Measuring Up: A Report on Education Standards and Assessments for Massachusetts

In 2001, at the request of the Massachusetts Department of Education, Achieve conducted an evaluation of the state's K–12 mathematics standards and grade 10 Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) tests in English language arts and math. The state's English language arts standards weren't analyzed because Achieve believes these are already among the best standards in the nation and uses them as "exemplary standards" against which other states' standards are compared.

The results showed that Massachusetts has made substantial progress in developing and implementing two essential components of standards-based reform — strong standards and assessments that measure what the standards expect.