We emphasize our ongoing support for standards-based education. If these corrections are made, our nation's opportunity for improving the achievement of all students can be realized. Once states and local communities institute standards that establish the knowledge and skills they believe students must learn, they must put in place curriculum and instructional programs that provide students with opportunities to learn the agreed-upon knowledge and skills. Appropriate tests must be used to measure student progress toward meeting the standards. Students cannot be expected to learn what they are not taught, but in too many places there has not been sufficient effort to ensure that curriculum and instruction match the standards or are aligned with the tests.
Teachers tend to teach what tests measure.
Many assessments rely primarily on multiple-choice questions and measure primarily basic skills, rather than the full range of content and skills called for in the standards. It is essential that assessments measure students' ability to analyze and solve complex problems, write clearly, and synthesize information, as well as their mastery of basic knowledge and skills. Students should be tested through a variety of measurement methods, such as essays and portfolios, as well as multiple-choice questions. Educators should attend to and integrate these into the curriculum. The Learning First Alliance calls for deep and rich curriculum and instructional programs that support the standards as well as high-quality, aligned assessment systems that measure student progress on ALL aspects of required academic standards, using a variety of measurement techniques.