Reimagining College Access
The Reimagining College Access (RCA) initiative is a national effort to advance the use of student performance assessments to inform higher education admissions, placement, and advising decisions. RCA brings together a diverse group of K–12 and higher education leaders engaged in using authentic assessments of students’ competencies and mastery of the skills needed for college, work, and life in the 21st century.
LPI is a research partner in the initiative, which it launched with partners as an incubation project in 2017 with the goal of establishing a practice-informed research base and a national coalition of partners focused on integrating authentic evidence about students’ abilities from high school performance assessments into admissions processes. In 2023, administration of the initiative was taken up by National Association for College Admission Counseling.
Featured Tool
Further Reading
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Related Resources
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Toward a More Equitable Future for Postsecondary Access (
report, National Association for College Admission Counseling
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Connecting the Student: K12 performance assessment for college advising and placement (
podcast, Complete College America
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High Quality Performance Assessment (
slide deck, Envision Learning Partners
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Reimagining College Access Newsletters
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Reimagining College Access Webinars
What Is a Performance Assessment?
Performance assessment is an approach to assessment that measures how well students demonstrate and apply their knowledge, understanding, skills, and abilities. Performance assessments typically require in-depth analyses and student-designed projects and yield tangible products such as papers, presentations, or design specifications that serve as evidence of learning. The goal of using performance assessment is to more closely emulate the real-world conditions of college and career settings, providing robust information about students’ achievements and potential for postsecondary success.
Funders
Funding for this project was provided by the Stuart Foundation and Walton Family Foundation. Core operating support for the Learning Policy Institute is provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Heising-Simons Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Raikes Foundation, Sandler Foundation, Skyline Foundation, and MacKenzie Scott.
Partners
The Learning Policy Institute, in collaboration with EducationCounsel, launched the RCA initiative in 2017. Administration and oversight of the project is led by the National Association for College Admission Counseling. LPI continues its engagement with RCA as a research partner.