Classroom Assessment Conference

2026 Classroom Assessment Conference
November 12–14 | Bloomington, Minnesota

Program & Schedule
Registration
Travel
Sponsorship

The NCME Classroom Assessment Conference is a biennial conference that brings together researchers, educators, education leaders, and other education partners to share evidence-based ways to enact and improve classroom assessment practice and research. 

NCME is excited to announce that 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. Building on the success of previous NCME special conferences, our hosts are committed to fostering deep, evidence-based dialogue around classroom assessment design, implementation, and impact.

Learn More About Intention, Settings, and Resources

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.

Program

The call for proposals is closed. Please send questions to scca@ncme.org. The link for submissions portal may be found within the Call for Proposals document.

Review the Call for Proposals

Tentative Schedule

Thursday, November 12
  • 1–5 p.m. – Registration
  • 5:30–7 p.m. – IMHM Reception
    (optional, open to all); guest speaker(s), networking, heavy apps, and beverages
Friday, November 13
  • 7:30–4 p.m. – Registration
  • 8–10 a.m. – Breakfast Plenary
  • 10–10:30 a.m. – Break
  • 10:30–11:45 a.m. – Breakout
  • 11:45 a.m.–Noon – Break
  • Noon–1:15 p.m. – Lunch Plenary
  • 1:15–1:30 p.m. – Break
  • 1:30–2:45 p.m. – Breakout
  • 2:45–3:15 p.m. – Break
  • 3:15–4:30 p.m. – Breakout
  • 4:45–6 p.m. – Reception
  • 6 p.m. – Dinner on Own
Saturday, November 14
  • Breakfast on Own
  • 7:30 a.m.–1 p.m. – Registration
  • 9 a.m.–Noon – Assessment Learning Stations
  • 9–10 a.m. – Breakout
  • 10–10:30 a.m. – Break
  • 10:30–11:45 a.m. – Breakout
  • 11:45 a.m.–1:30 p.m. – Lunch on Own
  • 1–4:30 p.m. – Assessment Learning Stations
  • 1:30–2:45 p.m. – Breakout
  • 2:45–3–15 p.m. – Break with Snacks
  • 3:15–4:30 p.m. – Breakout

Optional Tour

Visit to Bdote Mnisota, Dakota sacred place of creation
Saturday, November 14, from 9 a.m.–Noon.
$28/members, $38/non members
Bus transportation from hotel to site and back included; space is limited.
To visit a local sacred place at the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi rivers, also where people have come together for many centuries. Local culturally meaningful places are rich learning opportunities, providing experiences to enrich assessment activities by bringing learning objectives to life. Led by Iyekiyapiwin Darlene St. Clair, research professor, University of Minnesota.

Keynotes

Dr. Temple S. Lovelace is an education researcher, measurement leader, and third-generation educator working to recenter assessment around the learner. She is the Founder and CEO of Oluko Learning and Executive Director of Assessment for Good, an inclusive research and development program supported by AERDF.

At Assessment for Good, Dr. Lovelace leads a five-year, multi-stakeholder effort to create asset-based assessment systems that recognize how learners develop and demonstrate their strengths across contexts. Her current work focuses on context-capable assessment, emerging technology in assessment design, and measuring durable skills as cross-curricular academic accelerators. Through Oluko Learning, she translates this research into practical tools and learning pathways that help educators respond to the full range of strengths learners bring to their learning.

Previously, Dr. Lovelace was an Associate Professor of Special Education at Duquesne University, where she founded eXiLab, a cooperative incubator for inclusive research and development. Her community-engaged initiative, Youth Leading Change, brought educators and young people together to conduct localized research and development connecting innovation with classroom practice. Her scholarship at the intersections of disability and assessment includes “The Future of Assessment Is Now” and the lead-authored “Missing from the Narrative: A Seven-Decade Scoping Review of the Inclusion of Black Autistic Women and Girls in Autism Research.”

Dr. Lovelace is a visiting scholar at the Edmund W. Gordon Institute for Advanced Study at Teachers College, Columbia University. She holds an M.Ed. in Measurement, Evaluation, Statistics, and Assessment from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a Ph.D. in Special Education from The Ohio State University.

Bebaamaashiikwe Lisa LaRonge is a member of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe. She is the Executive Director of the Waadookodaading Ojibwe Language Institute, located on the tribal lands of Lac Courte Oreilles. She is a co-founder of the Waadookodaading Ojibwe Immersion School, and has over twenty years of experience teaching, developing curriculum and assessments for the early childhood program, as well as expanding initiatives to support teacher development, indigenous outreach and support, and advocating for indigenous language education. 

She earned an undergraduate degree in American Indian Studies from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, where she later completed a Master’s degree in Education, with a Certificate in Dual Language and Immersion Education. 

Waawaakeyaash Keller Paap is a member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe. He is the Anishinaabe Indigenous Knowledge Director of the Waadookodaading Ojibwe Language Institute, an indigenous-led 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located on the tribal homelands of Odaawaa-zaaga’igan located in northwest Wisconsin. He is a co-founder of Waadookodaading Ojibwe Immersion School, and has over twenty years of experience teaching, curriculum development, assessment, and educator training for indigenous language medium and immersion contexts. He actively participates in expanding
initiatives to support teacher development, indigenous outreach and support, and advocacy for indigenous language education. He earned an undergraduate degree in American Indian Studies and Art from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. 

Registration

Register Now
Regular (through September 25)

Professional Member: $300
Professional Nonmember: $425
Student: $50

Late (after September 26)

Professional Member: $325
Professional Nonmember: $450
Student: $75

Travel Grants

NCME is making available a limited number of $750 travel grants to support member participation at the 2026 NCME Classroom Assessment Conference in Bloomington, Minnesota. The grants are specifically intended to support members who have acute financial needs. Applicants will only be considered if they are current members with presenting roles at the conference. 

Apply for Travel Grant
Key Dates
  • Application Period: August 3–September 16
  • First Round Notifications Sent By: September 11
  • Second Round Notifications Sent By: September 18
Continuing Education Opportunities for Educators

Minnesota licensed school administrators (BOSA approved) and teachers and other educators who attend the full conference will receive a certificate certifying 12 clock hours toward continuing education requirements.

Teachers and other educators who attend one of the 3-hour sessions during the Participatory Assessment Learning Stations on Saturday Nov 14 will receive a certificate certifying 3 clock hours toward continuing education requirements.

Travel

Hotel

Radisson Blu Mall of America
2100 Killebrew Drive
Bloomington, MN 55425
Rate: $209/night

The deadline to book is October 21 at 5 p.m. Eastern.

Book Now
Airport

The closest airport is the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport. There is a free shuttle from the airport to the Radisson Blu Mall of America daily (5 a.m.–11 p.m.).

Thank You to Our 2026 Sponsors!

Golden Gopher

MN Maroon

Silver Sponsors

Bronze Sponsors

Supporters

Sponsorship

With two amazing opportunities happening this fall, NCME is offering both sponsorship for just the Classroom Assessment Conference (CAC), as well as combined packages for this and AIME-Con.

CAC Sponsorship
Multi-Event Sponsorship

Past Conferences