Measuring Learning and Readiness Through Badging

Students in the Aurora Public Schools can earn evidence-based credentials proving they have mastered particular skills

While sitting in his bedroom in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Jonathan practiced his American accent. He listened closely to the characters from his favorite TV shows and mirrored their inflections and tones so that when he arrived in the United States, he would sound like his peers. In July 2015, Jonathan’s arrival in Aurora, Colo., marked an exciting new chapter in his life.

While his parents and sister emigrated to Atlanta, Jonathan moved in with his uncle and started his freshman year at Aurora’s Gateway High School. Far from his homeland, he began his journey with excitement and unease.

I first met Jonathan in the cafeteria at Gateway as he approached an information table for the Aurora Public Schools’ up-and-coming digital badging program. He explained he didn’t have family in Colorado to help him get a job or find networking opportunities. He was a 14-year-old student, new to our country, language and customs — someone needing an entry point.

A Program’s Start

Access and opportunity is what Jonathan and many other Aurora Public Schools students are seeking. Situated on the eastern border of the Denver metropolitan area, the district serves more than 40,000 students who speak more than 130 languages, and it is home to the largest refugee and immigrant population in the state. More than 70 percent of our students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch and many face economic challenges.

In August 2013, our newly appointed superintendent, Rico Munn, set out to reimagine the district’s Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness program. Munn believed that the district’s PWR framework, while strong, was not scalable. It focused on preparing students for college and careers with university credits, industry certificates and associate degrees; engaging students through career exploration and relevant core academics; and positioning students to compete globally for high-demand, high-skill, high-paying careers. Munn expressed concerns about the program’s sustainability and impact, notably its limited access to students most in need. He said the program encouraged deficit-focused practices.

In spring 2014, with the help of internal stakeholders and external partners, several Aurora schools launched a research and development pilot that explored digital badging, a form of micro-credentialing, as a way to expand access to postsecondary workforce readiness credentials to all students. “Digital badges are a tool for social and economic justice,” Munn said. “You have a digital badge that shows a company has vouched for your skills, and these badges, these credentials, can open doors for our students. It’s so incredibly important that our students have doors opened for them.

Badge Operations

The digital badging program has supported many students throughout their academic journey by providing credentials to open doors. As students develop 21st-century skills such as collaboration, critical thinking, invention, information literacy and self-direction inside and outside the classroom, they have the capacity to earn evidence-based credentials. These credentials, housed and managed completely online, prove that students have demonstrated particular skills.

When developing the system, we asked ourselves what does it mean for our students to collaborate or be self-directed and what does it look like in the classroom? As a result of this work, we developed a network of 21 badges. These badges can be earned in class, after school in clubs or sports or even at home.

To ensure the skills students are developing matter in the workplace, Aurora Public Schools has partnered with local businesses to determine which 21st-century skills are necessary to be successful in their industry. They also agreed to provide students with rich, career-focused opportunities that inspire access and exploration.

Jonathan earned the Invention digital badge endorsed by Universal Mind, a Denver-based technology firm that creates digital solutions for businesses. Students who earn the Invention badge must showcase creative thinking, understand complex ideas and develop new products and processes. Universal Mind not only gave validation and credibility to Jonathan’s invention skills, but also provided him with a job-shadowing opportunity in the community.

“I knew this was going to be a good experience because I could really see myself working there,” Jonathan said. “I kept my focus on what I was going to take out of this experience and how I was going to use what I learned to help me in my future.”

While digital badges are not a top-down mandate, teachers and principals throughout the district have opted to participate because they see how what happens in the classroom translates to industry. As a result, the grassroots growth and excitement around digital badges in our district has been authentic. Between October 2015 and October 2016, educators at 33 schools issued more than 10,000 digital badges to more than 6,500 students. More than 23 employers have partnered with the district to endorse the badges and offer career exposure and job opportunities to students.

Four Factors

Several reasons account for our badging program’s success. Because of the district’s commitment to postsecondary success for students, the Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness department was reorganized to create a sense of urgency and purpose. The reorganization led to the creation of a badge leadership team, which maintains the integrity of the program by ensuring the following:

• Involvement of educational technology specialists. They provide a unique lens by thinking through the logistics of implementing the program. They also connect us to the outside world, lending insight into what’s happening with educational technology nationwide.
• Involvement of the IT department. An IT staff member ensures the operational side of our digital platform appropriately functions to meet the needs of our 40,000 users. This staff member interfaces and troubleshoots with the platform developer and supports teachers, students and other staff users.
• Inclusion of teachers.  They bring insight on functionality and implementation to the badge leadership team. They work with other teachers in the classroom and leverage their experiences to expand understanding of the program.
• Strong external partnerships. They provide validation for the skills that students are learning and provide access to opportunities outside of school. These team members bridge the connection between community and school district.

Without this team’s user-centered approach, our work would not have seen nearly as much growth. Through a continuous feedback process from teachers and leaders, students and the community, we are able to make adjustments that are necessary for natural evolution and overall improvement of the program.

What Next?

The Aurora Public Schools is not unique in its desire to serve students whose futures depend on educators’ ability to make learning accessible and meaningful. School districts across the country are filled with students like Jonathan who can demonstrate they have attained a diverse set of skills from experiences in and out of the classroom, skills that can translate into access and wider opportunity. We hope by 2020, all Aurora students will have earned credentials to help them shape successful futures.