{"id":2275,"date":"2024-05-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-28T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carnegie25live.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=2275"},"modified":"2025-12-16T11:07:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T19:07:24","slug":"it-may-be-time-to-retire-the-carnegie-unit-are-there-better-measures-of-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/it-may-be-time-to-retire-the-carnegie-unit-are-there-better-measures-of-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"It May Be Time to Retire the Carnegie Unit. Are There Better Measures of Learning?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\n

For more than a century, the American high school has been shaped by the Carnegie unit. Well, Tim Knowles, the 10th president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, is intent on dethroning the measure of learning his organization made ubiquitous. Last April, Carnegie and the Educational Testing Service announced an effort to replace the Carnegie unit with a \u201cnew currency of education\u201d that would substitute demonstrated \u201cskills and accomplishments\u201d for hours of study. Can they really do this? What would it mean in practice? Jal Mehta and I <\/em>discussed<\/em><\/a> this last fall in \u201cStraight Talk,\u201d but, now that the initiative\u2019s a year old, I thought it worth checking in with Knowles himself. Before taking over Carnegie, Knowles\u2019 roles included founding the University of Chicago\u2019s Urban Education Institute, serving as deputy superintendent in Boston and as founding director of Teach For America in New York, and teaching African history in Botswana. Here\u2019s Part 1 of our conversation, the second of which is scheduled to publish on Thursday.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Rick<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more…<\/a><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

<\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n
\n\n
<\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n
\n\n

You Might Like<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\n\n
\n
<\/a>\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

Carnegie Foundation and ETS Release Skills Progressions for Collaboration, Communication and Critical Thinking\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

\n\n
\n
<\/a>\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

Rising Demand for Career Education Prompts College Board to Expand Its Footprint<\/h2>\n\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

\n\n
\n
<\/a>\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

Opportunity Colleges and Universities Series: University of Illinois Chicago Profile<\/h2>\n\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

\n\n
\n
<\/a>\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n

Podcast: The Next 50 Years of Higher Ed \u2013 What Leaders Need to Know<\/h2>\n\n

Read more<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

<\/div>
<\/div>
<\/div><\/div>\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For more than a century, the American high school has been shaped by the Carnegie unit. Well, Tim Knowles, the … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2187,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"client_controls":[],"class_list":["post-2275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-media"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIt May Be Time to Retire the Carnegie Unit. Are There Better Measures of Learning? - Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/it-may-be-time-to-retire-the-carnegie-unit-are-there-better-measures-of-learning\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"It May Be Time to Retire the Carnegie Unit. Are There Better Measures of Learning? - Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For more than a century, the American high school has been shaped by the Carnegie unit. Well, Tim Knowles, the ... Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/it-may-be-time-to-retire-the-carnegie-unit-are-there-better-measures-of-learning\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/carnegie.foundation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-05-28T07:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-16T19:07:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Education-Week.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"822\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"494\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"DCTeamMember\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@CarnegieFdn\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@CarnegieFdn\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"DCTeamMember\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/it-may-be-time-to-retire-the-carnegie-unit-are-there-better-measures-of-learning\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/it-may-be-time-to-retire-the-carnegie-unit-are-there-better-measures-of-learning\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"DCTeamMember\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/#\/schema\/person\/786b3dfd6e33675205fc8c0c7265ac97\"},\"headline\":\"It May Be Time to Retire the Carnegie Unit. Are There Better Measures of Learning?\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-05-28T07:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-16T19:07:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/it-may-be-time-to-retire-the-carnegie-unit-are-there-better-measures-of-learning\/\"},\"wordCount\":191,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/it-may-be-time-to-retire-the-carnegie-unit-are-there-better-measures-of-learning\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Education-Week.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Media\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/it-may-be-time-to-retire-the-carnegie-unit-are-there-better-measures-of-learning\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/it-may-be-time-to-retire-the-carnegie-unit-are-there-better-measures-of-learning\/\",\"name\":\"It May Be Time to Retire the Carnegie Unit. Are There Better Measures of Learning? - Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/it-may-be-time-to-retire-the-carnegie-unit-are-there-better-measures-of-learning\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/it-may-be-time-to-retire-the-carnegie-unit-are-there-better-measures-of-learning\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Education-Week.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-05-28T07:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-16T19:07:24+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/it-may-be-time-to-retire-the-carnegie-unit-are-there-better-measures-of-learning\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/it-may-be-time-to-retire-the-carnegie-unit-are-there-better-measures-of-learning\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/it-may-be-time-to-retire-the-carnegie-unit-are-there-better-measures-of-learning\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Education-Week.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Education-Week.jpg\",\"width\":822,\"height\":494},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/it-may-be-time-to-retire-the-carnegie-unit-are-there-better-measures-of-learning\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"It May Be Time to Retire the Carnegie Unit. Are There Better Measures of Learning?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/\",\"name\":\"Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Logo-Edit-MC.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Logo-Edit-MC.svg\",\"width\":249,\"height\":46,\"caption\":\"Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/carnegie.foundation\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/CarnegieFdn\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/#\/schema\/person\/786b3dfd6e33675205fc8c0c7265ac97\",\"name\":\"DCTeamMember\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d08ce85f35a162321f61ed6a0119f1614b1ff9d50ca535d4dc58e85430ae60d6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d08ce85f35a162321f61ed6a0119f1614b1ff9d50ca535d4dc58e85430ae60d6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"DCTeamMember\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/author\/dcteammember\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"It May Be Time to Retire the Carnegie Unit. Are There Better Measures of Learning? - Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/it-may-be-time-to-retire-the-carnegie-unit-are-there-better-measures-of-learning\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"It May Be Time to Retire the Carnegie Unit. Are There Better Measures of Learning? - Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching","og_description":"For more than a century, the American high school has been shaped by the Carnegie unit. Well, Tim Knowles, the ... Read more","og_url":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/it-may-be-time-to-retire-the-carnegie-unit-are-there-better-measures-of-learning\/","og_site_name":"Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/carnegie.foundation\/","article_published_time":"2024-05-28T07:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-12-16T19:07:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":822,"height":494,"url":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Education-Week.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"DCTeamMember","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@CarnegieFdn","twitter_site":"@CarnegieFdn","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"DCTeamMember","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/it-may-be-time-to-retire-the-carnegie-unit-are-there-better-measures-of-learning\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/it-may-be-time-to-retire-the-carnegie-unit-are-there-better-measures-of-learning\/"},"author":{"name":"DCTeamMember","@id":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/#\/schema\/person\/786b3dfd6e33675205fc8c0c7265ac97"},"headline":"It May Be Time to Retire the Carnegie Unit. Are There Better Measures of Learning?","datePublished":"2024-05-28T07:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-16T19:07:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/it-may-be-time-to-retire-the-carnegie-unit-are-there-better-measures-of-learning\/"},"wordCount":191,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/it-may-be-time-to-retire-the-carnegie-unit-are-there-better-measures-of-learning\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Education-Week.jpg","articleSection":["Media"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/it-may-be-time-to-retire-the-carnegie-unit-are-there-better-measures-of-learning\/","url":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/it-may-be-time-to-retire-the-carnegie-unit-are-there-better-measures-of-learning\/","name":"It May Be Time to Retire the Carnegie Unit. Are There Better Measures of Learning? - Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/it-may-be-time-to-retire-the-carnegie-unit-are-there-better-measures-of-learning\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/it-may-be-time-to-retire-the-carnegie-unit-are-there-better-measures-of-learning\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Education-Week.jpg","datePublished":"2024-05-28T07:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-16T19:07:24+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/it-may-be-time-to-retire-the-carnegie-unit-are-there-better-measures-of-learning\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/it-may-be-time-to-retire-the-carnegie-unit-are-there-better-measures-of-learning\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/it-may-be-time-to-retire-the-carnegie-unit-are-there-better-measures-of-learning\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Education-Week.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Education-Week.jpg","width":822,"height":494},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/it-may-be-time-to-retire-the-carnegie-unit-are-there-better-measures-of-learning\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"It May Be Time to Retire the Carnegie Unit. Are There Better Measures of Learning?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/","name":"Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/#organization","name":"Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching","url":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Logo-Edit-MC.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Logo-Edit-MC.svg","width":249,"height":46,"caption":"Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/carnegie.foundation\/","https:\/\/x.com\/CarnegieFdn"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/#\/schema\/person\/786b3dfd6e33675205fc8c0c7265ac97","name":"DCTeamMember","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d08ce85f35a162321f61ed6a0119f1614b1ff9d50ca535d4dc58e85430ae60d6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d08ce85f35a162321f61ed6a0119f1614b1ff9d50ca535d4dc58e85430ae60d6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"DCTeamMember"},"url":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/author\/dcteammember\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2275\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2275"},{"taxonomy":"client_controls","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.carnegiefoundation.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/client_controls?post=2275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}