New test?

Asked this evening in a Q&A by school committee and superintendents about the new (coming) state test (that will be jointly done with other states), Commissioner Chester gave, as a proposed example, kids reading a variety of articles on a topic and then having to write an editorial letter on the subject. He called it more of an activity, less of a test.
It was just an example, but possibly one of the more hopeful things I've heard around state testing since...oh, about 1998.