What have alumni of Jewish day schools learned, in the field of rabbinics? What do they understand about Talmud and other rabbinic literature? How do they think about its significance and meaning, and how do they feel about their learning? While the study of rabbinic literature is a central component of the Jewish day school curriculum in both liberal and Orthodox schools, we know almost nothing about what students have learned, what they understand, or how they think. Educators and researchers therefore lack the empirical basis to articulate sound educational goals for this subject. Given this situation, the two authors of this preface created a partnership between our two institutions, the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Studies in Jewish Education at Brandeis University, and the William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. The goals of the partnership are twofold: first, to develop a knowledge base for the field of rabbinics education in general, and second, to support the ongoing development of standards and benchmarks in rabbinics, as part of the Jewish Day School Standards and Benchmarks Project at the Davidson School.