David T. Conley is Professor of Educational Policy and Leadership in the College of Education at the University of Oregon, where he directs the Center for Educational Policy Research. He is the founder and president of EdImagine, an educational strategy consulting company. Additionally, he founded and served for twelve years as CEO of the Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC). He recently completed an appointment as Senior Fellow for Deeper Learning with the Hewlett Foundation. Dr. Conley is a national thought leader in the areas of college and career readiness, student ownership of learning, systems of assessment, and educational accountability. He has published multiple articles and policy briefs as well as three books in these areas. He has served as a member of the Smarter Balanced Technical Advisory Committee and is a founding board member of New Meridian Corporation, managers of the PARCC assessment, where he also chairs its steering committee. Previously, he cochaired the Validation Committee for the Common Core State Standards. He has conducted major research studies for the SAT, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and the National Assessment of Educational Progress and has worked with a range of state educational agencies at both the K-12 and higher education levels. He has recently studied "hard-to-measure" skills including so-called noncognitive (or social emotional) skills, learning strategies, and metacognitive factors. Before entering higher education in 1989, Dr. Conley spent twenty years in the public school system in a variety of roles, including teacher and codirector of two public alternative schools, a site and central office administrator, and an executive in a state education agency. He is a first-generation college attendee who received his AA from Cabrillo College, his BA from the University of California, Berkeley, and his MA and PhD from the University of Colorado, Boulder. He grew up on the central coast of California, where he spent a great deal of time at the beach.