"New Standards" is the result of a collaboration between the Learning Research and Development Center and the National Center on Education and the Economy, in partnership with states and urban districts, working to build an assessment system with which to measure students' progress toward meeting national standards at internationally benchmarked levels. The New Standards assessment system has three interrelated components: (1) performance standards; (2) an on-demand examination; and (3) a portfolio system. Standards are provided for English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Applied Learning at the middle school level. (Contains 22 references.) (ASK)