University Times

Pitt's Learning Research and Development Center (LRDC) has been awarded $6 million from the Pew Charitable Trusts to continue work on a project to develop new methods of assessing students' skills.

LRDC is collaborating on the New Standards Project with the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE), based in Rochester, N.Y., and Washington, D.C.

In addition to the latest $6 million from Pew, another $2.3 million from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation was given to NCEE to fund its part of the project.

The New Standards Project involves 16 states and six urban school districts enrolling nearly half of America's public school children. Project leaders say it could result in the replacement of many of the multiple choice tests now widely used.

New methods are being sought to assess the capacity of students to think well and apply what they know to complex problems they will face in real life.

In late October, a draft of new performance standards and assessments will be distributed to educators, parents, education experts, state governors and legislators, school board members, corporate executives, and representatives of unions and child and minority advocacy groups. The standards, designed for elementary, middle and high school levels in English language arts, mathematics, science and applied learning, will then be discussed and revised.

Although the new assessment system would be aimed at creating a national standard of excellence, it would not require all students to take a single exam or follow a certain curriculum. Instead, local assessment measurements would be set to a national standard so that equivalent performances could be recognized.

LRDC director Lauren Resnick, co-director of the New Standards Project, said, "The performance standards and assessments that New Standards is developing will provide a practical foundation for high academic achievement in American schools."