The 21st Century Partnership for STEM Education

03/02/2026

Math Empowerment Through Standards Based Grading is off to a running start after our first trip to two of our pilot schools in Portland. Our research team met with district administrators, had observations with the teachers, did demos, and talked with each educator about how they're implementing Standards Based Grading in their classrooms. Plans for summer PD are underway and our pilot year is progressing well! Keep an eye out for more posts as we study the impact of Standards Based Grading on math achievement.

02/27/2026

ME-SBG staff co-hosted a day-long professional development with Lincoln Intermediate Unit 12 on Standards Based Grading with 20 participants. Steve Kramer, John Baker, Tyrone Dash II and Matt McLaughlin hosted the PD together. Both public schools and parochial schools attended the training. Our event was a great success and we're thrilled to see Standards Based Grading make an impact in schools across PA!

01/15/2026

21PSTEM is hard at work on our newest project, Math Empowerment Through Standards-Based Grading, or ME-SBG.

So what does ME-SBG mean? What does it stand for? How can it help students learn math?

Our introductory video goes over the purpose and goals of Mathematical Empowerment Through Standards-Based Grading. This is the first in a series of videos that will answer frequently asked questions about the project and everything it entails for students and teachers.

Interested in joining our project? Visit our website at www.mathempowerment.org to learn more about joining up as an educator!

12/15/2025

Math Empowerment through Standards-Based Grading (ME-SBG) — a 21PSTEM project — has a new website.

Learn more about how our U.S. Department of Education–funded work supports meaningful feedback, reassessment, and stronger middle school math learning.

https://mathempowerment.org

12/09/2025

ME-SBG is attending the Pennsylvania Standards Aligned System Conference, hosted by the Pennsylvania Department of Education!

12/05/2025

Math Empowerment through Standards-Based Grading (ME-SBG) now has a new home: www.mathempowerment.org

ME-SBG is a U.S. Department of Education EIR project led by The 21st Century Partnership for STEM Education (21PSTEM). It helps middle schools implement standards-based grading that’s practical for teachers and empowering for students. The approach centers on reassessment for full credit after further learning—so students get real opportunities to master key standards, not just another test attempt.

The new site includes:
- An overview of the ME-SBG model and why it exists
- Resources for districts, teachers, and families
- A news section featuring our recent “gold-standard” research study and ongoing implementation insights

Explore: www.mathempowerment.org

Mathematics Empowerment through Standards-Based Grading Giving students feedback they can act on. Progress they can see. Success they can achieve. Proven Math Gains In a study funded by the National Science Foundation, students given opportunities to re-learn and re-assess learned over half a year m...

10/27/2025

Find us at the exhibitor hall during breakfast and lunch on Tuesday!

10/01/2025

21PSTEM is going to New Orleans!

Are you someone who wants to meet other educational professionals to make a better future for students?

21PSTEM is sending representatives to the upcoming Full Scale Symposium in New Orleans to talk about ME-SBG, our latest project about empowering students to take charge of their education in mathematics. Come join us for a weekend of discussion, strategizing and connecting with others in the field from October 25-29th, 2025. We’re thrilled to be part of a round table where we’ll be discussing our own work in the pursuit of a more empowered system of education that promotes self-directed student learning and standards-based grading, and we hope to see you there!

At the Symposium, you’ll find a community of innovators from across the education transformation space who are engaging in action-oriented learning and development. You’ll have the chance to learn about schools, districts, and states adopting next generation learning models, get an inside look a...

08/21/2025

The critically acclaimed book on educational transformation, titled New Era- New Urgency: The Case for Repurposing Education, is now available for pre-order in paperback from Bloomsbury Books/US. The paperback is 20% of the original price.

The book explores the unprecedented realities and educational challenges associated with entering a new era filled with catastrophic climate change, advanced artificial intelligence, massive demographic shifts, and worldwide digital disinformation campaigns. Drawing on 40 years of educational reform experience, including 13 years in Egypt, the authors outline how to fundamentally redesign curriculum, assessment, and teacher education systems so that they are more relevant to the times and meaningful to the students. Repurposing public education begins with a collective decision about the kind of country we want to live in.

For purchase see https://lnkd.in/eB8ypwRr
For the reviews and chapters see www.newera-newurgency.education

New Era New Urgency: The Case for Repurposing Education. F. Joseph Merlino and Deborah Pomeroy. Education reform for 21st Century STEM Education. Pre-order now!

08/07/2025

PARLO Publication Now In Print: The Impact of Standards-Based Grading Intervention on Ninth Graders’ Mathematics Learning
Our Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness article is now in print! Go to the link below to find out more about Standards-Based Grading, its impact on students, and how it can improve student performance across the country.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19345747.2023.2287594

01/15/2025

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded the 21st Century Partnership for STEM Education (21PSTEM) a $9.95 million grant to fund Mathematics Empowerment through Standards-Based Grading (ME-SBG), an innovative program designed to transform mathematics education for students and teachers. This five-year initiative will serve over 14,000 Grades 6-9 students in Pennsylvania and Portland, Oregon, empowering them to take ownership of their learning while providing teachers with comprehensive supports to enhance instruction. Plans are underway to recruit additional schools to participate in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) starting in the 2026-27 school year, evaluating the program’s potential for regional and national impact.

We are hiring! Please visit www.21pstem.org to learn more about the project and open job postings.

07/20/2021

21PSTEM is hiring. Check out our website for more information: