ILIAD: Connecting Learning, Instruction, and Assessment

The New Mexico Public Education Department was awarded a competitive federal assessment grant to develop Integrated Learning, Instruction, Assessment, and Decision Making (ILIAD). ILIAD is a platform designed to make information about student learning more meaningful, accessible, and actionable.

ILIAD will bring together information from classroom instruction and multiple assessments, using common proficiency scales and learning progressions to provide a more coherent picture of what students know and are able to do. Rather than requiring educators to interpret separate assessment reports that may use different terminology or are not clearly connected to instructional standards, ILIAD will help translate assessment results into information that directly supports teaching and learning. The goal is to help educators make more informed instructional decisions while giving families a clearer understanding of their child’s progress and the next steps needed to support continued growth.

About the Grant

ILIAD is partially supported by the Competitive Grants for State Assessments (CGSA) program. This federal grant program helps states improve how they measure and report student learning. PED applied through the 2026 CGSA competition, and the U.S. Department of Education lists ILIAD among its select 2026 awards.

For details, examine the official U.S. Department of Education 2026 CGSA Project Abstracts.

The Importance of ILIAD and Building for the Future of Assessment Innovation

Through ILIAD, PED is working to strengthen the connection between assessment and classroom instruction so that educators have a clearer understanding of what students know, where they may be struggling, and what instructional steps may help them improve.

ILIAD will bring together information from multiple assessments and connect results to instructional standards, proficiency scales, and learning progressions. Rather than asking educators to interpret separate assessment reports that may use different terminology or provide limited guidance for instruction, ILIAD will help make that information more consistent, accessible, and useful. An important part of this work is providing suggested instructional interventions based on identified learning needs, giving teachers practical guidance on how to respond to assessment results and monitor student progress over time.

This grant gives New Mexico an opportunity to move assessment beyond reporting results and toward a system that helps educators determine what to do next. Ultimately, the value of ILIAD is not simply in bringing assessment information together, but in making that information more useful for day-to-day instructional decisions and improving outcomes for students.

• Schools will see a clearer picture of each student’s progress and choose instruction or support that fits their needs.
• Parents and families will receive clearer information about their child’s learning and practical ways to support it at home.

ILIAD is being developed in phases. Features and benefits described here are project goals and will be tested and refined during implementation.

Project Partners

PED is working with New Mexico educators and six project partners:

ILIAD Project Roadmap

Four phases of ILIAD:

Watch: Introducing ILIAD

Learn how ILIAD aims to connect information about student learning with the decisions educators and families make every day.