The biggest untold story in American education is the coming transformation of high-stakes testing. In 2014, a truly national set of high-stakes tests--as opposed to the uneven patchwork of state tests we've had for years--will be rolled out in most of the nation's classrooms. Rather than issuing from Congress, these tests are the product of quiet compacts between states and some money from Obama's stimulus. They will be totally computerized and tougher than anything most American students have ever experienced. And given the growing hostility in many quarters to high stakes testing, they are also likely to be highly controversial. Yet they have garnered almost no national media attention.

The latest issue of the Washington Monthly provides the first in-depth look at these new tests in a special report on education and “deeper learning.” Please join us for a discussion of what these and future new tests will look like and the profound changes they are likely to bring to America's schools. The panel of distinguished experts and writers will include: