Given the political climate and opportunities for
change — the availability of stimulus funds (including Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's commitment of $ 350 million
in stimulus funding to support
assessment work), the movement toward common standards, and the
upcoming reauthorization of No Child Left Behind — we can bypass the debate between the two flawed options of either maintaining the status quo or returning to performance - based
assessment systems of the 1990s.
Meehl, who has been involved with IPCC reports since the first
assessment in 1990, noted that previous reports were still «reliable» sources of information, as were special reports like the
upcoming one on Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate
Change Adaptation, to be released on 18 November.