The Office of Innovation for Education in the College of Education and Health Professions helped secure a $3.6 million grant in collaboration with the Arkansas Department of Education.

The four-year grant was distributed by the U.S. Department of Education as part of its Competitive Grants for State Assessments program. The national program seeks to enhance the quality of assessment instruments and systems used by states for measuring academic achievement in elementary and secondary school students.

The Arkansas Department of Education and OIE project, Cultivating Communities for Formative Assessments that Advance Learning (or CCFAL), aims to enhance teaching and learning across Arkansas by improving educators' abilities to measure student academic achievement.

OIE will work as the grant's managing partner due to its prior experience collaborating with and leading projects for the Arkansas Department of Education.

"We are excited to partner with the University of Arkansas on this innovative assessment initiative," said Hope Worsham, assistant commissioner for public school accountability. "This grant represents an incredible opportunity for Arkansas to lead the way in using assessment data not just for accountability but as a tool to drive meaningful changes in instruction. We look forward to seeing how this work will strengthen teaching and learning across the state."

Denise Airola founded OIE and served as its director before becoming associate director of the college's Office for Education Policy in 2024. She worked as a co-writer on the CCFAL grant and said this project presents a chance to change how the state of Arkansas looks at assessment.

"Arkansas has a unique opportunity to develop assessment and data literacy among its educators in a way that flips the script from focusing on published scores to developing teachers' skills in the process of assessment in a way that impacts student learning," she said. "When teachers spend more time on formative assessment processes, the summative assessment scores take care of themselves because students are learning and progressing throughout the year."

The project benefits from the recently launched Arkansas Teaching, Learning, and Assessment System (ATLAS). This new assessment system gives parents and teachers information about student learning throughout the school year rather than just at the end.

OIE Director Feng Jiang said focusing on formative assessment is important because it allows educators to adjust their instruction to support student growth.

"In the past, we lacked high-quality tools like the ATLAS assessments that are now available," Jiang said. "Through the CCFAL project, we have a unique opportunity to maximize the value of these tools to strengthen K-12 education across Arkansas. Our office has long supported the state's work in assessment and school improvement, putting us in a strong position to lead this important initiative."

CCFAL Project Manager Chrissy McNabb said the grant is also about strengthening Arkansas' educator workforce.

"We are looking to do this in a way that builds leaders across the state and creates collaborative learning experiences through statewide networks," she said.

The project will involve more than 30 pilot school districts, including over 650 teachers, across all five regions of the state. In total, OIE estimates as many as 60,000 students could be impacted by the program.

Another initiative of the CCFAL project is the creation of a microcredential that teachers can earn for those looking to bolster their resumes and attain a higher level of training. 

Throughout the project, McNabb and OIE want to ensure that Arkansas educators' voices remain a "vital part" of the design process.

To learn more about the Office of Innovation for Education, visit their website.