Arthur M. Halbrook is a Senior Project Associate at the Council of Chief State School Officers. After receiving his Ph.D. from Louisiana State University in Curriculum and Instruction in 1991, he has concentrated his efforts on performance assessment and the evaluation of performance tasks. Over the course of the past 13 years, he directed the writing of constructed response items for both the Louisiana Department of Education as well as the American Council on Education in Washington. He also trained teachers on assessment instruments and assisted in the construction of rubrics and test administrator manuals. Having joined the Council of Chief State School Officers in Washington, DC in 2001, he now coordinates a six-state consortium devoted to science assessment, co-directs an 18 state consortium that focuses on technical issues in large-scale assessment, co-directs a 16 state consortium focusing on comprehensive assessment systems, and serves as the Council’s liaison to the Council of State Science Supervisors, the National Science Teachers Association, and NASA. In addition, he is the editor of the Annual Survey of State Student Assessment Programs, published annually by the Council.