WestEd’s Formative Insights team leads transformative, scalable professional learning to help educators strengthen students’ self-regulation skills and sustain deep learning. Rooted in current research, the team’s professional learning courses were selected as one of the top 100 innovations changing the face of education by HundrED, a Finland-based organization that identifies and shares K–12 education innovations across the globe.

“We’re honored to receive this recognition from HundrED, which reaffirms that the work we do is critical to helping educators and students rethink the way they assess classroom learning,” Nancy Gerzon, Project Director at WestEd, said.

More than 180 Academy Members, including academics, educators, funders, leaders, and students from 113 countries reviewed this year’s innovations. The final 100 innovations were selected from a total of 3,488 candidates based on their impact and scalability.

The Formative Insights: Assessment for Learning model is designed to help schools shift away from relying on teacher-directed instruction to more collaborative classroom cultures that encourage and equip students to direct their own learning. Through formative assessment, teachers and students gather and interpret evidence of student learning and plan how to meet learning goals. To help educators cultivate this more proactive student role, the Formative Insights team partners with schools and districts to integrate formative assessment through policy change, leadership development, and professional learning for teachers and students.

The impact of this model is well-documented. In 2020, a peer-reviewed study examined survey results from 1,200 teachers and 24,000 students engaged in WestEd’s online professional learning. The study found that increased use of formative assessment led to increased students’ self-regulation (the method students use to organize their thoughts and convert them into skills used for learning). By increasing self-regulation, Formative Insightsis helping empower tens of thousands of students to become aware of their unique style of learning and how to expand it.

As part of this recognition, Cali Kaminsky, Senior Program Associate at WestEd, represented the Formative Insights team at the HundrED Innovation Summit Award Ceremony on October 26 in Helsinki.

To learn more about how to partner with the Formative Insights team, contact Nancy Gerzon at ngerzon@wested.org.