From PACE to PLACE: How New Hampshire is Redefining School Accountability Through Classroom-Aligned Innovation

In the national conversation about education reform, New Hampshire has quietly—but powerfully—paved the way for a new vision of school accountability. At the heart of this vision lies a transformative but straightforward idea: accountability systems should reflect what matters in classrooms. Instead of focusing narrowly on standardized test scores, New Hampshire has demonstrated how student learning, teacher expertise, and performance-based assessments can form the foundation of a more equitable and accurate picture of student success.

A National Model: The PACE Initiative

Launched in 2015, the Performance Assessment of Competency Education (PACE) initiative broke new ground as the first federally approved accountability pilot under the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority (IADA) in ESSA. Unlike traditional testing models, PACE empowered educators to develop and lead assessment systems embedded within the curriculum. These assessments emphasized real-world readiness, deeper learning, and student-centered practices.

PACE proved that accountability systems could be:

1. Instructionally relevant and rooted in what students learn
2. Curriculum-embedded and paced by educators
3. Equity-focused, highlighting cultural relevance and meaningful engagement
4. Technically defensible, meeting validity and reliability standards
5. Locally led, placing trust in teachers and communities

The result?…. Students engaged in rich performance tasks that asked them to demonstrate what they know and can do, not just what they remember on test day.

A Growing Crisis: Engagement and Purpose

Across the country—and here in New Hampshire—we face a growing crisis of student engagement. Too many learners move through school disconnected from purpose, passion, and the promise of their future. This crisis isn’t just about boredom. It’s about a fundamental misalignment between what students experience in school and what they need to thrive.

National Reach and Enduring Impact

New Hampshire’s work through PACE inspired states across the country. PACE’s influence is unmistakable from California’s CPAC to Colorado’s local accountability pilots, Hawaii’s culturally grounded assessments, and New York’s PLACE-cited performance models. Federal learning networks and national research centers, including AIR, Achieve, and the Learning Policy Institute, highlighted PACE’s potential to redefine how we measure learning.

Most recently, New York’s Graduation Measures report (2023) identified NH’s PLACE work as a Tier 1 example of a credible, equitable performance assessment model—proof that New Hampshire continues to lead in educator-led innovation.

When Policy Shifts—But Practice Persists

In 2021, New Hampshire’s Department of Education withdrew formal support for PACE, returning the state to more traditional testing models. However, there was no turning back for educators and students who had seen the transformative impact of PACE. They had experienced firsthand what it meant to engage with learning that mattered—and they wanted more.

PLACE offers a clear, practical starting point for districts ready to make the shift toward meaningful, competency-based accountability. Through collaborative task design, embedded assessment practices, and student-centered instruction, PLACE provides tools, structures, and professional learning that help educators lead innovation from the classroom outward. The clear winner in this rigorous design work is reflected in the impact on students. Tens of thousands of students have benefited from increased access to learning through PLACE learning and assessment. 

The New Hampshire Learning Initiative (NHLI) created the Performance Learning and Assessment Consortium for Educators (PLACE) to carry the work forward. With support from the National Education Association-NH and a growing network of committed districts and teacher leaders, PLACE builds on PACE’s legacy by helping schools design, implement, and refine performance learning systems that align with local values and student needs. 

PLACE supports educators in:

1. Designing and calibrating high-quality performance assessments tied to academic competencies and cultural relevance
2. Using AI-supported tools and design thinking to accelerate feedback and task development
3. Embedding student agency, voice, and community connection in daily practice
4. Aligning local efforts with New Hampshire’s revised 306 Minimum Standards, ensuring state policy supports innovation, not restricts it

Laying the Groundwork: Student Agency, Future Learning Pathways, and Portrait of a Graduate

PLACE is not working alone. Across New Hampshire, NHLI has launched and supported aligned initiatives, laying the foundation for long-term, student-centered transformation.

Together, these initiatives provide a comprehensive foundation for district transformation. They support educators in shifting from traditional models of instruction to learning-centered practices where feedback for learning, personalization, and real-world relevance are the norm, not the exception.

Embracing the Moment: 306 Minimum Standards and Community Momentum

The recent revision of New Hampshire’s 306 Minimum Standards offers districts a new opportunity to embrace innovation, redesign accountability, and reimagine what school can be. These standards promote flexible pathways, interdisciplinary learning, and authentic demonstrations of competency.

Communities across the state are responding with enthusiasm and commitment. Business leaders, families, and educators are investing in career pathways and creating collaborative partnerships that connect students to real-world learning and workforce readiness. This is more than education reform—it is a statewide movement rooted in possibility.

Why It Matters

At a time when education systems are grappling with disengagement and calls for relevance and equity, New Hampshire’s work offers hope and a roadmap. Through NHLI’s leadership and strong statewide partnerships, the state has shown that accountability can do more than measure—it can motivate, affirm, and inspire.

By sustaining and evolving the innovations begun with PACE, and expanding through PLACE, FLP, and Student Agency Teams, New Hampshire is building a system where learners are known, challenged, and supported to demonstrate what they know and can do.

The message is clear: We don’t have to choose between rigor and relevance, standards and student-centeredness. We can build systems that honor both with the right structures and people leading them.

And in New Hampshire, we already are.