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A Public Education Promise Toolkit

Principle 5: Measure What Matters

Preparing students for real life, measuring what truly predicts long-term success, not just test performance.

To prepare students for life in the real world, schools must measure what truly predicts long-term success — not just academic test performance.

Districts can pair academic data with evidence of well-being, engagement, indicators of success, and Real Skills to give a fuller picture of student readiness.

When communities embrace multiple measures and educators have practical tools to collect and use them, students benefit from a system that sees them as whole people and prepares them to thrive beyond graduation.

This Toolkit will Help District Leaders:

• Build coherent systems that measure the skills, habits, and mindsets that predict long-term success, rather than relying solely on traditional test-based indicators.
• Engage communities in defining, communicating, and using a shared vision of student success that reflects local aspirations and prepares every learner for real life.
• Support districts in creating meaningful, multi-measure systems that reflect what truly matters for student success—well-being, life skills, engagement, readiness, and real-world competencies—not just academic performance.
• Help communities understand and communicate a broader definition of success aligned with brain research, local priorities, workforce expectations, and the Portrait of a Graduate.

Core Understandings:

• A single test cannot capture the skills students need for the future. The real world demands problem-solving, collaboration, communication, adaptability, and self-management. Measurement systems must reflect this reality.
• Districts need assessment approaches that are practical, coherent, and aligned to their aspirations for all students.
• Multi-measure systems — combining academic, behavioral, experiential, and competency- based indicators — provide a clearer and more actionable picture of student readiness.
• Brain research informs us that executive function skills such as working memory, cognitive flexibility, self-control and reflection are the foundation for student success in all aspects of learning as well as success in developing the skills in a District’s Portrait of a Graduate. These skills must be modelled and taught intentionally and evaluated effectively.

Key Insights from Workgroup Participants:

1. We Must Go Beyond High-Stakes Tests
2. Local Priorities, Local Measures
3. Competency Evidence Over Proxies
4. Well-Being and Engagement Matter
5. Teacher-Friendly Tools are a Must
6. Assessment to Improve, Not Just Prove
7. Clear Communication & Visibility is Imperative

Read the Full Executive Summary

Toolkit Resources:

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  Self-Assessment

  Measure What Matters

  A tool to support reflection and conversations in your district around measuring what truly predicts long-term success, not just test performance.

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  Case Study & Companion Guide

  Designing a Purposeful Assessment System

  In California’s Cupertino Union School District (CUSD), assessment isn’t just about measuring learning—it’s part of it.

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  Case Study & Companion Guide

  Ephrata's Journey to Life Ready Learning

  How a decade-long transformation helped one district align instruction, culture, and reporting around what students truly need to thrive.

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  Guidance & Companion Guide

  Student-Engaged Assessment Dial-Up Protocol

  A tool to help systems move beyond measuring what students know to valuing how students plan, persist, adapt, and apply learning for real life in the real world.

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  Guidance & Companion Guide

  Creating a Purposeful Assessment System

  Design framework for creating and scaling a purposeful assessment system.

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  Superintendent Perspective

  Breaking Free from a Broken Report Card System

  Redesigning School Reporting: From Confusing Scores to Meaningful Connection