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What we’re learning about future-ready skills assessment

Across the country, momentum is building around Portrait of a Graduate frameworks, future-ready skills, and student-centered learning. States and districts are increasingly aligning their educational visions with these priorities, recognizing that success in today’s world requires more than academic knowledge—it demands skills like critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. Recent moves by states such as New York and Massachusetts who adopted Profiles of a Graduate within the past few months—along with a growing interest in ESSA waivers that grant greater flexibility in state-level assessment and accountability systems—reflect a broader policy shift toward more holistic, learner-centered approaches.

As often as the phrase “personalized learning” comes up in K-12 education, the term remains misunderstood. Assessment and instruction must be connected. But right now, they’re not. Pearson’s new national survey reveals that 62% of K-12 leaders and educators believe it is important to personalize instruction based on assessment results. Yet only 37% strongly agree that they can do so. 

Similarly, just 38% say their assessments let them pinpoint student needs; 44% say assessments measure students’ progress toward specific learning targets; and 46% say they have the flexibility to assess students at the right point in their learning journey. 

Fortunately, there are multiple ways K-12 leaders can overcome these gaps and strengthen personalized learning.