News


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
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 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 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 learning environments for PreK-12 students.
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.
Tue, 03/22/2022

Research Funding Opportunity for KU Faculty in the Arts and Humanities

The Achievement & Assessment Institute is offering a research grant opportunity for KU faculty in the arts and humanities. 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.
Tue, 02/22/2022

Yong Zhao, Director of AAI's Center for Creativity and Entrepreneurship Education, Publishes New Book on Learning

“If I tell you I’m going to prepare you for the future, that implies I know what the future is,” said Zhao, Foundation Distinguished Professor in the School of Education & Human Sciences at KU. “But the future is uncertain."
Tue, 02/22/2022

Dynamic Learning Maps® (DLM®) Alternate Assessment System, from AAI's ATLAS Prepares Students for Success

Learn how Dynamic Learning Maps®, from AAI's Accessible Teaching, Learning, and Assessment Systems (ATLAS), helps students with significant cognitive disabilities achieve in school and beyond.
Wed, 02/17/2021

Research Funding Opportunity for KU Faculty in the Arts and Humanities

The Achievement and Assessment Institute (AAI) is pleased to announce a grant opportunity for KU faculty in the arts and humanities. 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...

Wed, 12/31/1969

"The Paradox of Child Care Costs" from AAI's Center for Public Partnerships & Research

In a new feature, AAI's Center for Public Partnerships & Research explores an issue many parents and childcare providers are familiar with: The Paradox of Child Care Costs.

Media Contacts

Chance Dibben

Achievement & Assessment Institute

Justin Leonard

Achievement & Assessment Institute