TED DINTERSMITH spent two decades as a venture capitalist and a half dozen years running a business that contributed to the digital revolution. But it was his post-business desire to learn about public education that has led to some prominence now as a public advocate for education practices that contribute to creativity, innovation and purpose. And to him, that means adopting authentic measures of student performance.

In an interview, you’ll learn about Dintersmith’s school year visiting schools in every state, which then led to a co-authored book with Tony Wagner, a well-received film documentary (“Most Likely to Succeed”) and a 2018 book What School Can Be.

A product of public schools himself, Dintersmith felt compelled to share what he observed. “It’s easy today to dwell on the negative,” he says, “but I was blown away by the positive things going on in U.S. schools.”

In several other articles in this issue, you’ll learn about some of the ground-level efforts to see better forms of assessment take shape in schools.