Competitive Grants for State Assessments
This grant funds state efforts to improve and innovate K-12 student assessments, focusing on new item types, meaningful learning, better scoring, student growth, and comprehensive assessment systems.
Funder: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
Due Dates: May 29, 2026 (Intent to Apply) | June 16, 2026 (Full Application) | August 17, 2026 (Intergovernmental Review)
Funding Amounts: $1,000,000–$4,000,000 per award (up to 48 months); total program funding $16,556,000; ~6 awards expected.
Summary: Supports State efforts to enhance the quality of assessment instruments and systems to measure academic achievement and growth in K-12 education.
Description
This federal grant program provides competitive funding to State Educational Agencies (SEAs), including the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and consortia of SEAs, to improve the quality of academic assessment systems in K-12 education. The program aims to foster innovation in assessment design, scoring, and reporting, with an emphasis on measuring student achievement and growth, supporting diverse student populations, and informing educational decision-making.
For the FY 2026 competition, the program emphasizes two absolute priorities:
- Developing Innovative Assessment Item Types and Design Approaches
- Promoting Meaningful Learning Opportunities
Additional competitive preference and invitational priorities focus on improving assessment scoring/reporting, measuring student growth, developing comprehensive assessment instruments, and building assessment/data literacy.
