Our district has adopted a problem-based curriculum program that covers non-routine problems and practical uses of mathematics as well as concepts and skills. At the same time, with federal and state mandates for testing, we find ourselves using assessment instruments that are not aligned with these curricula. Since students, teachers and schools are judged on these tests, this misalignment results in teachers abandoning the curriculum to focus on a more narrow set of learning goals.

• In our district, narrow tests are a given. How do we help teachers work with richer curriculum and still prepare their students for these periodic tests?
• In our district, we want our teachers to use the adopted problem-based curriculum consistently. How do we introduce a balanced assessment system that is more closely aligned with the curriculum and the state standards?