The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching is an independent policy and research center, established by Andrew Carnegie in 1905 and chartered by an act of Congress in 1906. Its original mission was philanthropic: to provide pensions for retiring college teachers, which led to the creation of TIAA (Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association). The Foundation later broadened its scope to encompass education reform. Carnegie Foundation's legacy includes establishing the Carnegie Unit (the credit hour), the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, and commissioning the seminal Flexner Report (1910) that revolutionized medical education.
Recent work at CFAT focuses on High School Transformation and Postsecondary Innovation, which focuses on designing a "post-Carnegie Unit" architecture to ensure learning is more engaging, experiential, and career-aligned, thus creating a seamless, evidence-based pathway for students into both college and careers.
Carnegie Foundation’s primary method for driving change is through Improvement Science, which employs rapid cycles of testing and refinement (Plan-Do-Study-Act) to develop and implement effective educational practices.
An example of recent work is the Skills for the Future Initiative, a joint effort with the Educational Testing Service (ETS), to develop new assessment tools. These tools are designed to move beyond traditional testing to capture the essential and durable skills (like critical thinking and collaboration) that are vital for postsecondary learning and the modern job market.
Carnegie Foundation. (n.d.). Homepage. https://www.carnegiefoundation.org/
Carnegie Foundation. (n.d.). About. https://www.carnegiefoundation.org/about/
Silva, E., White, T. & Toch, T. (2015, January). The Carnegie Unit
A century-old standard in a changing education landscape. https://www.luminafoundation.org/files/resources/carnegie-unit-report.pdf
Carnegie Foundation. (n.d.). R&D Agenda for High School Transformation. https://www.carnegiefoundation.org/our-work/high-school-transformation/carnegie-rd-agenda/
Carnegie Foundation. (n.d.). Skills for the Future Initiative. https://www.carnegiefoundation.org/our-work/high-school-transformation/skills-for-the-future-initiative/