News
Wed, 06/26/2024
AAI's C3Be Supports Development and Implementation of Jayhawk Flex, Enhancing Higher Education Accessibility
Jayhawk Flex at the University of Kansas, supported by AAI's C3Be, launches five online, competency-based master's programs in Fall 2025. Designed for accessibility, these programs let students progress at their own pace, addressing barriers like inflexible schedules and location. C3Be ensures high-quality, workforce-aligned education, making higher education more accessible for non-traditional students.
Mon, 06/17/2024
Dr. Michael Orosco Discusses His Recent Journal Article on Math Problem Solving Interventions for English Language Learners
In the Achievement & Assessment’s Publication Highlight series, we chat with staff, researchers, and faculty across AAI about a recently published article.
Thu, 05/30/2024
Center for Evaluation and Educational Leadership welcomes new director Bart Swartz
The Center for Evaluation & Educational Leadership (CEEL), housed within the University of Kansas’ Achievement & Assessment Institute, has announced the appointment of Bart Swartz as its new director. Swartz succeeds Brad Neuenswander, who has served as director since the center’s founding.
Wed, 04/24/2024
From Protest to Progress: The Inspiring Journey of Zelema Harris and the Birth of TRIO SES + STEM
Zelema Harris's pioneering work at the University of Kansas led to the establishment of Supportive Educational Services (SES), now TRIO SES + STEM, housed within AAI's Center for Education Opportunity Programs (CEOP). Amidst the tumult of the 1960s, Harris navigated resistance to create a program supporting minority students. Today, TRIO SES + STEM continues her legacy, providing essential resources to underserved students.
Thu, 04/11/2024
AAI’s Arts & Humanities Grant Program Now Accepting Proposals
The Achievement and Assessment Institute (AAI) is pleased to announce proposals are being accepted for its Arts & Humanities Grant, now in its fourth year.
Fri, 03/01/2024
2024 Impact Report Now Available
The Achievement & Assessment Institute (AAI) is pleased to announce the release of its 2024 Impact Report. The 70-page document covers the work of AAI and its many centers, showcasing how the organization directly and indirectly impacts the lives of people throughout the state of Kansas and beyond.
Mon, 12/18/2023
AAI Announces Recipient of 2023 Arts & Humanities Grant
The Achievement & Assessment Institute at the University of Kansas has awarded the 2023 AAI Art & Humanities Grant to Giselle Anatol, interim director of the Hall Center for the Humanities and professor of English, for the project “Imagining Our Futures” Storytelling Game & Art Sessions with AfroRithm Futures Group.
Wed, 12/06/2023
How ATS' Kite Suite Facilitates Educational Assessment In Kansas and Beyond
The Kite Suite is an online software as a service assessment product suite developed by the University of Kansas’ Assessment & Technology Solutions (ATS) under the Achievement and Assessment Institute. Used by the Kansas Department of Education and other educational agencies in school districts and programs across the country, the Kite Suite provides accessible and adaptable large-scale assessments.
Thu, 11/30/2023
AAI Announces the Center for Reimagining Education (CRE)
The Achievement & Assessment Institute (AAI) has announced the new Center for Reimagining Education (CRE), whose mission is to accelerate the pace of change in schools and districts. CRE will pursue its goals by leveraging technology and data and bringing together diverse teams of people to establish school-community driven partnerships and open pathways for learning.
Tue, 10/10/2023
Antiracism in Data Management Project Marks Successful Second Year Advancing Racial Equity in Research
The Antiracism in Data Management project, a project featuring virtual sessions that tackle antiracism practices for local and national research and evaluation communities, is wrapping up its second successful year with a final session in November.
Mon, 10/02/2023
How AAI's Center for Public Partnerships & Research Draws On "Futures Thinking" in their Work
When you prepare for the future, how far ahead do you look? Is it five years? 10? What about 20 or 50 or even 100? It might seem impossible to plan for a time so far away, but that’s exactly what AAI's Center for Public Partnerships and Research (CPPR) does.
Fri, 09/22/2023
New AAI Center to Focus on the Intersection of Technology, Education
The Achievement & Assessment Institute (AAI) at the University of Kansas has announced a new center, Flexible Learning through Innovations in Technology & Education (FLITE), whose mission is to provide an integrated structure for emerging technologies aligned with student and teaching learning.
Fri, 09/08/2023
Center for Montessori for Research (CMR) Becomes the Center for Learner Agency Research and Action
The University of Kansas Achievement & Assessment Institute (AAI) Center for Montessori for Research (CMR) will become the Center for Learner Agency Research and Action (CLARA). The name change highlights the center’s embrace of learner agency in diverse educational environments.
Over the years, CMR recognized the vast potential of Montessori principles and their application in various educational contexts beyond traditional Montessori classrooms. With the name Center for Montessori Research, it wasn’t always clear to outside organizations that the center had a broader scope, said Angela Murray, the center's director.
Thu, 09/07/2023
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona Meets with AAI and SOEHS Faculty and Students During His Campus Visit
On September 5, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona launched his multi-state, “Back to School Bus Tour 2023: Raise the Bar,” at KU with a pep rally at the Jayhawk Welcome Center. Secretary Cardona’s visit to campus focused on diversity, access to education, and family engagement, specifically emphasizing federal TRIO programs' roles in addressing these issues. The Secretary also met with researchers including AAI Directors and School of Education and Human Sciences faculty.
Mon, 08/21/2023
AAI Announces the Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Neuroscience
The Achievement & Assessment Institute (AAI) at the University of Kansas has announced the new Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Neuroscience (CCREN) whose mission is to draw on the latest research from neuroscience, education and educational psychology to better understand how people learn and what can be done to improve their development.
Mon, 07/31/2023
Achievement & Assessment Institute Celebrates 10 years as a Designated Research Institute
The Achievement & Assessment Institute is marking its 10th year as a designated research institute at the University of Kansas. AAI will celebrate the milestone with two events in August and activities throughout the second half of the year.
Mon, 05/08/2023
CEOP'S TRIO SES + STEM Celebrates 50 Years at KU
On May 2, TRIO Supportive Educational Services (TRIO SES) will celebrate 50 years of continuous federal funding at the University of Kansas. Taking place from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Kansas Union Ballroom, the reception is a chance to celebrate both the end of the semester and decades of student success and achievement. TRIO SES is a student support service program that provides first-generation, low-income and disabled KU students with comprehensive and personalized support during their time at KU. Over the last half-century, TRIO SES has built a robust community and team dedicated to student success
Wed, 03/22/2023
Research Funding Opportunity for KU Faculty in the Arts and Humanities
The Achievement & Assessment Institute (AAI) is pleased to announce our Arts & Humanities Grant, now in its third year, is accepting proposals. The purpose of the grant program is to foster deeper ties between the arts and humanities and the education and social sciences within which most of AAI’s work is focused. We believe that looking at societal problems through the lens of the arts and humanities helps to think through issues, compliments and articulates the work of science and education, and engages diverse perspectives.
Mon, 03/20/2023
How AAI’s Center for Evaluation & Educational Leadership Helps Kansas School Districts with Home-Grown and Customized Needs Assessments
Involving all members of a group when problem solving leads to better and more equitable solutions. That’s the idea at the heart of the Achievement & Assessment Institute’s Center for Evaluation & Educational Leadership (CEEL). Founded in 2022, CEEL fills a vacant need in Kansas for a third-party organization to support district and building-level leaders to lead, organize, and implement effective and equitable learning environments for PreK-12 students.
Mon, 03/06/2023
How AAI’s Center for Educational Opportunity Programs Serves First-Generation Students
AAI's Center for Educational Opportunity Programs (CEOP) serves many types of students, but first generation and low-income students are one of the main focuses of the center as they experience significant hardships compared to their peers.
Mon, 02/27/2023
Radlab!, Recipient of AAI Arts & Humanities Grant, Opens for Public Viewing
Radlab!, one of two recipients of AAI’s inaugural Arts & Humanities Grant, held its opening reception on Friday, February 24th at Lucia in downtown Lawrence. Facilitated by Ryan D. Clifford, Assistant Professor of Design and Visual Communication, and Annie Myers, Undergraduate Design Research Assistant and RISO Fellow, the program involved young students engaged in a variety of DIY artmaking processes and projects, such as risographs, paper robots, sketchbooks, and zines.
Tue, 02/07/2023
How Competency-Based Education Can Address the Experience Conundrum
Founded in 2021, C3Be’s main goal is to improve learning by better communicating the learning outcomes mastered by learners and the competencies needed by employers. Simply put, C3Be makes learning visible. Diane DeBacker, director of C3Be, describes competency-based education as “moving from nouns to verbs.”
Mon, 10/17/2022
AAI Speaker Series With Howard Wainer
The Achievement & Assessment Institute (AAI) is pleased to relaunch the AAI Speaker Series, featuring noted individuals in the fields of assessment, statistics, education, and more. Presenters will offer talks appealing to many disciplines of study, with events occurring on the University of Kansas campus.
For the fall of 2022, AAI has tapped noted author and statistician Howard Wainer to deliver two talks on November 15. Wainer is the recipient of numerous academic awards and honors, and is the author of nearly 25 books, with hundreds of articles and book chapters to his name.
Tue, 10/04/2022
AAI Announces the Center for Research Methods Consultation (CRMC)
The Achievement & Assessment Institute (AAI) has announced the new Center for Research Methods Consultation (CRMC). The center’s mission is to provide research methodological consultation and support services for faculty, staff and students at the University of Kansas and beyond. The center will also assist researchers in industries, nonprofit community organizations, and other research and practice entities.
Thu, 08/11/2022
AAI Announces the Center for Evaluation and Educational Leadership (CEEL)
AAI has announced the Center for Evaluation and Educational Leadership (CEEL), whose mission is to support district- and building-level leaders to lead, organize and implement the most effective and equitable learning environments for PreK-12 students.
Fri, 06/10/2022
AAI Announces Recipients for Arts & Humanities Grant
The Achievement & Assessment Institute has announced the recipients of this year’s Arts & Humanities Grant.
Ash Wilson, director of the Center for Sexuality & Gender Diversity at KU, and David Mai, assistant teaching professor in the Department of Film & Media Studies, were awarded the grant for their project titled “Telling Our Stories.”
Thu, 05/19/2022
AAI's Center for Montessori Research Houses Large Online Montessori Research Bibliography
Scholars and researchers investigating the Montessori model of education now have a robust tool to aid their efforts. Housed at the Center for Montessori Research (CMR), a center within the University of Kansas Achievement & Assessment Institute (AAI), the Montessori Bibliography Online makes information about Montessori and the Montessori movement more accessible through an online interface, including links to digitized source materials.
Tue, 05/17/2022
Researcher Jade Caines Lee Joins Achievement & Assessment Institute
AAI is excited to announce researcher and education professor Jade Caines Lee will be joining the institute as an Assistant Research Professor. Lee will be primarily positioned within AAI’s Center for Montessori Research (CMR), but, due to her considerable expertise and experience in assessment, evaluation, and validity, will provide support across many centers under AAI.
Wed, 05/11/2022
AAI Announces the Center for Positive Youth Development
The Achievement & Assessment Institute (AAI) is excited to announce its latest center, the Center for Positive Youth Development.
Led by director David Hansen, an Associate Professor of Education Psychology in the School of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Kansas, the Center for Positive Youth Development (PYD) will focus on adolescent development and after-school / out-of-school time.
Fri, 05/06/2022
Antiracism in Data Management from AAI's Center for Educational Opportunity Programs
AAI's Center for Educational Opportunity Programs is starting a new initiative, Antiracism in Data Management. This will provide learning opportunities and resources for researchers and evaluators who utilize large datasets to evaluate and serve racially marginalized populations across the country.