Education officials in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island announced last week that they were joining forces to create the New England Compact Assessment Program. In October 2005, all three states will begin using a common reading and math test in grades 3-8 and a common writing test in grades 5 and 8 to fulfill their NCLB accountability requirements. According to officials, by joining forces, the three states will create an economy-of-scale that halves the per-pupil testing cost. In Vermont, for example, the cost of the new test will drop from the $22 per-student the state currently pays to about $12.50 per pupil. An additional benefit, according to the Burlington Free Press: "the three states can compare themselves with one another, generating some good-natured competition that might lead to better results."
"A classroom compact," Burlington Free Press, May 6, 2004 (no longer available online)
"Vermont to collaborate on school testing," Barre-Montpelier Times Argus, May 5, 2004