Shifting the from high stakes, one-size-fits-all testing to meaningful, real-time assessment is changing classrooms across NH.

New Hampshire is answering the call for more relevant assessments and less “teaching to the test” with its locally-developed performance assessment program. The Performance Assessment of Competency Education (PACE) is a first-of-its-kind pilot that replaces standardized tests with personalized, authentic assessments developed by New Hampshire teachers. These assessments are designed to support deeper learning and to be more integrated into students’ day-to-day work than current standardized tests. Meaningful assessment is a key part of a strategy to ensure students are getting the most out of their education.

Learn more about PACE

sanborn pace assignment

US Department of Education applauds PACE, NH’s innovative assessment program

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has announced that New Hampshire received approval to continue with its innovative assessment program, the Performance Assessment of Competency...
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Public Schools Rising: Increased access, opportunity and equity for NH students

What happens when our small, rural state implements policies and programs that empower public schools to make learning flexible, accessible, and equitable? Public Schools Rising...

Education Commissioner hopeful that PACE can create opportunities for deeper learning for all students

In this video for KnowledgeWorks and the Center for Assessment, Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut speaks to how PACE can help expand innovation and deeper...
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Manchester schools highlight innovations in learning to national commission of state legislators

The National Conference of State Legislatures' Student-Centered Learning Commission visited several Manchester schools to observe innovations in learning first hand, like competency-based education, online...

The Nation’s Report Card: What it is, what it isn’t, and how it can...

In April, New Hampshire was recognized as one of the top performing states in math and reading according to the National Assessment of Educational...

NH’s innovative assessment inspires others to explore testing alternatives

New Hampshire's innovative assessment, known as PACE (Performance Assessment of Competency Education), has inspired Louisiana and Puerto Rico to pursue alternative testing methods to...

PACE program helps support learning & gives credibility to testing alternatives

Several districts in New Hampshire have been replacing annual standardized tests with project-based assessments that are embedded into regular classroom activities and support deeper...
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New York’s performance-based assessments result in substantial student growth & improved outcomes

A Consortium of public schools in New York has been a model of school improvement and student achievement through performance-based assessments and student-centered learning....
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Work Study Practices help prepare students for the future

Non-academic skills, like critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication are being cited by employers as some of the most important skills that students need to...
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Trump Education Dept. hits the start button on innovative tests like New Hampshire’s PACE...

The United States Department of Education is encouraging more states to develop innovative assessment programs like New Hampshire's Performance Assessment of Competency Education (PACE),...

Massachusetts education advocate looks to NH as a model for meaningful assessment

Education advocate Lisa Guisbond used New Hampshire's performance assessment model, PACE, when advocating for more meaningful measures of student and school progress. From the...

Performance Assessments and Students with Disabilities

New Hampshire's Performance Assessment of Competency Education (PACE) program has become a national model for competency-based assessment and moving away from rigid, bubble sheet-style...

New Hampshire’s testing pilot, PACE, gaining ground

The Concord Monitor featured a great piece on New Hampshire's Performance Assessment for Competency Education (PACE) program, which allows districts to come together to...

How teaching becomes the test in New Hampshire

Sanborn Regional High School principal Brian Stack wrote about New Hampshire's performance assessments in the industry publication Multi Briefs. Here's an excerpt: With the Performance...

Test Drive: New Hampshire teachers build new ways to measure deeper learning

The Christian Science Monitor featured a piece on how New Hampshire is leading the country in innovative ways to measure learning and teaching. The...

NG2 program trades the status quo for flexible, responsive learning pathways

California-based education technology organization EdSurge featured a piece on New Hampshire's pilot "No Grades, No Grades" (NG2) program in 7 of the state's elementary schools. With...

At State Board Meeting, Outpouring from Public in Support of State Standards and Public...

The State Board of Education meeting room was filled to capacity on May 11, as were the hallways outside, with parents, students, teachers, and...

Sanborn Regional School district tells the state board about their PACE experience

Three school leaders and a parent from the Sanborn Regional School Districts spoke about their participation in New Hampshire's Performance Assessment for Competency Education (PACE) initiative...

State Board hears from Pam Wicks, Concord School Board, about her son’s PACE experience:

There is a positive change happening in our classrooms; we’re seeing students engaged in meaningful learning, giving all students a greater opportunity to reach their potential. I believe that PACE, along with competency based education, will help our students gain 21st century skills, that will guide them on their path to life after high school.

Souhegan HS Teacher Jenny Deenik on PACE: Performance Assessment is a way for students...

Jenny Deenik, a biology teacher at Souhegan High School, reflects on her work with New Hampshire's pilot Performance Assessment of Competency Education (PACE) program...

Sanborn students bring lessons to life in amazing MacBeth performance

Sanborn Regional High School's Drama Troupe isn't only tackling one of the most popular and challenging dramas of all time, MacBeth: the students are...

New Hampshire leads the way in teaching students 21st Century skills

New Hampshire schools have become a model for learning that is rigorous, personalized, and meaningful, giving them the tools to succeed in 21st century life.

First year PACE results are in: what do they mean for the future of...

The Department of Education recently released the results of the first Performance Assessment of Competency Education (PACE) program. It was piloted in four districts...

PACE works to get the most out of student assessments without overtesting

States are trying to find the balance between quality and quantity in student testing, but New Hampshire is already pointing the way forward: the PACE pilot project.

In the new PACE assessments, students must prove they can apply concepts rather than...

Souheghan High School, Spaulding High School in Rochester, and Concord High School all have something in common--they've moved to competency-based performance assessments. The Concord...

As PACE program grows, teachers and administrators "thrilled" with progress

Senior staff of the Council of Chief State School Officers visited several of New Hampshire's widely-watched PACE districts recently to get an idea of how schools...

Personalized learning works! New research shows that student-centered approaches lead to higher math and...

Results from a study performed by the RAND Corporation find that personalized learning practices like project-based learning have positive and lasting effects on students' reading and math performance.

Rochester begins its second year with performance based assessments

Rochester is one of four New Hampshire school districts beginning the second year of the pilot PACE program, which replaces some standardized testing with locally-based...

PACE: proving individualized assessments are just as good as standardized tests at comparing district...

States like New Hampshire that are incorporating competency-based education into their classrooms may wonder: how do we move from the traditional standardized test to...

‘Thank God for New Hampshire’ – EdWeek about the PACE locally managed assessment...

Here is New Hampshire, it's easy to lose perspective on how important the PACE pilot program is.  Years in preparation, it is the nation's first step...

Rochester teachers Melissa Cunliffe and Sara Cantrell talk about competency based learning and New...

As one of New Hampshire's four PACE school districts, Rochester is ground zero for working out the future New Hampshire public education, giving children...

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