Creating Common Assignments: The Impact of Teacher Designed Instructional Units

As the field moves toward stronger accountability and outcomes-based metrics, there is growing recognition that measuring postsecondary value is more complicated than it sounds. This newsletter explores the methodological choices, data limitations, and policy questions shaping the future of the college value conversation.

REAL CHEM is helping reimagine one of higher education’s most important gateway courses: first-year chemistry. In this latest installment of his Doubling Down series, Allan Golston explores how faculty, learning scientists, and technologists are using evidence-based course design and AI-enabled tools to better support teaching and learning—helping more students stay engaged, persist through challenging STEM courses, and remain on track toward credentials and long-term opportunity.

In this article, Allan Golston highlights the work underway at P.S. 083 Donald Hertz Middle School in New York City, where teachers are supported by well-designed, tech-enabled tools that provide real-time insight into student learning and help them adjust instruction to better meet students’ needs. Rising math proficiency at the school reflects a combination of efforts and shows what’s possible when curriculum, assessment, professional learning, and technology are aligned around supporting teachers. The results point to a broader opportunity: investing in human-centered, tech-enabled tools that help teachers strengthen their lessons and keep more students on track for future opportunities.