2026 Classroom Assessment Conference

The NCME Special Conference on Classroom Assessment is a bi-annual conference that brings together researchers, educators, test-designers, and other educational partners to share evidence-based ways to enact and improve classroom assessment practice and research. The 6th NCME Special Conference on Classroom Assessment will take place November 12–14, 2026, at the Radisson Blu, located in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. This year's conference promises to be a dynamic and engaging event focused on advancing effective classroom assessment practices across educational contexts. The 2026 conference is proudly hosted by the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Education, and the Minnesota Assessment Group, with additional support from the University of Iowa. Hosts are committed to fostering deep, evidence-based dialogue around classroom assessment design, implementation, and impact. This gathering will unite a broad spectrum of voices—including researchers, K–12 educators, youth leaders, and Indigenous communities—to explore innovative approaches that center equity, relevance, and learner empowerment in assessment practices. Attendees can expect opportunities to collaborate, share best practices, and shape the future of classroom assessment through research, practical tools, and policy-relevant conversations. The conference invites individuals and groups from PreK-12 school systems, research-practice partnerships, colleges and universities, state departments of education, measurement organizations, and other education entities to submit proposals for individual presentations and organized sessions that pertain to the research and practice of classroom assessment in early childhood, elementary and secondary education, and higher education and adult learning settings. A special focus of the 2026 conference will be to explore ways of knowing what students know and can do that have helped the process of scaling high-quality classroom assessment to support the confluence of research and practice, teaching and learning, and formative and summative uses of assessments; this includes the nature of feedback and grading approaches.