Statistic of the day. Nearly 90 percent of Americans say students should receive college credit for work experience and other skills learned outside of the classroom. An Education Sector-New America Foundation report last fall highlighted ways that institutions can measure learning based on competencies and prior learning assessments like these. (Gallup)

Oh, the irony. A MOOC intended toContinue Reading »

How to measure learning. New America Foundation’s Amy Laitinen writes about the “curious birth and harmful legacy of the credit hour.” Education Sector earlier co-released a paper with Laitinen that outlines the problems of measuring learning based on credits, or seat time, and instead encourages a higher education system that measures learning based on competencies. (The Chronicle of Higher EdContinue Reading »

Identifying potential dropouts in middle school. A Louisiana school is seeing reduced suspension and failure rates, plus a higher attendance rate, thanks to—officials say—a data-driven program that flags students who show signs of falling behind. (PBS NewsHour)

Who will hold colleges accountable? Kevin Carey argues for elimination of the “antiquated credit hour.” How else can we measure Continue Reading »

As anyone who has ever attended college probably realizes, the currency of degrees and credentials are credit hours.  But few people know where the credit hour comes from. Today the New America Foundation and Education Sector have released Cracking the Credit Hour, a report that covers the credit hour’s history from the days of Andrew Carnegie to the latest “credit hour” regulation. This new poContinue Reading »

Stanford’s Tony Bryk, a member of Education Sector’s research advisory committee, was recently appointed the new President of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Many people don’t realize just how influential Carnegie has been since it was chartered by an Act of Congress in 1906. It developed the Teachers Annuity and Insurance Association, which become theContinue Reading »