21st Century Skills: Optimizing Assessment for All

Despite increasing global emphasis on measuring learning—with more than 170 countries participating in some type of national, regional, or international assessment—results are not often used in ways that promote student learning. Moreover, countries around the world are including 21st-century skills (21CS) in their national education goals and policies, signaling their commitment to addressing the changing needs of their learners. However, countries are faced with challenges on how to implement these policies due to disconnects between different parts of the education systems; lack of understanding on how teaching and learning 21CS looks in the classroom; and limited measurement expertise in the area of 21CS assessment.

Between December 2017 and April 2020, the Optimizing Assessment for All (OAA) project addressed these challenges. 

The Framework for Understanding Project Goals and Scope marks the first in a series of five reports detailing the work of the Optimizing Assessment for All (OAA) project at Brookings to strengthen education systems capacity to integrate 21st-century skills into teaching and learning, using assessment as a lever for changing classroom practices. The Focus on Asia paper marks the second in the series.