Working with Teachers to Develop Fair and Reliable Measures of Effective Teaching

September may signal a return to the classroom, but today’s learners are redefining what “back to school” really means. This newsletter explores how institutions are evolving to meet the needs of students and how success is increasingly being measured by value and impact, not prestige. We highlight standout institutions that are proving putting students first isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s a strategy that works.

Education today is no longer a straight line from school to career. Learners move in and out of education and work, gaining skills along the way, and they deserve the systems that help them navigate each turn with clarity and support. Guided Pathways was an important step forward in this work, showing how institutions can create stronger routes to completion and opportunity. The next step is to design connected pathways that recognize prior learning, use technology to provide real-time advising, and open doors to a lifetime of learning that matches students’ goals and the needs of the workforce. By working collectively, we can build those systems that support learners at every step, opening doors to new possibilities along the way.

A decade after launching the Guided Pathways project, new research affirms what early advocates believed: centering the student experience in postsecondary reform leads to stronger outcomes.