The only organization dedicated solely to helping state boards advance equity and excellence in public education.


One of the many things the pandemic has illuminated is where schools get stuck. For more than a year, millions of children attended school remotely, and yet the quality of that instruction remained hostage to the capacities of geographically determined school districts.

For me, this period has brought back thoughts of Education Unbound, which I penned more than a decade ago. The book sketched a vision of what I call “greenfield schooling.” The premise is simple: Profound educational improvement requires more than fine-tuning systems that have evolved over two centuries; it requires policymakers and educational leaders to revisit organizing assumptions about the grammar of schooling.


The Greenfield Path to School Improvement





Also In this Issue

Reshaping Assessment and Accountability in 2021 and Beyond

By Andrew Rotherham, Bonnie O'Keefe and Jennifer O'Neal Schiess

Data about system performance will continue to lie at the heart of school improvement.





The Role of Technology in Reimagining School

By Andrew Ko and Kristen Amundson

Pandemic or no, states ought to press for better technology for personalized learning and making staff and students safer.





The Greenfield Path to School Improvement

By Frederick Hess

State Policymakers can help clear away the rubble that impedes vibrant reform.





Transforming Learning through Competency-Based Education

By Susan Patrick

States are adopting a range of policies to personalize student learning and move away from seat-time rules.






Seize the Moment: Double Down on Authentic Learning

By Dennis McGrath and Monica Martinez

Project-based learning tied to students' communities and interests readily makes the leap across modes of instruction.





Moving toward Competency-Based Professional Learning

By Joseph Hood and Melissa Tooley

Microcredentials embedded in effective learning systems can promote teacher growth, advancement, and retention.





Kansas Schools Build Resilience amid Redesign

By Valerie Norville

Schools opt to change their approaches to learning and see gains in adaptability.







Featured Items

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Leading and Governing

Is there another domestic policy space more complicated than state education governance? In the face of the 50-plus ways of constructing state systems of public education in this country, the authors in this issue of The Standard attempt to tease out what constitutes strong leadership and effective governance.
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Preparing Principals through High-Quality Internships

To equip and retain more high-quality school leaders, states can encourage principal internships as a key part of preparation.

Legislative Conference 2023

NASBE's 2023 Legislative Conference will be held March 19-21, 2023 in Washington, D.C.

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