It is generally a healthy development that nonprofits in the space of education today are more invested in measuring impact than they were ten years ago. However, what qualifies for ‘impact’ in areas as complex as children’s education remain unclear. For funders who want to know whether their funds made a difference and for nonprofits who want to tell a story, the most trusted language remains that of academic scores in standardized tests.

This obsessive focus on quantifiable progress – where the entire value of a school year tends to get measured in academic scores in Language and Math – reduces programs for marginalized students to an endless exercise of skill-drill and test preparation. Not surprisingly, children are bored in our schools, not learning adequately and eventually dropping out of our classrooms. Once again, the very solution becomes the problem.

At Re:Imagine, we measure impact in the spirit of self-assessment across three areas – learning and wellbeing for students, teachers and the community.

Student learning and wellbeing is recorded – by teachers, parents and the students themselves – in what we call the portfolio. Each child has her own portfolio – a mix of teacher and parent observations, and different kinds of student work – ranging from artwork, illustrated storybooks they had written, test scorecards and worksheets, videos and collectables from a nature walk to detailed illustrated plans documenting how they solved a real-life math problem. Though the teacher records details relevant to the growth and learning of the child, it is ultimately the child herself who decides what stays in her portfolio. Teachers at Re:Imagine spend close to 40% of the school year observing and documenting children’s learning journeys. The portfolio provides a balanced snapshot of the mental, emotional, social and physical development of our children as well as skills in foundational subjects required in formal school settings. The assumption underpinning the design of the portfolio is that every child learns differently and that a uniform, universal measure doesn’t suffice to test student learning. We hold mid-year and end-of-the-year learning showcases where the portfolios are co-presented by the children and the teachers through charts, skits, songs, games and an exhibition-style display.

Just like students, teachers and community members participate in a diffused year-long process of reflecting on their work and wellbeing. Teachers record their growth as well as areas of improvement in their journals which they share in a way they want during monthly meet-ups. Each teacher takes up a research project at the beginning of the year, which usually involves some kind of ethnographic styled observation on some aspect of their work with the children. The teachers generally publish their project work in the yearly magazine which is shared with the larger community. Families in our community assess themselves on their state of wellbeing and engagement with children’s learning. They also provide feedback on our program both, formally in group forums and informally in one-on-one conversations with facilitators during the community visits.