Timothy Knowles, president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, participated in a dynamic fireside chat at the 2025 ASU+GSV Summit, where they discussed a new, sector-wide approach to measuring postsecondary impact. For more than 50 years, the Carnegie Classifications of Higher Education had served as the industry standard for U.S. colleges and universities. The two organizations had joined forces to capture, publish, and leverage new measures of institutional impact at broad scale.

Featuring Timothy Knowles (President, Carnegie Foundation), Brandi Hinnant-Crawford (Clemson University), Tinkhani White (Director, Systems Transformation, Carnegie), and Adelric McCain (Sr. Director Programs, UChicago Network for College Success)

In April 2023, the Carnegie Foundation President, Dr. Timothy Knowles, detailed a visionary blueprint for the future of assessment at the Modernizing our Education System Summit, hosted by the Council of Chief State School Officers. 

In his remarks, Dr. Timothy Knowles encouraged state education leaders to consider strategies that move us beyond rote memorization and timed-based learning, placing focus on school ecosystems that motivate students to develop vital skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making. These transformative changes would also embrace and support the autonomy and varied life experiences of our young learners.

The foundations of Dr. Knowles’s remarks are anchored in our dynamic partnership with the Educational Testing Service (ETS). Together, we are working to create a comprehensive, scalable array of assessment and analytical tools that capture a wide spectrum of skills necessary for our nation’s students to succeed in K-12, postsecondary, and their future careers.

Shirley M. Collado, Ph.D. (President and CEO, College Track; Carnegie Postsecondary Commission Chair) in conversation with Timothy Knowles (President, Carnegie Foundation)