The Developmental Testing Service (DTS) is a nonprofit enterprise devoted to designing and disseminating reliable, standardized, embeddable, and formative cognitive developmental assessments. Not only do our assessments ask what people know, they ask how well people understand and think about what they know and make suggestions about what they are likely to benefit from learning next.

The mission of DTS is to develop standardized and educative developmental assessments of the skills and concepts students and workers need to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

Our aims are threefold: (1) to provide free high-quality, evidence-based developmental assessments to K-12 educators, (2) to advance this work by offering related research and assessment services to clients in the private and public sectors, and (3) to build knowledge about learning and its role in the future of society.

DTS employs a research methodology called developmental maieutics, which is grounded in over 100 years of cognitive developmental theory and research—most recently, Harvard professor Kurt Fischer's Dynamic Skill Theory. The methods of developmental maieutics are employed to document how people learn specific concepts and skills over time. The results inform the design of a new form of standardized assessment—the Lectical Assessment—that can be used to evaluate and support learning. Unlike conventional standardized assessments, which compare and classify learners, Lectical Assessments help educators determine what individual students are most likely to benefit from learning next.

The K-12 department of DTS—DiscoTest—focuses on the design and delivery of free high-quality stand-alone assessments focusing on a wide range of concepts and topics. Each DiscoTest is calibrated to the dynamic skill scale—a universal developmental "ruler," making it possible to track student learning over time in multiple subject areas. Cumulative results track the learning of individual students and provide a reliable and standardized longitudinal record of the performance of schools and districts. Additionally, because the items on Lectical Assessments are open-ended, the answers are a rich source of data that can be used by researchers to refine our understanding of student learning.

Each DiscoTest is based on evidence that is gathered primarily through partnerships with academic researchers who are investigating developmental phenomena. Because DTS makes extensive use of internet, databasing, and psychometric technologies to conduct research and deliver assessments, we maintain a high level of expertise in these areas. We offer these services (for a fee) to research partners while using their developmental data and analyses to design and improve DiscoTests.

DTS also focuses on workplace and college-level learning. We offer a range of online Lectical Assessments for adults, and partner with academic researchers to conduct research and design new assessments. Several of our assessments span childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, making them appropriate for life-span research.

Our long-term goal is to supplant 20th century assessments of content knowledge with research-based educative assessments that promote the development of the skills and knowledge required to meet 21st century challenges. We are supported by research partnerships, work for public and private sector clients, and donations. High-quality educational services promote the development of good citizens, workers, and parents. We welcome your support.

DTS's initial funding came from Theo L. Dawson, who established the Developmental Testing Service as an LLC in 2004. From 2004 through 2009, she developed the infrastructure and initial assessments for DTS, including DiscoTest, and with Zachary Stein, attracted a number of clients and research partners.