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In this installment of the Education and the Path to Equity blog series, John B. King Jr., President and CEO of the Education Trust and former U.S. Secretary of Education, observes that 50 years after the Kerner Commission, the striking disparities in opportunity that still exist throughout our nation are a reflection of choices that we have made as a society. As a nation, we are not acting on what we know is in the best interest of our children.
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Access to deeper learning—classes in which students are engaged to think deeply and develop the skills and abilities they’ll need for college and work—is a central equity issue for our time, says Dr. Pedro Noguera in this LPI Blog. In this interview, Noguera discusses the role of deeper learning in providing all students with an equitable and empowering education and what it will take to “scale up” deeper learning practices.
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As states, districts, and schools are expanding instruction to include the competencies associated with college, career, and civic readiness, they are also developing ways to measure mastery of these deeper learning and higher-order thinking skills. These measures include performance assessments, such as portfolios, capstone projects, and senior defenses, alongside classroom performance. A new report looks at how these assessments are being used to inform college admission, placement, and advising decisions.
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This brief describes performance assessments and their value for guiding and evaluating high school students' learning, as well as informing colleges and universities about what students know and can do. It explores state and local policies that support the use of such assessments, along with emerging higher education efforts to incorporate them in college admission, placement, and advising. It discusses steps that can help ensure that performance assessments are high-quality, rigorous, and well understood and that can facilitate the use of these assessments in higher education decisions.
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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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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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This report analyzes the efforts of schools and school districts to improve academic achievement, particularly among students who have been historically underserved. Three case studies provide insights into both the potential of using deeper learning as a reform strategy that can lead to greater equity in academic outcomes and the obstacles that have prevented others from obtaining similar results.
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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 Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) includes a number of important requirements and opportunities to advance equity in U.S. education. A new report by the Learning Policy Institute, Equity and ESSA: Leveraging Educational Opportunity Through the Every Student Succeeds Act, outlines the equity implications of ESSA and discusses ways in which the federal government, states, districts, and schools can promote equity for underserved children and youth. The report was released in conjunction with a briefing on Capitol Hill.
