Deeper Learning
Strengthening High School Teaching and Learning in New Hampshire’s Competency-Based System 
Report
January 22, 2013
For a century, most students have advanced from grade to grade based on the number of days they spend in class, but in New Hampshire, schools have moved away from “seat time” and toward “competency-based learning,” which advances students when they have mastered course content. This report profiles how two high schools in New Hampshire made this shift and examines the changes that were necessary to make competency-based advancement an important part of New Hampshire’s strategy for implementing the Common Core State Standards and ensuring that students graduate ready for college and a career.
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Providing Greater Opportunities for Deeper Learning in NCLB Waivers Policy Brief
May 16, 2012
The eleven state applications approved by the federal government for waivers under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act vary in the degree to which “deeper learning” skills are reflected in the standards, accountability systems, professional development, and teacher evaluations, according to a new policy brief written by the Alliance for Excellent Education. This brief argues that deeper learning provides students with the deep content knowledge they need to succeed after high school and the skills that today’s jobs demand. To ensure that deeper learning competencies are better reflected in state plans, the brief offers recommendations to policymakers.
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Assessing Deeper Learning Policy Brief
July 28, 2011
New assessments that measure deeper learning—whether students understand challenging content and are able to apply that knowledge to think critically, solve problems, communicate their understanding, and work with their peers—are essential if students are to develop the competencies they need to succeed in an increasingly complex world. Such assessments would not only measure whether students have developed those competencies, they would also foster deeper learning in the classroom, because of the influence of assessment on instruction. This brief shows what assessments that measure deeper learning would look like, how they are used in other countries, how technology can support their development, and how they can be implemented feasibly.
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A Time for Deeper Learning: Preparing Students for a Changing World Policy Brief
May 26, 2011
The increasingly complex world demands much of its students. In almost every aspect of their lives, young people are being asked to learn more, process more, and produce more. Now more than ever the national's education system is being challenged by a technology driven global economy that requires a skilled and deeply literate workforce. This brief examines deeper learning—the knowledge and skills all students need to succeed in college, a career, and life—and explains its necessity and analyzes the growing body of global evidence supporting its widescale implementation.
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