Transforming schools through mastery learning may solve education's existential crisis, offering today's learners the relevance and individualization they need while returning to the most ancient form of assessment, proving that learning has occurred. Mastery learning requires significant change to all the norms and practices of school, altering…

This capstone project provides an examination of educational and organizational change within the Clark County Public School district in Winchester, Kentucky. A review of literature was conducted surrounding organizational change management and how to best utilize organizational and educational change models to establish a sustainable avenue for…

A significant movement is underway across the nation to design K-12 assessment systems that better equip stakeholders to provide an equitable and excellent education to each child. While some of these innovations emerged before the pandemic, the massive disruption to instruction fueled a new urgency to rethink the potential of assessments to drive…

Located in the suburbs of northern Kentucky, just minutes away from Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky University (NKU) serves over 15,000 students from across the state and beyond. In 2018, while celebrating its 50-year anniversary and closing out its current 6-year strategic plan, the college welcomed a new president with a bold vision. Feeling a…

In the United States, the K-12 education sector too often exists in silos, separated from meaningful connections with community and innovation. But in Tucson, Pittsburgh, and other regions around the country, communities are working to break down those walls. They are building ecosystems that bring together educators, researchers, funders, edtech…

There is a growing call to reconsider current approaches to national and state assessment system policies and practices. State and local education agency leaders, educators, community leaders, and advocates have voiced concerns that current state assessment systems--defined primarily by end-of-year multiple-choice tests--are unable to meet…

The digital divide presents a significant challenge in rural Eastern Kentucky, where the absence of broadband internet access has hindered economic development, education, health care, and overall quality of life. Broadband, characterized by high-speed internet access that is always on and faster than traditional dial-up, is a convenience and a…

Effective professional development (PD) is crucial for enhancing teacher instruction and student achievement. This Spotlight explores innovative approaches to PD that prioritize teacher needs and foster meaningful learning experiences. From hybrid PD models to teacher-led initiatives and on-demand online courses, these articles offer valuable…

This article presents results from a study of a year-long, teaching and learning center-directed, professional development initiative that focused on both the technology and the pedagogical supports for online and blended course delivery at a research university. The purpose of this mixed methods study was two-fold. The first purpose was to…

The final decades of the twentieth century were rife with education reform. "A Nation at Risk" (1983) compared American schools to their counterparts in other countries, and found America wanting while E.D. Hirsch and others decried Americans' lack of knowledge of their own institutions and heritage (Hirsch 1987). These alarms caused…

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, K-12 schools are under immense pressure to meet the diverse needs of students. But policies and practices have not evolved quickly enough to meet those needs -- and as a result, the system continues to fail far too many young people. In "Levers of Change: How State Policies Support District…

Data governance is a core obligation for leaders and staff across any agency that collects, stores or uses individuals' data. It ensures that individuals' personal information is protected, and can support the continuous improvement of data quality and use, particularly when it includes well-defined processes, structure and responsibilities.…

While the United States is simultaneously recovering from a global pandemic and facing a national reckoning of racial injustice, the effects of COVID-19 continue to exacerbate academic and opportunity gaps that were decades in the making in K-12 systems. Most students are performing worse than before the pandemic. For students of color, there is a…

Innovation zones help state policy leaders create space in state policy for local educators to design innovative education models. They allow local districts or schools to request a waiver from outdated state policies and regulations that communities have identified as a barrier to high-quality, student-centered learning. These models are also…

The National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program gives two year college educators leadership roles in developing model technician education programs for advanced technology fields. Since the first ATE grants were awarded in 1993, community college educators across the nation have partnered with industry and other…