In this episode of No Such Thing, I talk with Laura Slover, Managing Director of the Skills for the Future initiative—a joint effort by ETS and the Carnegie Foundation. We explore what it means to move beyond the century-old Carnegie Unit and toward a system that captures the full spectrum of what learners know and can do.

From internships to outdoor leadership, from dashboards to transcripts that actually reflect growth—this conversation is for anyone thinking about how we build a more human, equitable, and future-ready education system.

Links:

Sasha Bruce Youthwork https://www.sashabruce.org/
https://aschoolwithoutwalls.org/
https://www.hightechhigh.org/
ETS's official Skills for the Future page – This outlines the initiative’s goals, including competency-based learning and skill recognition, backed by ETS’s expertise in educational measurement.
Carnegie Foundation’s Skills for the Future initiative – A deep dive into how the program is shifting education from time-based to competency-based learning, with a focus on essential skills beyond traditional academics.
Indiana State Board of Education report – A detailed research paper discussing the transition from time-based education models to skill-based insights, highlighting the empirical evidence supporting this shift.
Explainer on modern skills-based assessment – A paper from Carnegie Foundation discussing the limitations of traditional assessments and how Skills for the Future is innovating measurement techniques.
ETS & Carnegie’s framework for durable skills – A breakdown of the essential skills identified for success across life domains, emphasizing developmental skill progressions and personalized learning.
https://www.carnegiefoundation.org/resources/publications/carnegie-unit/
https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1057177
https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=38
https://www.nagb.gov/news-and-events/news-releases/2025/nations-report-card-decline-in-reading-progress-in-math.html
https://christophegaron.com/articles/mind/how-do-kids-change-during-the-summer-insights-on-summer-growth-in-children/
https://www.tulsakids.com/brains-on-break/

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