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Student painting a cardboard box with dark red and yellow colors in an art classroom workshop setting.

Ed Policy

The Conditions That Make Durable Skills Real: How Schools and Systems Build for Agency, Identity, and Vision

Guest Author

Jun 2, 2026

Two teenage girls writing notes while a teacher points to their chemistry worksheets in a science lab classroom.

Leadership

How AI Impacts the Use of Protocols in the K-12 Classroom

David Ross

Mar 12, 2026

Three diverse teens smile while assembling a robot in a STEM classroom, one using a screwdriver, another holding a tablet.

EdTech

The Architecture of Ability: How Evidence-Centered Design and UDL Can Shape AI-Era Assessment

Eric Tucker, Edward Metz

Feb 18, 2026

Student using an educational map app on a tablet while taking notes in a classroom setting

EdTech

The Architecture of Inference: Appreciating Robert Mislevy’s Evidence-Centered Design in the Age of AI

Eric Tucker

Nov 5, 2025

Smiling boy presenting a planetary orbits solar system model at an elementary school science fair

Learner-Centered

Grounding Assessment in the Service of Learning

Eric Tucker, Edmund W. Gordon, Eleanor Armour-Thomas

Oct 14, 2025

Circular diagram showing Transformational Learning Principles: Nurture, Guide, and Empower, each with supporting practices.

Competency-Based Education

Schools Alive with Transformational Learning

Tom Vander Ark

May 9, 2025

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Leadership

Building Systems That Serve: The Power of the Getting Smart Innovation Framework

Rebecca Midles, Nate McClennen

Mar 11, 2025

Explore the Getting Smart Innovation Framework for personalized, competency-based education that empowers all students.

Students and an adult examine a motorized skateboard prototype in a modern school makerspace.

Learning Design

The Joy of Learning: A Core Principle for Success

Jordan Luster

Dec 6, 2024

Explore the transformative power of joyful learning, emphasizing connection, curiosity, and real-world engagement in education.

Students work collaboratively at grouped tables in a modern classroom while a teacher circulates and a document displays on a projector screen.

Learning Design

Here are our design principles. What do you think?

Getting Smart Staff

Aug 13, 2024

Getting Smart promotes equitable innovations in learning through values, goals, and design principles to ensure transformative education experiences.

Teacher guides diverse young students using Montessori bead materials for math at a collaborative classroom table.

Leadership

Building Better Schools: The art of leading change in education

Guest Author

Apr 30, 2024

Education transformation leader Tyler Thigpen explores the concept of dependent learning in schools, challenging traditional education models and advocating for student empowerment and self-directed learning.

	Beginning	Piloting	Implementing
From Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery	BeginningFrom Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery Beginning	PilotingFrom Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery Piloting	ImplementingFrom Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery Implementing
From One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning	BeginningFrom One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning Beginning	PilotingFrom One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning Piloting	ImplementingFrom One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning Implementing
From Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry	BeginningFrom Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry Beginning	PilotingFrom Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry Piloting	ImplementingFrom Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry Implementing
From Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning	BeginningFrom Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning Beginning	PilotingFrom Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning Piloting	ImplementingFrom Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning Implementing
From Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities	BeginningFrom Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities Beginning	PilotingFrom Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities Piloting	ImplementingFrom Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities Implementing
From Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment	BeginningFrom Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment Beginning	PilotingFrom Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment Piloting	ImplementingFrom Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment Implementing
From Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets	BeginningFrom Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets Beginning	PilotingFrom Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets Piloting	ImplementingFrom Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets Implementing

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