Over the last decade, Rhode Island has demonstrated its strong commitment to high school transformation—most notably, by adopting new diploma requirements in 2022 through an evidence-based process informed by widespread community input. In 2018, state leaders in Rhode Island partnered with XQ to launch a high school redesign challenge. All of the state’s 64 public high schools engaged in interactive design sessions that convened a broad range of stakeholders—students, families, educators, industry partners, and others—in a structured process aimed at rethinking the high school experience for students.
Rhode Island has also made demonstrable progress in moving state-level policies foundational to high school transformation, guided in part by data drawn from XQ’s Educational Outcomes Audit and Analysis tool—a customized, in-depth analysis of how effectively and consistently the state’s high schools are educating every young person.
Currently, Rhode Island is participating in a pilot project exploring next-generation assessments aligned to durable skills. As state leaders continue this work, they could explore opportunities to credential and expand access to high-quality, work-based learning experiences and to develop new transcript systems that can accelerate high school redesign across the state.
