effort to ensure equal opportunity for all students, no matter their race, ethnicity or wealth. The new testing regime has brought national attention to the schooling of disadvantaged children, and in some states and school districts, achievement gaps between low-income and minority students and their middle-class, White peers have begun to narrow. Critics charge, however, that high-profile annual testing has also shaped the education system in ways that sometimes hurt the very students who most need help. And educators and policymakers have begun to realize that the essential task of closing achievement gaps will require new kinds of accountability systems, and new kinds of tests. This emerging consensus, along with its implications for research and policy, was the focus of the "Educational Testing in America: State Assessments, Achievement Gaps, National Policy and Innovations," conference, held September 8, 2008, in Washington, D.C.. Thirteen researchers and policymakers were featured as speakers, panelists and respondents. This issue of "ETS Policy Notes" provides an overview of the conference, which included six symposium presentations: (1) State Assessments Today: What State Are We In?; (2) Assessment, Learning, Equity: What Will It Take to Move to the Next Level?; (3) Classroom Assessment FOR Learning and the Achievement Gap; (4) Redesigning K-12 Assessment Systems: Implications for Theory, Implementation and Policy; (5) Lessons Learned from Industry: Achieving Diversity and Efficacy in College Success; and (6) Enhancing Noncognitive Skills to Boost Academic Achievement. (Contains unnumbered figures.)