By Rebecca Holmes, CEI President and CEO In my July message to the field, I reflected on the paradoxes of this moment, noting both lights on the horizon in Colorado in significant open policy windows, and the still-present weight of the last year with pandemic uncertainly still looming. In every conversation, …
What Happens When States Un-Standardize Tests?
Education Week | October 11, 2018 (Featuring CEI’s Elliott Asp) Few educators are fans of fill-in-the-bubble standardized tests that don’t yield results until after students leave the classroom. But when states had a chance to try out richer forms of assessment under a new pilot program established by the Every …
To Whom Are Schools Most Accountable?
By Rebecca Holmes and Elliott Asp | June 26, 2018 Writing about the opportunities for innovation in Colorado’s school accountability system has led to a number of fascinating conversations, many of which we never predicted six months ago. As former school and system leaders, we are compelled by the consequences, …
Accountability in a Competency-Based System
By Elliott Asp and Rebecca Holmes | April 30, 2018 At CEI, we define competency-based education (CBE) as a system in which each student moves through school and graduates based on their demonstrated mastery of a transparent set of knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviors required for success after high school …
Is Accountability Holding Back High School Transformation?
By Rebecca Holmes and Elliott Asp | March 31, 2018 Imagine you are the principal of a high school with limited resources for tutoring. You have a group of kids more than three years below grade level, struggling to access content in all areas because of the gaps in their …
A Grass Roots Approach to Rethinking Accountability
By Elliott Asp and Rebecca Holmes | February 28, 2018 Accountability is one of education’s most vexing problems. It demands new approaches and a clarified purpose. At CEI, we are eager to explore approaches that drive ownership and improvement at the local level. One promising approach is the Student-Centered Accountability …
The Nature of Accountability is Ready for Change
By Rebecca Holmes and Elliott Asp | January 31, 2018 Prime Opportunity at Hand CEI has spent more than a decade helping schools and districts across the state implement a number of pieces of Colorado’s reform agenda. At the same time, we’ve been a leading voice on innovations intended to …