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I wish all of our legislators could see this work because I think it would change their mind about assessment… that it is not a test score that defines [our students], but it's the work like this…. I would want them to see this work and to understand that it's for all students. At all levels, all students.
Teacher, Allen County - Scottsville High School
Quick Facts
Led by Center for Innovation in Education, in partnership with University of Kentucky researchers and Allen County-Scottsville High School youth researchers.
Funded by the EuDream K-12 Research for Equity Hub.
Engaged more than 700 Allen County stakeholders in surveys, interviews, focus groups, and narrative capture during the 2024-2025 school year.
Co-designed and collaboratively analyzed with diverse members of the ACS community.
KEY FINDINGS
Inclusive Practices Build Trust
Finding:
Using habits of inclusion, empathy, co-creation, and reciprocity with stakeholders to redesign systems of assessment and accountability increased stakeholder trust, satisfaction, and local ownership of reform.
Recommendation:
Education leaders should use inclusive processes to redesign systems of assessment and accountability to ensure alignment to community values, gain buy-in, and increase sustainability and scaling.
1
Buy-In Supports Systems Change
Finding:
Systems change is long and complex, but it is bolstered by gaining buy-in and commitment from across stakeholder groups.
Recommendation:
Policymakers should support inclusive design in reform efforts by providing funding and time needed to effect deep levels of systems change.
2
Learner-Centered Reforms Engage Communities
Finding:
The hands-on, learner-centered nature of Allen County’s assessment and accountability reform was integral to its positive impact on the district-community relationship.
Recommendation:
Federal, state, and local policy should prioritize assessment and accountability reforms that are learner-centered, hands-on, and performance-based.
3
Research Strengthens Local Accountability
Finding:
Researching the extent of inclusion, co-creation, and reciprocity between the district and its community is a process that, in itself, supports local accountability and durable systems change.
Recommendation:
Federal and philanthropic research programs should incentivize and fund research (especially youth-led research and research-practice partnerships) studying how systems change processes impact the relationship between schools systems and the communities they serve.
4
We are having the conversations with business owners and with industry leaders that, you know, we are not just educating students in the 3 Rs anymore. We are wanting to prepare them for the workplace and to make them the students that we want, yes, but also employees that you're looking for. It has really formed a great bond and partnership, and actually caused them to be involved more in our school. [They ask,] ‘How can we help? How can we be involved? What can we do?
Central Office Staff and former Principal, Allen County Schools
The community has always felt a tremendous amount of ownership over athletics. ...What I think we have to work toward is letting the community feel that same level of ownership over the academic output, and over the pedagogy that occurs. And I think that as we continue to engage the community about more than, ‘Hey, would you like to sponsor the football booster club?’ – and we instead turn that around to be, ‘Hey, would you like to participate in a defense of learning?’... [It will] really help everyone to have more ownership of the process.
Business/community member
This [initiative] has changed my perspective. ...[My son] came to me and said, ‘You know, Dad, I don't think I want to go to a 4 year college. I actually want to own my own business and be a plumber and electrician.” …The old piece of me was like, ’Are you crazy?’ But because of the opportunities that he's been given, and because of a change in mindset for me, I'm like, you know, we're going to allow him to show his genius in whatever way is best for him. And I don't know that I would have done that if I hadn't been exposed to project-based learning and this type of assessment system where we really get at the heart of a kid's desire, and we really start to look at the avenues that present themselves for the kid to really be successful in life.
Parent
