Future of Learning
The Microschool Mindset: Why Small Thinking Is the Biggest Shift in Education
What if the most transformative idea in education right now has nothing to do with how big your school is? In this piece, George Philhower, superintendent at Eastern Hancock Schools and co-founder of the Indiana Microschool Collaborative, makes the case that the microschool mindset is a philosophy any school can adopt. From grading practices to flexible pathways to joy as a design principle, this is a grounded, visionary read for every leader asking what school could look like if we built it around learners instead of legacy systems.
Schools Are Testing the Past: How Assessment Must Evolve for Writing, Speaking, and Listening in the AI Age
When a student completes a writing test in a locked browser, we learn what they can do alone. But the world asks something harder: can they use AI without being used by it? In this sharp and timely essay, Eric Tucker argues that assessment for writing, speaking, and listening has not kept pace with how communication actually works, and maps a practical path forward. Education leaders navigating AI policy, curriculum design, and high-stakes testing will find both a diagnostic and a blueprint here.
Steward Stories: Spotlight on Providence After School Alliance
What does it look like when a city becomes a learning campus? The Providence After School Alliance spent two decades answering that question, aligning schools, city agencies, and community organizations so young people could access high-quality learning far beyond the school day. This Steward Story traces PASA's evolution from a bold response to a local crisis into a nationally recognized model for ecosystem building, credit-bearing out-of-school learning, and the kind of coordination that outlasts leadership transitions. For education leaders navigating fragmented systems, PASA's journey is both a blueprint and a call to action.
We’ve Been Judging Symphony Rehearsals by the Last Note: Why Multimodal AI Can Finally Measure Mathematical Practice
For decades, math assessments have measured the residue of thinking rather than thinking itself. In this sharp, research-grounded piece, Eric Tucker argues that multimodal AI can finally make the Standards for Mathematical Practice visible, capturing spoken arguments, strategic shifts, and productive struggle in real time. For district leaders and curriculum directors rethinking assessment infrastructure, this is essential reading on what it means to measure what actually matters.
What Ecosystem Stewards Know That System Leaders Don’t — Yet
What does it actually take to steward a learning ecosystem, and how is that different from leading a system? Karen Pittman and Merita Irby spent a year inside four community intermediaries, including CommunityShare, the PAST Foundation, and Heart of Oregon Corps, and surfaced three prerequisites that change everything: trust, time, and idea translation. This post is essential reading for any leader working to connect education, youth development, and workforce systems into something greater than the sum of their parts.
Designing for Belonging: Lessons from Districts Building What Technology Can’t Replace
Discover how districts are wrestling with what AI can't replace, prioritizing human skills like belonging, judgment, and connection through systemic redesign.
A Graduate Portrait Names What We Value. Our Learning System Shows That We Mean It.
Aligning a Portrait of a Graduate with daily practices transforms vision into a lived culture, fostering coherence across education systems.
Advancing Artificial Intelligence, Measurement and Assessment System Innovation: A National Mission to Secure the Future of Learning and Work
Explore how The Study Group is transforming education through AI-powered measurement and assessment initiatives for better learning.
The Architecture of Inference: Appreciating Robert Mislevy’s Evidence-Centered Design in the Age of AI
Explore the insights of Robert Mislevy on assessment scores and learning contexts, merging language and subject knowledge complexities.
Small, Rural Central California High School Continues To Defy Standardized Education
Minarets High School, a rural Central California school, leads with student-centered innovations like 1:1 laptops, portfolios, and project-based learning.