The Unfulfilled Promise of Classroom Assessment

The purpose of this article is to review the status of classroom assessment as we enter the new millennium. Four key research summaries are reviewed to describe the dismal state of classroom assessment affairs during the past century. Then four critically important developments are cited as reasons for optimism about the future of classroom assessment. Finally, the author details a five‐part action plan for tapping the heretofore untapped potential of classroom assessment as a powerful school improvement tool.