Drawing On California’s CLAS Experience To Inform Assessment Of The Common Core

Authored by Joel Knudson, Stephanie Hannan, Jennifer O’Day, and Marina Castro, this brief charts the lessons from the California Learning Assessment System (CLAS) of the early 1990s that can inform state efforts to assess new college- and career-ready standards. The CLAS included performance tasks and was designed to assess students' subject matter content knowledge and their ability to apply this knowledge to real-world circumstances. In reviewing lessons for developing and implementing new assessments, the authors emphasize the importance of assessment not solely as an external accountability tool but as an essential component of implementing college- and career-ready standards.