High Quality Assessment that Measures the Skills that Matter: Welcome to the New Meridian Way

Statewide assessments help stakeholders determine how the educational system is serving students by gaining an understanding of what students know and can do. They ensure all students receive a quality education by evaluating what students have learned through the measurement of student achievement of common state academic standards.

Assessment should reinforce, support, and improve teaching and learning. It should drive meaningful learning experiences and interactions in the classroom and serve as a critical driver of equity by ensuring all students have acquired the knowledge, skills, and abilities to prepare them for success in college, career, and life. Yet, many systems fall short of these basic tenets. In order to realize the ideals of a high-quality education, we must begin with high-quality assessment. Welcome to the New Meridian Way.

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New Meridian’s innovative, high-quality assessment solutions measure the skills that matter, like the ability to think critically, solve problems, and communicate effectively. This approach evaluates deeper learning and reinforces quality throughout the system with rich, more meaningful data that better informs teaching, learning, and allocation of student support.

The New Meridian Way puts equity first by going beyond a fair academic foundation to inspire and motivate students in their learning journey. We believe that when we equip the students of today with the skills that matter, they become the life-long learners of tomorrow. If you feel the same, let’s talk.

High-Quality Content Created by Educators for Educators

Accomplished math, English language arts, social studies, and science educators from across our partner states develop New Meridian’s assessment content for use in their respective state assessment programs. Our signature focus on critical thinking, deep understanding, and the ability to communicate effectively help educators better prepare students to succeed in today’s complex world.

Several independent evaluations—including two critical reviews conducted by the U.S. Department of Education—have determined our tests provide industry-leading alignment to state standards, including the breadth of cognitive complexity demanded by today’s model learning standards.

Better Assessment Systems =
Better Data

A single end-of-year measure provides only a snapshot of student learning. By combining multiple measures throughout the year, educators develop a richer profile of students’ learning that informs instruction and provides comparable data, which identifies where additional resources are needed. A better assessment system ensures districts and schools are serving all students equitably.

Our Content

New Meridian’s high-quality assessment content eliminates bias, promotes educational equity, and focuses on what matters most for students’ postsecondary and career success.

Start Strong Assessment

The Start Strong Assessment accelerates student learning and offers support at the most critical time of the year. The assessment is available for grades 3 to 8 in English language arts (ELA) and mathematics.

Science Exchange

The Science Exchange provides states the quickest, most cost-effective way to develop NGSS-aligned assessments. States receive a trusted partnership, science expertise, and shared content that has undergone rigorous quality assurance review.

It All Starts at The Prime

The Prime Meridian is the origin of all meridians. It is where they all begin. At New Meridian, The Prime Learning Library gives you access to all of our resources, blog articles, and news discussing the future of assessment solutions. Connect with The Prime and learn how states, districts, and educators use quality assessments and data-informed instruction to help students improve every day.

The New Meridian

A meridian is a longitudinal line used in navigation. In education, longitudinal data analysis is the study of student growth over time. Our logo shows a shift in the meridian, a New Meridian, which represents our work to shift the future of assessments and create a new way of thinking.

New Meridian is a nonprofit organization with a mission to advance the quality of public education for all students by designing assessments that focus on skills that matter: critical thinking, understanding, and communication. Since 2016, our diverse team of experts have been advocating for a new system of assessments and developing a better way to evaluate student readiness.

We work closely with stakeholders to fully understand the challenges and goals in your state; to produce innovative solutions with your needs in mind; and to deliver assessments that are cost-effective, turnkey, and can be implemented quickly—often within a matter of months.

Partner with New Meridian for better assessment solutions and start improving student performance for success. 

Approved Montana Field-Testing Flexibility Waiver Empowers Students and Educators

Aug22

Approved Montana Field-Testing Flexibility Waiver Empowers Students and Educators

The U.S. Department of Education (USED) has approved a Field-Testing Flexibility Waiver for the new Montana Alternative Student Testing (MAST) pilot program, an innovative through-year assessment design championed by Montana State Superintendent Elsie Arntzen.

New Meridian Creates Enhanced Item Release Program in Illinois

Mar24

New Meridian Creates Enhanced Item Release Program in Illinois

When assessment scores are reported, test items are often released with them to give teachers, administrators and parents a better sense of the test and what it measures. At New Meridian, we are taking that idea further.  The Enhanced Item Release Program is a project launched in Illinois that aims to augment released test items […]

Three Common Questions on Through-Year Assessment 

Feb27

Three Common Questions on Through-Year Assessment 

Three Common Questions on Through-Year Assessment Few topics raise more questions among educators than through-year assessment. With a dozen states piloting or operating through-year models—all of them different—teachers and administrators are curious about the impact these programs can have in the classroom and beyond.  Many of those questions were aired at New Meridian’s latest webinar, […]

The Future of Summative Assessment

Jan4

The Future of Summative Assessment

While states have made great strides to implement next generation standards in areas such as curriculum, a New Meridian report on state science testing nationwide reveals a patchwork of approaches, many of which are works in progress. Education experts say that improving next-generation science assessments will not only enhance student learning in the subject, but also support a more well-rounded and educated student population.

WEBINAR RECORDING – The Future of Summative Assessment: A Statewide Approach to Innovation

Dec8

WEBINAR RECORDING – The Future of Summative Assessment: A Statewide Approach to Innovation

Watch the recording For many educators and administrators, summative assessment—the end-of-year test that measures student understanding of grade-level expectations—is a time-consuming process that provides data too late to meaningfully impact student learning. The good news—there is a better way and states like Montana are leading the charge with new assessment systems that solve these challenges. […]

Innovation Through
Collaboration

We’re proud to work with a wide range of professional organizations to help states develop high-quality assessment programs quickly and cost-effectively. New Meridian collaborates with The National Center for the Improvement of Educational Assessment, Inc. (Center for Assessment) and the Human Resources Research Organization (HumRRO), as well as the test administration companies that support our partner states.

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