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MHC Professor Chosen to Participate in Educational Consortium
Dr. Chris Cain, associate professor of education at Mars Hill College, has been chosen to participate in a consortium of professionals from universities and education departments from eleven states which is charged with developing assessment outcomes that could have far-reaching effects in those states and even throughout the nation.
The Dynamic Learning Map Alternative Assessment System Consortium has been funded by a multi-million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Education to develop alternate achievement standards for K-12 students with exceptionalities. The goals of the consortium are: to develop alternative achievement standards aligned with core state standards for college and career readiness; to develop high-quality assessment tools for these standards; to find ways to collect and use data from the assessments; and to create professional development programs and materials which coincide with the standards.
Cain called his participation in the consortium a great honor, and he said he is awed by his association with some of the greatest minds in the education field.
“The members of this consortium are the geniuses of education,” Cain said. “These are the people that my students here at Mars Hill read about; they write the textbooks that we use in class. To serve with them in creating alternate assessment standards is possibly the greatest honor of my professional life.”
Cain is one of three education professionals from North Carolina, and the only representative from a private college to be involved in the consortium. Cain’s primary responsibility in the project will be to lead efforts to create professional development content related to K-12 mathematics for teachers in the eleven states.
According to Cain, while the initial work of the consortium will affect the eleven states which elected to participate, the findings of the group could have implications for nationwide educational standards.
The grant which finances the consortium was funded by the Department of Education at 90% of the over-$24 million originally requested.
According to Dr. Deb Morris, chair of the Mars Hill College Education Department, Cain’s selection to participate in the consortium is an honor for him, as well as for Mars Hill College.
"The eleven-state Education Consortium is one of the largest initiatives Mars Hill College has ever been involved in and it is because of the outstanding reputation of Dr. Chris Cain. Dr. Cain is a leader in the field of Special Education, Reading and Math Foundations. In addition, Mars Hill College is the only private institution of higher education involved in the consortium. I am proud to call Dr. Cain my colleague and gratified that Mars Hill College professors and students alike benefit from his leadership abilities," she said.