Beyond the Bubble Tests: The Next Generation of Assessments -- Secretary Arne Duncan's Remarks to State Leaders at Achieve's American Diploma Project Leadership Team Meeting
 | Announcement of assessment competition winners |
Today is a great day! I have looked forward to this day for a long time--and so have America's teachers, parents, students, and school leaders. Today is the day that marks the beginning of the development of a new and much-improved generation of assessments for America's schoolchildren. Today marks the start of Assessments 2.0. And today marks one more milestone, testifying to the transformational change now taking hold in our nation's schools under the courageous leadership and vision of state and district officials.
Earlier this morning, the Department announced the winners of the Race to the Top Assessment competition. I am glad to report that the 44 states and the District of Columbia that applied are all part of at least one winning grant. Two large state consortia have won awards totaling $330 million.
As you know, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC, is managed by Achieve. The PARCC consortium has 26 member states. Its proposal underwent a rigorous review by a panel