Projects & Issues

Findings from the science of learning development (SoLD), when taken together, reveal many powerful lessons for transforming education systems, advancing equity, and helping every young person thrive. LPI, in partnership with the American Institutes for Research (AIR), EdCounsel, the Forum for Youth Investment, Populace, and Turnaround for Children, has launched this initiative to integrate insights across multiple scientific fields.

School principals play a central role in school functioning and student achievement. When principals leave schools or turnover frequently, it disrupts school progress and can increase teacher turnover and lower student achievement. A series of research projects by LPI and the National Association of Secondary School Principals identifies the causes of turnover and the policies and practices that encourage principals to remain.

The Learning Policy Institute is partnering with EducationCounsel and Great Schools Partnership in a groundbreaking national effort to support the use of k–12 performance assessments, such as student portfolios and capstone projects, in higher education admissions, placement, and advising decisions. The initiative brings together a diverse group of k–12 and higher education policy and practice leaders who agree that both systems can benefit from authentic and holistic ways of assessing students’ competencies and mastery of skills.

The California Performance Assessment Collaborative represents educators, policymakers, and researchers who are working to study and advance the use of authentic approaches to assessment, such as presentations, projects, and portfolios, which require students to demonstrate applied knowledge of content and use of 21st century skills. The lessons captured and documented from this work will inform educators seeking to implement performance assessments, as well as policymakers who are developing next-generation assessment and accountability policies.

Responding to growing interest in community schools among educators, community groups, and policymakers, LPI explores community schools as a strategy to advance equity and support student and family well-being and academic success. Our work is grounded in an in-depth analysis of 143 research studies on the impact of community schools on student and school outcomes and includes a variety of resources and tools to support understanding and implementation of this evidenced-based strategy.

This project brings together researchers, civil rights leaders, policymakers, and practitioners to advance understanding and develop policies that leverage deeper learning as a pathway toward educational equity. Through strategic research and shared-learning opportunities, LPI and partners are creating a broader community of actively engaged and knowledgeable equity advocates for deeper learning and building awareness about how high-leverage deeper learning practices can be scaled up. Strategic communications play a critical role in this effort, by promoting powerful examples and advancing a shared message and vision for deeper learning.