At CRPE, we study how public education can evolve to meet the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly changing world. Our research on innovation and the future of learning examines how schools are rethinking teaching and learning models—from personalized and competency-based approaches to the use of technology and AI—to better prepare students for life beyond school. We investigate how these innovations take shape in real contexts, what barriers and enablers schools encounter, and how systems can support sustainable change. Across this work, we aim to understand how schools and communities can design learning environments that are more equitable, adaptable, and responsive to the diverse needs of students.
This piece originally appeared in The 74. Last week, DOGE’s “shock and awe” campaign came to education. The chaotic canceling of grants and contracts for various research activities at the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), a little-known yet important agency rarely at the center of public debate, was unprecedented.
What does it really take to pilot bold, systemwide innovation in public education? Over the 2023–24 school year, CRPE partnered with 11 districts across the country to support and study their “Bold Ideas”—ambitious initiatives designed to make student learning more joyful, individualized, and relevant.
This report distills five years of research to understand how the pandemic reshaped public education. Drawing from over 100 reports and articles, we examine the crisis response, recovery efforts, and ongoing challenges facing schools today.
Tomorrow’s release of the Nation’s Report Card will surely generate abundant hand-wringing among parents, policymakers, business leaders, and educators. While the fine-grained details deserve examination, we can already tell you what the headlines will say: American students are not receiving the educational opportunities they deserve, nor those that will enable them to thrive in an increasingly complex society and changing economy.
To CRPE followers, colleagues, and friends: Happy 2025! Longtime readers will know that CRPE prides ourselves on “thinking forward.” We do make straight-out predictions from time to time, but mostly, we look around the corner at looming trends, debates, and developments and consider what it would take to get the best outcomes possible for students.
Over the past five years, the Canopy Project has documented innovations in K-12 education, uncovering how schools are addressing systemic challenges and envisioning the future of learning.
