United States K-12 Public Schools: Development of a Case for A Unified Accountability and Measurement System

Over the past decade or so, in response to the struggling 19th century traditional educational model ubiquitous in schools across the U.S., educational entrepreneurs, school leaders, and policymakers alike are looking for innovative ways to restructure -- and reinvent -- education as a means to jump-start the achievement of students ill-served by traditional classroom models. They have begun to develop and incorporate alternative models that look new and “innovative.” These models come in the form of technology and hardware, products and learning tools and/or new ways of delivering content geared toward stimulating teaching and learning improvements. These “innovations” take up significant space in the discourse surrounding school reform and student achievement. But what constitutes “educational innovation” and what, if anything, are these tools really doing?

The Capstone team identified a core problem surrounding the discourse on “educational innovation”: no clear and consistent language exists in terms of what that concept circumscribes. Further research through interviews and a review of literature and programs revealed a myriad of terms used by practitioners and policymakers at the local, district, state, and national levels when referring to their work, or that of others, aimed at bringing about educational change, including:

• Blended Learning (also “Hybrid Learning”): students learn partly online with some control over their schedule and environment and partly in a physical classroom

• Customized Learning (also “Adaptive Learning”): a technical algorithm utilizes individual student profiles to guide learning through different instructional modalities

• Flipped Classroom: traditional instruction is offered online, generally through videos, and classroom time is utilized for group discussion and student-teacher interaction

• Next-Generation Learning Model: a comprehensive approach providing differentiated instruction by combining elements such as personalized or student-directed learning, flexible use of time and space, strong student engagement, performance-based assessment, and an extensive infrastructural or personnel support system

In the absence of shared understanding and goals – and a simple definition of terminology -- a common commitment to change across the sector appears to be insufficient to break the status quo in schools.