As approaches to teaching and learning shift, so too are the methods by which students' progress is measured. Namely, recognition of the need for more creative and critical thinking is seeing standardized assessments, which are largely dependent upon rote memorization, fall by the wayside in favor of more active models like project-based learning or portfolios.

Policies are also shifting to accommodate experimentation on the path to better assessments, with the Every Student Succeeds Act notably creating leeway at the federal level, but as this year's results on the National Assessment of Educational Progress — seen as the "Nation's Report Card" — suggest, the old methods are still predominant and not producing the desired results.

To give you a primer on both the NAEP and the changing face of assessment, we've gathered a selection of our recent coverage below.