Reimagining College Access: More About RCA Work
Reimagining College Access (RCA) launched in 2017 with a small group of thought leaders who saw performance assessments as a promising way to foster deeper learning and equity in k-12 and higher education. Since then, RCA’s work has been shaped by annual convenings, guidance from task forces, and a national advisory group. Over the years, RCA has remained committed to the idea that performance assessments are a valuable way for high school students to demonstrate learning, and that they can provide useful information to support college access and success. RCA provides support to both k–12 and higher education to use performance assessment in higher education decisions. The initiative has launched two collaboratives—the RCA New England Collaborative and the RCA Colorado Collaborative—that connected the k–12 and higher education sectors in those regions and developed research-based criteria to describe the system-level quality of performance assessments. As the landscape of k–12 and higher education continues to shift, RCA has begun to explore how performance assessment can be used to support student success once they enter postsecondary education—particularly through placement and advising.
RCA continues to learn from the many educators and policy leaders involved in the initiative and is engaged in the following activities:
- Creating tools and resources in partnership with other initiatives and organizations that are interested in using performance assessments in k–12 and higher education.
- Supporting state and regional networks that connect k–12 and higher education and explore the use of performance assessment in both sectors.
- Conducting, publishing and disseminating research on the use of performance based assessment in higher education.
- Hosting national conversations that elevate key research and evidence to build awareness and understanding of performance assessment and how it can be used to more meaningfully understand students’ preparedness as part of a holistic and equitable approach to admissions, placement, or advising.
