A Superintendent’s Take on Tracking Students’ Skills

Stephanie Carlson, who directs the Institute for Childhood Development at the University of Minnesota and is an authority on executive function skills among students, recently met with Kent Pekel, superintendent of the Rochester Public Schools in Minnesota, to discuss his use of measures that track the skills that forecast students’ lifelong fulfillment and career success. An abbreviated version of their conversation follows.

Carlson: As you know, AASA’s Public Education Promise seeks “real skills for real life.” Along that line, what does their phrase “measure what matters” mean to you?