In 1992, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) decided to undertake the development of this document, Assessment Standards for School Mathematics, to complement its earlier Standards documents, Curriculum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics [1989] and Professional Standards for Teaching Mathematics [1991]. In early 1993, management and other working group members were appointed to prepare this document. A first draft was completed in August of that summer. Then, during the 1993-94 school year, critiques and comments were received from more than two thousand reviewers. In particular, the members of the Resource Group were asked for specific comments on the draft and suggestions for its revision. Their input has helped ensure that this document represents the broader views of the educational community. During the summer, fall, and winter of 1994-95, the document was revised, edited, and produced.

The authors of these Assessment Standards (see page v of this report) include K-12 classroom teachers, mathematics educators, educational psychologists, mathematics supervisors, and administrators. Some of them participated in the development of the earlier Standards documents for NCTM; several have been involved in the development of alternative assessments at the state level; some have been active researchers investigating new assessment procedures; a number of the authors have participated in other innovative projects, and most have been involved with new classroom, school, district, or state or provincial assessments. These experiences are reflected in the diversity and richness of the examples and vignettes that have been included to illustrate specific assessment purposes. Thus , we represent a cross section of members of NCTM, and the messages in this document are intended to represent the work of school mathematics teachers committed to NCTM's vision of reform in the content, teaching, and learning of school mathematics.

This document is based on extensive recent research and developments related to national efforts to reform the teaching and learning of mathematics. (See References and Selected Assessment Bibliography at the end of this document. ) In particular, a recent report from the Mathematical Sciences Education Board (MSEB), Measuring What Counts(1993), provided an initial scholarly base for the development of these Assessment Standards.

We thank all who contributed their comments on the draft version of these standards. Their careful reviews and thoughtful suggestions have been of great assistance in the completion of this document.