News
Wed, 06/18/2025
AAI’s CPPR Brings Early Childhood Wellness Events Across Kansas
The Center for Public Partnerships and Research (CPPR) at KU’s Achievement & Assessment Institute is bringing early childhood mental health support to Kansas communities through the Kansas Care and Wellness Conferences. These free events connect families, providers, and experts to share resources, explore solutions, and strengthen local support systems for children from birth to age five.
Fri, 06/06/2025
Teachers explore AI’s role in education at KU summer conference
More than 100 Kansas educators gathered at the University of Kansas Edwards Campus last week to explore how artificial intelligence (AI) can reshape education.
The annual Strategies for Educational Improvement Summer Conference, hosted by the KU School of Education and Human Sciences in partnership with the Kansas State Department of Education, focused for the second year on AI in education and featured presenters from the Achievement & Assessment Institute.
Thu, 05/29/2025
Podcast from AAI's FLITE Center helps teachers navigate classroom AI tools
AAI researchers Lisa Dieker and Maggie Mosher have launched AI Advocates, a short-form podcast that helps teachers navigate classroom AI tools in five minutes or less. Each episode breaks down one tool’s uses, benefits, and considerations, focusing on free and accessible options. The podcast aims to save teachers time, reduce burnout, and support inclusive education for all students.
Wed, 05/21/2025
Committed to Impact: AAI Staff Recognized for Years of Service to KU and Communities
Nearly 50 Achievement & Assessment Institute (AAI) employees are celebrating significant years of service milestones at KU this year—a testament to the dedication, passion, and staying power of the people who make AAI what it is. Behind every project, service, and innovation at AAI are individuals committed to improving lives and strengthening communities.
Tue, 05/20/2025
KU TRIO McNair Scholars Tour Washington D.C., Connect with Leaders and Alumni
KU TRIO McNair Scholars traveled to Washington D.C. earlier this spring for an educational five-day trip where students engaged in the civic process, explored career opportunities and graduate schools, and learned about the history of the United States.
Thu, 05/08/2025
Expanded Kite® Suite Mini Tests from ATS Boost Kansas Classrooms
Assessment and Technology Solutions (ATS), a center within the Achievement and Assessment Institute (AAI), is supporting Kansas educators with an expanded series of instructional mini tests.
Wed, 04/23/2025
Turning Data into Action: Interactive Pathway to Advance Child and Family Well-Being in Kansas
Center for Public Partnerships & Research, on behalf of the Kansas Children’s Cabinet, is developing an interactive Child and Family Well-Being Pathway for Kansas. The tool will include a statewide dashboard and action-oriented toolkit to help communities assess needs, track progress, and improve outcomes for kids and families. Co-designed with community input, it’s set to launch in late 2025.
Fri, 04/18/2025
Paperback release expands reach of Montessori handbook co-edited by CLARA Director Angela Murray
A paperback edition of the Bloomsbury Handbook of Montessori Education, an accessible guide to Montessori education edited by Angela Murray, director of the Achievement & Assessment Institute’s Center for Learner Agency Research and Action (CLARA), and colleagues is now available for purchase.
Wed, 04/02/2025
AAI’s Center for Evaluation & Educational Leadership Expands School Support through Business Partnerships
The goal of the Center for Evaluation & Educational Leadership (CEEL), a center within the Achievement & Assessment Institute (AAI) at the University of Kansas, is to help school district leaders navigate challenges to foster effective, well-balanced learning environments for students. One of the primary ways Director Bart Swartz accomplishes this is through a network of business partners that can help districts with their needs.
Tue, 03/18/2025
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.
Mon, 03/17/2025
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.
Fri, 03/14/2025
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.
Wed, 03/12/2025
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.
Tue, 03/11/2025
Future-Ready: AAI and CPPR's Commitment to Strategic Foresight
Futures thinking—a strategic approach to envisioning long-term possibilities and adapting to emerging trends—is an essential practice for organizations seeking to remain innovative and resilient. The Achievement & Assessment Institute (AAI) and the Center for Public Partnerships and Research (CPPR) at the University of Kansas are positioning themselves as leaders in this space among university institutions.
Wed, 03/05/2025
Center for Evaluation and Educational Leadership (CEEL)'s Personalized Approach to District Support
The majority of professional development and guidance that exists for school district and building level leaders is often broad and impersonal, focusing on general advice for school leaders and not the specific needs of the whole administration and school district. Center for Evaluation and Educational Leadership (CEEL), housed within the Achievement and Assessment Institute's (AAI) at KU, is looking to change that through personalized and holistic approaches.
Wed, 02/26/2025
Jayhawk Athletic Performance Lab teams up with KU Football to elevate pro day training
The Jayhawk Athletic Performance Laboratory (JAPL), a sport performance-based research center housed under the Achievement & Assessment Institute, is collaborating with Kansas Athletics to help KU football players better prepare for the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine and Big 12 Pro Day through technology and data analysis.
Wed, 01/29/2025
Jackie Counts, Eleazar 'Trey' Vasquez III to join Achievement & Assessment leadership team
Neal Kingston, director of the Achievement & Assessment Institute and vice provost of Jayhawk Global and Competency-Based Education at the University of Kansas, has announced the appointment of two operating officers to join the leadership at AAI beginning in February 2025.
Mon, 01/27/2025
Harnessing AI: AAI and KU Researchers Advance Innovation and Critical Understanding Across Fields
Researchers at KU, including those at the Achievement & Assessment Institute, are advancing breakthroughs in AI. From educational tools to ethical frameworks, their work is shaping how we understand and apply AI to real-world challenges.
Mon, 01/13/2025
Applied Innovations with LaCretia Wooten
The work of the Achievement & Assessment Institute (AAI) and its centers encompass a vast range of services, solutions, and partnerships. In our short interview series, Applied Innovations, we get to know some of the talented members of our team and their projects, across many centers and various areas of impact.
In this edition, we meet LaCretia Wooten, Director of GEAR UP KCK, a program within AAI's Center for Educational Opportunity Programs.
Thu, 12/19/2024
Center for Certification & Competency-Based Education Publishes New Research Journal
The Achievement & Assessment Institute’s Center for Certification & Competency-Based Education (C3Be) has launched the Competency-Based Education Research Journal (CBERJ), which serves to advance knowledge of competency-based education through empirical investigations, theory development articles and integrative conceptual reviews.
Thu, 11/14/2024
Applied Innovations with Charles Pittack
The work of the Achievement & Assessment Institute (AAI) and its centers encompass a vast range of services, solutions, and partnerships. In our short interview series, Applied Innovations, we get to know some of the talented members of our team and their projects, across several centers and various areas of impact.
Thu, 09/19/2024
ATS Completes Another Successful Summer Deployment: Enhancing Kite® Suite with New Tools and Security Upgrades
Summer is a busy time for the Achievement and Assessment Institute’s Assessment & Technology Solutions (ATS). School is out, which means months full of meetings, coding, implementations, and testing ATS software which culminates to a single full day of updates, ATS’s summer deployment.
Wed, 09/11/2024
Applied Innovations with Sara O'Keeffe
The work of the Achievement & Assessment Institute (AAI) and its centers encompass a vast range of services, solutions, and partnerships. In our short interview series, Applied Innovations, we get to know some of the talented members of our team and their projects, across several centers and various areas of impact.
In this edition, we meet Sara O'Keeffe, Graphic Designer with AAI's Center for Public Partnerships & Research.
Mon, 08/26/2024
From Proposal to Award: How AAI’s Grant Management Team Fuels Research Success
The Grant Management Team at the Achievement & Assessment Institute serves as a go-to resource for pre-grant support for AAI staff and KU faculty whose research supports AAI’s mission. The team, comprised of a Pre-Award Grant Manager and two Pre-Award Grant Coordinators, has experience navigating unique and sometimes difficult grants for faculty and staff in a many different fields.
Wed, 08/14/2024
Dr. Dimitrije Cabarkapa Discusses New Research on Vertical Jump Metrics in Professional Basketball Players
For this edition of our Publication Highlight Series, we chatted with Dr. Dimitrije Cabarkapa, Associate Director of AAI’s Jayhawk Athletic Performance Laboratory. He discussed his journey to sports science – from collegiate athlete to researcher, how his research can help sports practitioners improve athletes’ performance, as well as the article “Changes in Countermovement Vertical Jump Force-Time Metrics During a Game in Professional Male Basketball Players,” on which he served as le
Thu, 08/08/2024
Applied Innovations with Rohit Yadav
The work of the Achievement & Assessment Institute (AAI) and its centers encompass a vast range of services, solutions, and partnerships. In our short interview series, Applied Innovations, we get to know some of the talented members of our team and their projects, across several centers and various areas of impact.
In this edition, we meet Rohit Yadav, Associate Director of AAI’s Assessment & Technology Solutions.
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.
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.
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.