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Aurora Institute

Resources on Education Innovation

Working collaboratively with experts in the field, we publish reports and related resources on key topics and tough issues that equip and empower educators and leaders to catalyze and scale personalized, next-generation learning models.
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Issue Brief

Aurora Institute’s 2024 Federal Policy Priorities

September 2024

Aurora Institute

Issue(s): Federal Policy, Leverage Career and Technical Education, Redesign Accountability Systems for Continuous Improvement, Build Balanced Systems of Assessments, Create Balanced Systems of Assessments

Report

Mastery-Based Learning Collaborative Evaluation Report – Cohort 1, Year 3

August 2024

Eliot Levine

Issue(s): Lead Change and Innovation, Support Professional Learning, Create Space to Pilot Systems of Assessments

Issue Brief

Aurora Institute’s 2024 State Policy Priorities

April 2024

Aurora Institute

Issue(s): Aurora Institute, State Policy, Redefine Student Success, Create Meaningful Qualifications, Redesign Accountability Systems for Continuous Improvement, Build Balanced Systems of Assessments, Develop Educator Capacity, Modernize and Diversify the Educator-Leader Workforce, Create Pilots and Innovation Zones, Base Learning on Mastery Not Seat Time, Create Enabling Conditions for Competency-Based Education

Report

ExcEL Leadership Academy Micro-credential Pathway Adoption in Rhode Island

March 2024

Jennifer Cohen Kabaker, Laurie Gagnon

Issue(s): Aurora Institute, State Policy, Support Professional Learning

Report

Clearing the Path for Assessment Innovation: The Role of Federal Policy

December 2023

Aurora Institute, The Center for Assessment, Center for Innovation in Education, Envision Learning Partners, The Great Schools Partnership, KnowledgeWorks

Issue(s): Federal Policy, State Policy

Report

Promising Practices to Advance DEI Among Non-Profit Boards

October 2023

Dr. Loretta Goodwin, Jennifer Cohen Kabaker, Dr. Kumea Shorter-Gooden

Issue(s): Commit to Equity

Book

Agency by Design: An Educator’s Playbook

October 2023

Derek Wenmoth and Marsha Jones with George Edwards and Annette Thompson

Issue(s): Redefine Student Success, Create Meaningful Qualifications, Develop Educator Capacity

Report

Mastery-Based Learning Collaborative Evaluation Report, Year 2

September 2023

Eliot Levine

Issue(s): Lead Change and Innovation, Support Professional Learning, Create Space to Pilot Systems of Assessments

Report

Expanding Student Access to Work-Based Learning: Federal Policy Recommendations

July 2023

Susan Patrick, Khamiah Alderman, Laurie Gagnon

Issue(s): Federal Policy, Commit to Equity, Rethink Instruction

Report

Going Beyond the Traditional: Next Gen Credentials and Flexible Learning Pathways

June 2023

Susan Patrick, Laurie Gagnon, Alyssa Weaver

Issue(s): State Policy, Redefine Student Success, Create Meaningful Qualifications

Issue Brief

Next Generation Accountability: Creating Performance Frameworks for Student Success

January 2023

Susan Patrick

Issue(s): Federal Policy, State Policy, Redesign Accountability Systems for Continuous Improvement

CompetencyWorks, Report

Teachers Making the Shift to Equitable, Learner-Centered Education

September 2022

Wendy Surr, Kim Carter, and Andrea Stewart

Issue(s): Issues in Practice, Commit to Equity, Support Professional Learning, Rethink Instruction, Learn Lessons from the Field

Issue Brief

Aurora Institute’s 2022 Federal Policy Priorities

July 2022

Susan Patrick

Issue(s): Federal Policy

Issue Brief

Aurora Institute’s 2022 State Policy Priorities

March 2022

Susan Patrick

Issue(s): State Policy, Redefine Student Success, Create Meaningful Qualifications, Redesign Accountability Systems for Continuous Improvement, Build Balanced Systems of Assessments, Develop Educator Capacity, Modernize and Diversify the Educator-Leader Workforce, Create Pilots and Innovation Zones, Fund Innovation, Create Enabling Conditions for Competency-Based Education

Report

Measuring Forward: Emerging Trends in K-12 Assessment Innovation

November 2021

The Aurora Institute, The Center for Assessment, C!E, the Center for Innovation in Education, Envision Learning Partners, The Great Schools Partnership, KnowledgeWorks

Issue(s): Issues in Practice, How to Get Started, Commit to Equity, Evaluate Quality, Rethink Instruction, Create Balanced Systems of Assessments, Learn Lessons from the Field, Activate Student Agency, Engage Community, Build Balanced Systems of Assessments

Report

Agency by Design: Making Learning Engaging

October 2021

Derek Wenmoth, Marsha Jones, Joseph DiMartino

Issue(s): Issues in Practice, How to Get Started, Commit to Equity, Evaluate Quality, Rethink Instruction, Learn Lessons from the Field, Activate Student Agency, Engage Community

Report

Aurora Institute’s Federal Policy Priorities: Charting a New Path for America’s Learners

October 2021

Susan Patrick, Fred Jones, Alexis Chambers

Issue(s): Federal Policy, Harness Opportunities in ESSA, Modernize HEA, Increase Access to Broadband, Leverage Career and Technical Education, Design for Educational Equity, Create Space to Pilot Systems of Assessments

CompetencyWorks, Report

Habits of Success: Helping Students Develop Essential Skills for Learning, Work, and Life

October 2021

Eliot Levine

Issue(s): How to Get Started, Commit to Equity, Support Professional Learning, Rethink Instruction, Learn Lessons from the Field, Activate Student Agency

Issue Brief, CompetencyWorks

A Mastery-Based Math Teacher’s Journey

September 2021

Ashley Ferrara

Issue(s): How to Get Started, Support Professional Learning, Rethink Instruction, Learn Lessons from the Field, Activate Student Agency

Issue Brief

Innovation Zones: Policy Flexibility to Reimagine and Modernize K-12 Education Post-COVID-19

June 2021

Fred Jones, Alexis Chambers

Issue(s): State Policy, Create Pilots and Innovation Zones, Base Learning on Mastery Not Seat Time, Fund Innovation, Create Enabling Conditions for Competency-Based Education, Harness Opportunities in ESSA

Issue Brief

Mere Engagement: Reflections about the Connections Between Online Learning, Student Agency, and Student Engagement

January 2021

Laureen Avery, Marsha Jones, Sara Marr, Derek Wenmoth,

Issue(s): Issues in Practice, Rethink Instruction, Activate Student Agency, Engage Community, Design for Educational Equity, Develop Educator Capacity, Base Learning on Mastery Not Seat Time, Create Enabling Conditions for Competency-Based Education

Issue Brief

Determining Attendance and Alternatives to Seat-Time

November 2020

Susan Patrick, Alexis Chambers

Issue Brief, CompetencyWorks

Strengthening Local Assessment Systems for Personalized, Proficiency-Based Education: Strategies and Tools for Professional Learning

October 2020

Pat Fitzsimmons

Issue(s): State Policy, Build Balanced Systems of Assessments, Develop Educator Capacity, Issues in Practice, Support Professional Learning, Create Balanced Systems of Assessments

Book

A Promise for Equitable Futures: Enabling Systems Change to Scale Educational and Economic Mobility Pathways

October 2020

Susan Patrick, Katherine Casey

Issue(s): Federal Policy, Design for Educational Equity, State Policy, Redefine Student Success, Create Meaningful Qualifications, Redesign Accountability Systems for Continuous Improvement, Build Balanced Systems of Assessments, Develop Educator Capacity, Modernize and Diversify the Educator-Leader Workforce, Base Learning on Mastery Not Seat Time, Fund Innovation, Issues in Practice, Lead Change and Innovation, Commit to Equity, Evaluate Quality, Support Professional Learning, Rethink Instruction, Activate Student Agency, Engage Community

Report

Education Policy Issues for the COVID-19 Era: Policy Actions and Responses to Leverage the Moment for Future Readiness

August 2020

Susan Patrick, Alexis Chambers

Issue(s): Federal Policy, Harness Opportunities in ESSA, Increase Access to Broadband, Design for Educational Equity, Create Space to Pilot Systems of Assessments, State Policy, Redefine Student Success, Create Meaningful Qualifications, Redesign Accountability Systems for Continuous Improvement, Build Balanced Systems of Assessments, Develop Educator Capacity, Create Pilots and Innovation Zones, Base Learning on Mastery Not Seat Time, Fund Innovation, Create Enabling Conditions for Competency-Based Education

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Over the last two decades, the Aurora Institute has driven the transformation toward student-centered, next-generation learning for K-12 education. During that time, the Aurora Institute published more than 200 reports and webinars in support of these efforts.