John L. Smithson is a research associate at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research, where he has worked for the past ten years on developing indicators of classroom practice and instructional content. He has worked on several federal and state funded research projects investigating changes in classroom instruction based upon various reform initiatives. Studies that he has participated in include the CPRE studies: Reform-Up-Close; A classroom analysis, and the Upgrading Mathematics Project. More recently he has worked with a group of states under the auspices of the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) to develop, field-test, manage and analyze survey measures of classroom practice. He is also directing the development of a CD-ROM-based resource for science educators and assessment professionals for CCSSO. He holds a B.S. in educational studies and an M.S. in cultural foundations of education from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, and a Ph.D. in educational policy studies from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.