The Achievement & Assessment Institute
AAI and its centers partner with numerous agencies to improve the lives of children and adults through academics, employment, career advancement, and building healthy environments, and to enhance the capacity of organizations that help children, adults, and communities succeed.
Aspire, Achieve, Inspire
Explore the Achievement & Assessment Institute and learn how we impact our local, regional, and national communities through academics, research, direct-impact programming, technology, community engagement, and more.
About AAIExplore the Achievement & Assessment Institute
AAI Centers
Read more about each AAI center and discover how they impact our communities.
Grant Support
Learn about our life cycle grant support for AAI researchers and KU faculty.
Celebrating 10 Years of AAI
Learn about our origins and how we have grown over the last 10 years.
AAI in the News
KU faculty awarded AAI Arts & Humanities Grant to expand art-based aging project
The Achievement & Assessment Institute (AAI) at the University of Kansas has awarded the 2024 AAI Art & Humanities Grant to Sarah Jen, associate professor in the School of Social Welfare, and Liz Langdon, a lecturer in the Department of Visual Art, for their project, “Untold Stories of Aging in Action – Revealed and Traveled.” The project’s aim is to create and document the influence of an art-based intervention among communities of older adults and intergenerational audiences.
Redefining Well-Being: How CPPR Partners with Communities to Help Families Thrive
CPPR, a center within the Achievement and Assessment Institute (AAI) at the University of Kansas, is a research and capacity building center that seeks to improve the well-being of children, youth, and families. This is accomplished through partnerships with state and community agencies working to create the conditions supporting comprehensive child and family well-being.
FLITE Director Lisa Dieker Receives Leadership Award at 2025 CEC Special Education Convention
Lisa Dieker, Williamson Family Distinguished Professor in Special Education and director of Flexible Learning through Innovations in Technology & Education (FLITE)—a center within the Achievement & Assessment Institute—has been awarded the 2025 Romaine P. Mackie Leadership Award by the Division of Leaders and Legacy at the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Special Education Convention & Expo.
Eleazar Vasquez Awarded 2025 Special Education Research Award
Eleazar “Trey” Vasquez, III, newly appointed Operating Officer at the Achievement & Assessment Institute (AAI), has received the 2025 Special Education Research Award from the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). This award honors his groundbreaking research that has directly impacted practices, programs, and policies to improve outcomes for students with disabilities.