While there has been substantial research into teacher education programming and pedagogy in recent years (Hollins and Guzman, 2005), few studies have focused specifically on structures for enhancing teacher candidates’ competency in assessment. Instead, studies on assessment education have examined the impact of discrete assessment courses on preparing assessment literate teachers by measuring teacher candidates’ confidence in or knowledge of assessment. In general, these studies have indicated that teacher candidates are unprepared to effectively assess student learning and that assessment remains a significant gap in pre-service programmes (MacLellan, 2004; Mertler, 2004; Volante and Fazio, 2007). Further, assessment education courses have been criticized for being theory-laden and disconnected from teachers’ daily assessment practices (DeLuca and Klinger, 2010; Graham, 2005). These criticisms of assessment education are not surprising. Historically, there has been relatively little emphasis on issues of assessment in teacher education programs with a dearth of research to support curricular and pedagogical structures for effective assessment education (Stiggins, 1999, 2004; Popham, 2004). Accordingly, there is a need to establish a theoretical basis for assessment education that can be used to guide teaching and research into preparing assessment competent teachers (Brookhart, 2011). The purpose of this presentation is to examine historical and contemporary assessment standards to provide a theoretical foundation for teacher education in the area of assessment. Specifically, teacher assessment standards from six regions internationally are analyzed to understand shifts in the assessment landscape over time and across regions. Methodologically, fifteen assessment standards from the six regions (US, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe) were identified systematically based on national assessment research consortia/associations/joint advisory committees and national teacher education associations. All documents were first coded by region and date of publication and subsequently inductively analyzed using standard thematic coding procedures (Patton, 2002). Results of the analysis revealed differences in assessment standards over time and geography. Eight contemporary themes were identified based on current standards documents. These themes yield a mapping of assessment content to inform the basis of teacher education curriculum. Specifically, they identify topics and standards for pre-service or in-service professional learning. Further implications on the sequencing of content and the development of assessment literate teachers are discussed along with requirements for future research in assessment education.

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