GenUS is dedicated to advancing student-centered growth in education. As JMG’s Resource Support Organization (RSO), we are proud to share JMG’s groundbreaking work on competency-based micro-credentials, which offer learners innovative ways to validate critical skills beyond traditional assessments. Through collaborative co-design sessions with Digital Promise and a diverse group of stakeholders, JMG explored how these micro-credentials can empower students by recognizing competencies that often go unacknowledged in standard transcripts and grades.
This initiative reflects GenUS’s commitment to building inclusive, flexible learning environments that meet real-world needs. By spotlighting this work, GenUS supports JMG’s model for sustainable, meaningful change, helping schools and districts recognize the skills that prepare students for today’s dynamic world.
Pathways to Success
Co-Designing Micro-credentials and LERs for K-12 Learners
Digital Promise, in partnership with JMG and Talladega City Schools in Alabama, explored the opportunities and considerations for implementing K-12 competency-based micro-credentials and Learning and Employment Records (LERs).
In co-design sessions, participants emphasized the benefits of flexible learning options and the value of validating skills through competency-based micro-credentials. They also appreciated the potential of LERs to centralize records, which can enhance students' employability. Participants highlighted that these tools could help address gaps in skill recognition, especially for historically and systematically excluded communities, creating a more equitable path for credentialing and career advancement.
Digital Promise led co-design sessions, gathering a range of participants—including high school students, educators, K-12 education leaders, caregivers, higher education partners, and workforce representatives—to break down silos and bring diverse perspectives into the design of competency-based micro-credentials and Learning and Employment Record (LER) technologies. These sessions featured overviews of the micro-credential and LER concepts, focus groups for each topic, and a hands-on activity where participants created micro-credentials to recognize valuable skills not typically captured by traditional academic records, such as communication, creativity, and financial literacy.
Digital Promise’s research utilized a co-design approach that emphasized collaboration between researchers and participants (Hurley, Dietrich, & Rundle-Thiele, 2021). This approach fostered mutual learning, innovative solution development, and strengthened community, trust, and transparency. Throughout the process, participants shaped design decisions, championed accessibility and equity, and provided researchers with valuable insights into their unique challenges and needs.
Participant Takeaways in Maine
Following two days of co-design sessions led by Digital Promise with JMG, participants in Maine shared valuable reflections on the experience:
They appreciated having a variety of learning experiences to choose from, which allowed them to demonstrate competency in specific skills. Participants also recognized the potential of LER technologies for consolidating records, offering employer verification, and enhancing their ability to showcase skills to future employers.
The sessions raised important questions for participants, including:
How can competency-based micro-credentials be tailored to reflect diverse student career interests?
Can learning experiences be designed to be fully inclusive, accessible, and achievable without putting learners at risk?
How will support from employers and higher education institutions be garnered to ensure effective implementation, and what training will be required?
The Promise of Micro-credentials and Learning and Employment Record Technologies for Youth and K-12 Schools
At GenUS, we are excited to showcase The Promise of Micro-credentials and Learning and Employment Record Technologies for Youth and K-12 Schools, a groundbreaking research paper by Digital Promise. As JMG’s Resource Support Organization, we are dedicated to advancing tools and strategies that open new pathways for student success, particularly for historically and systematically excluded communities.
Our close relationship with JMG allows us to highlight impactful work that not only validates essential skills but also reimagines the ways learners are prepared for postsecondary education and the workforce. By sharing this research, we proudly support JMG's vision for student-centered, competency-based learning that meets the real-world needs of today’s students and educators.
How Skill Recognition Can Create Equitable Pathways for Student Advancement
GenUS supports the continued exploration of micro-credentials by sharing insights from Digital Promise’s How Skill Recognition Can Create Equitable Pathways for Student Achievement. This highlights the value of skill-based learning and recognition technologies, including micro-credentials, in creating inclusive pathways that reflect the diverse experiences of all students.
Digital Promise’s research collaboration with Talladega City Schools and JMG offers district leaders a practical guide for building infrastructure that supports historically and systematically excluded (HSE) communities. By moving beyond the traditional constraints of transcripts and diplomas, these technologies provide students with a broader platform to demonstrate competencies and prepare for future opportunities.
Insights from “How Skill Recognition Can Create Equitable Pathways for Student Advancement”
Understanding K-12 Needs for Micro-credentials and LER Technologies
To help district leaders and technology sector leaders understand the conditions necessary for the successful implementation of competency-based micro-credentials and LER technologies in K-12 schools that center HSE students, Digital Promise has released a new report, “The Promise of Micro-credentials and Learning and Employment Record Technologies for Youth and K-12 Schools”. This research provides recommendations and considerations based on insights provided by students, families/caregivers, educators, postsecondary partners, and workforce partners in co-design sessions and focus groups from Talladega City Schools (Alabama) and JMG.
The Case for Micro-credentials and LER Technologies in K-12 Settings
Recent research from the Aurora Institute recommends implementing competency-based education, which recognizes learning in and out-of-school settings, to mitigate the gaps stemming from historical methods of assessment (Gagnon et al., 2023). National discussions and working groups, such as the Skills-Driven State Community of Practice, have come together in recent years to discuss the potential for recognition technologies, such as micro-credentials and LER technologies, to level the playing field for credentialing and career advancement. Key players in the LER technology and micro-credential landscape are still in the beginning phases of considering these technologies in a K-12 context because the opportunities and strategies for the implementation of LER technologies and micro-credentials have primarily focused on postsecondary advancement or re-skilling initiatives.