Realigning assessments around student-centered learning, making personalized learning a grant priority across programs, and building more outcomes-based performance metrics into agreements with full-time and supplemental online education providers are among the policy recommendations released by the International Association for K-12 Online Learning this week.

Eight federal and five state priorities were identified by iNACOL in the annual policy briefs issued by the nonprofit that supports blended learning in conjunction with its annual symposium. The state policy frameworks are suggested with the intention to “close achievement gaps and enable highly personalized pathways.” The federal frameworks advise policymakers on moves that the organization said could close persistent learning gaps, improve equity, and “dramatically increase student achievement.”

On the federal policy level, redesign of assessment around student-centered learning was “Issue #1,” with the report’s author writing that the current Elementary and Secondary Education Act “relies on static, end-of-year, summative assessments that have motivated many educators to ‘teach to the test,’ narrow the curriculum and focus on some, instead of all, students.” To create personalized, competency-based systems requires “multiple measures of learning in real time.”

Among recommendations for states that would impact online education providers are proposals that would: 

• Require transparency and accountability for the quality of online learning providers, using outcomes-based student learning performance metrics for providers;
• Shut down schools and discontinue course providers that persistently fail to achieve positive outcomes for students;
• Create a student performance-based funding model, motivating programs to provide world-class instruction and maximize student gains—not to drive cost savings.
• Fund pilot programs for schools and districts to implement high-quality, personalized, blended, and competency-based learning systems

States should look at how they can align their data systems to provide “systems-level supports” for teaching and learning, the report said. They should also redesign assessment to align with competency-based learning.

As for student data, states should establish policies to protect and provide good governance of student data privacy, the state report said. At the same time, the group called on states to “avoid prohibitions on the collection and use of student data that can hamper personalized learning environments.”

The iNACOL Federal Policy Frameworks 2015 include the following eight items:

1. Redesign assessment around student-centered learning
2. Rethink accountability for continuous improvement of next-generation learning models
3. Modernize educator and leadership development
4. Make personalized learning a cross-cutting grant priority
5. Protect student data privacy and security
6. Invest in learning models research and development
7. Build robust technology infrastructure and improve broadband
8. Support the development and use of open educational resources (OER)

For states, The iNACOL State Policy Frameworks 2015: 5 Critical Issues to Transform K-12 Education include the following:

1. Create competency-based systems of education
2. Improve student access and equity
3. Ensure quality with standards and performance metrics
4. Modernize educator and leader development
5. Build new learning models infrastructure

See also:

• Personalization, Tailored Instruction Vital to Blended Learning, New Report Says
• Blended Learning Research: The Seven Studies You Need to Know
• Online Credit Recovery in Need of Improvement, Study Says

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