JCPS turns student artifacts into a digital passport

Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Kentucky, has reshaped its Backpack of Success into Journey to Success, using a centralized Otus platform to track competency growth across 150 schools. The district says streamlined evidence—through rubrics, stud

On a typical school day, a student’s learning can disappear quietly—lost not because effort vanished, but because the evidence didn’t travel with them.

Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS), in Louisville, Ky., has long known that problem. With 96. 000 students spread across 150 schools—and a student population that can move from one campus to another—district leaders found that earlier systems struggled to track growth across buildings. Evidence of progress was often anecdotal: inspiring stories surfaced, while potential problems stayed hidden.

In response, JCPS has rebuilt its model for measuring learning around student work—then tied it to a “digital passport” so progress doesn’t get left behind.

The change starts with a shift in what “success” looks like. When success is defined only by report cards. deep learning and curiosity can get buried under the pursuit of an A. JCPS leaders argue. Research cited by the district says stronger student agency helps build a growth mindset and helps classroom learning transfer into real-world skills.

To put students in the driver’s seat of that idea, JCPS launched a Backpack of Success Skills program in 2017. Students archived digital learning artifacts—presentations, videos, and essays—that reflected their talents and growth.

By 2024, the district said it saw a clear need to iterate. While some elements were implemented district-wide, each of the district’s 150 schools developed its own measures of success. The early data system couldn’t track progress effectively across schools. leaving student growth evidence vulnerable to being incomplete and uneven.

Re-centering equity and making the framework sustainable meant systematizing it—so success carried equal value in every building. JCPS moved to develop a shared knowledge base, create district-wide resources, and provide professional learning for educators. The effort also aligned with the Kentucky Department of Education’s (KED) Portrait of a Learner vision. which emphasizes durable competencies and academic mastery. as well as the state’s revised local accountability measures.

Two years ago, JCPS relaunched the Backpack as Journey to Success.

From the start, stakeholders worked to identify key competencies and priorities to anchor the program. Districtwide rubrics and accountability measures followed. Central to the redesign was giving teachers the tools to assess overall student progress during transition and interim years without undermining students’ self-efficacy. At the same time, the process had to be seamless—easy data entry and streamlined information that teachers already collected.

JCPS partnered with Otus to bring assessments, data, and progress monitoring into one centralized platform, with measurable outcomes defined through the partnership.

Through a central “Gallery” on the Otus platform, students upload artifacts that meet high-quality work indicators. Those indicators are evidenced by rubrics tied to one of Journey to Success’ five Success Skills competencies—such as “Effective Communicator” or “Emerging Innovator.” A student might add a photo of a robot built in an engineering class. or attach an essay describing on-the-job experience gained through one of JCPS’s CTE partners. The Gallery also lets students tag specific skills they learned and add reflections on their experience.

Evidence is not treated as a one-time snapshot. Students demonstrate growth through Milestone checkpoints each year—whether it’s a Mini-Defense. a Student-Led Conference. or an Exhibition of Learning. In transition years of fifth. eighth. and twelfth grades. students present Defenses of Learning to panels of educators. community partners. and family members.

JCPS says that with Otus, common rubrics systematize data collection and provide meaningful feedback to students. And because the district describes its data as fully streamlined, it says students get an equitable, consistent learning experience regardless of their school assignment.

That matters most for movement between campuses. JCPS calls itself large and highly transient. When students moved from School A to School B in the past. it said their data often stayed behind and evidence of Journey progress was lost. Today. the district says Otus serves as a “digital passport. ” ensuring that progress follows students through the next grade or if they change schools completely.

In the first year of Journey to Success. the district points to Defense of Learning results measured using JCPS’s Defense of Learning rubrics. Eighty percent of fifth grade students met “Ready” or “Excelling” criteria for demonstrating who they are as a person and their next steps to achieve future goals. Among eighth graders. 82 percent were “Ready” or “Excelling” in their ability to reflect on how their learning journey helped them develop knowledge of content skills and standards as demonstrated through artifacts.

For graduating seniors, the “Ready” and “Excelling” results were even higher: 91 percent of students could reflect on their learning journey, 85 percent were able to analyze how their skills can be applied personally and academically, and 92 percent included their next steps for future goals.

Those competency-based milestones are paired, JCPS says, with outcomes tied to graduation and postsecondary readiness. During the 2024-2025 school year. the district’s graduation rate rose to 89.2 percent. and the postsecondary-readiness rate climbed to 84 percent—described as steady improvement over the past three years. JCPS also reports that the graduation rate for Black students rose to 90.8 percent. nearly matching white peers. with a gap of just 0.1 percentage points compared with a three-point difference three years ago.

What comes next. JCPS says. is the ability to collect. monitor. and analyze data year over year in a way that captures the Journey to Success with measurable goals. authentic artifacts. and a clear vision of the value of a JCPS education. The district’s message to students at graduation is straightforward: equipped with the right skills and motivation. JCPS students are positioned to take on the world ahead.

For other districts considering competency-based frameworks. JCPS frames its steps as practical: start with shared definitions of success. align rubrics across schools. and ensure educators can capture and use evidence without adding workflow burden—so learning stays visible. and students stay in control of how their progress is understood.

Jefferson County Public Schools JCPS Journey to Success Otus student agency competency-based education digital portfolio graduation rate postsecondary readiness Kentucky Department of Education Portrait of a Learner Success Skills defenses of learning