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A new study looks at the use of performance assessments for both K-12 learning and college admission, placement and advising. The study is the first research produced through Reimagining College Access, a national initiative of the Learning Policy Institute and EducationCounsel that for the first time brings together k-12 and higher education policy and practice leaders to recognize and foster high-quality k–12 performance assessment systems.
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In the Oakland Unified School District, a yearlong Graduate Capstone Project provides an opportunity for students to research, analyze, and become experts in a topic of their own choosing. LPI’s video shows how this complex project, which is used as a districtwide performance assessment, is building students’ ownership of their own learning and helping them develop and use critical thinking and communication skills.
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By Young Whan Choi | What should a high school student be able to do upon graduation? In this guest blog, Young Whan Choi, manager of performance assessments for the Oakland Unified School District, discusses how the use of a districtwide Graduate Capstone Project is an integral part of the district’s commitment to graduating all students prepared for college, career, and community.
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Oakland students, teachers, and school and district administrators reflect on the district’s Graduate Capstone Project and its impact on teaching and learning. This rigorous, yearlong performance assessment culminates with a research paper and a formal presentation before teachers, school staff, and members of the community.
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Under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), state assessment systems must be designed to measure higher-order thinking skills and understanding. This report, published in partnership with the Council of Chief State Schools Officers (CCSSO), details how states can use performance assessments—including portfolios, projects, and extended-performance tasks—to assess what students know and are able to do.
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The Learning Policy Institute was named as one of 12 organizations nationwide to receive a grant award from the Assessment for Learning Project to fundamentally rethink the role of assessments in advancing student learning and improving our k-12 education system.
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Renewing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was once considered a long shot, but in December 2015, the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed into law. Will federal regulators encourage states to take advantage of the new flexibility provided by ESSA to move teaching and learning purposefully into the 21st century? And will states assure these opportunities are made available to all students, rather than an elite few?
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For more than a decade, Congress has not been able to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). In the current debate on standardized test scores, one important question is being missed: What kinds of assessments should be used when, how, and for what purposes if we want high-quality learning to occur that prepares students to be critical thinkers, problem solvers, collaborators, and lifelong learners?
Findings from the science of learning and development contain powerful lessons for improving education to help every student access opportunities and reach their full potential.
Curriculum, instruction, and assessment focused on deeper learning develop students’ abilities to think critically and solve complex problems, communicate effectively, work collaboratively, and learn independently.
