> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.learningcommons.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Introduction

> Overview of Learning Commons Agent Skills for K-12 education workflows.

## The problem

AI agents can produce plausible-looking lesson materials quickly, but quality varies widely.

Standards alignment, grade-level rigor, curriculum coherence, and classroom usability are hard to guarantee from a single prompt.

## What we're building

### Agent Skills

Our Agent Skills package the instructions, references, and guardrails an agent needs to reliably complete specific K-12 teaching workflows.

Each skill is cross-platform, model-agnostic, and produces stronger results when paired with Learning Commons [Knowledge Graph](/knowledge-graph/understanding-knowledge-graph/introduction).

| Skill                                                                          | Description                                                                                                                                                         | Development partner                       |
| :----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | :---------------------------------------- |
| [K-12 Lesson Planning](/agent-skills/skills/k12-lesson-planning)               | Builds classroom-ready, standards-aligned lesson plans, optionally aligned to a teacher's curriculum.                                                               | [Anthropic](https://www.anthropic.com/) ↗ |
| [K-12 Lesson Differentiation](/agent-skills/skills/k12-lesson-differentiation) | Adapts an existing lesson into tiered versions (below / at / above proficiency level) and for specific student needs, keeping core content consistent across tiers. | [Anthropic](https://www.anthropic.com/) ↗ |

See [example prompts](https://github.com/learning-commons-org/agent-skills/blob/main/skills/example-prompts.md?utm_source=docs\&utm_medium=agent-skills) ↗ for prompts that exercise each workflow.

### Rubrics

<Note>
  This is part of a larger evaluator harness that Learning Commons plans to
  publish in full at a later date. Manual use instructions are included for now.
</Note>

Each Agent Skill comes with a corresponding rubric that assesses whether your AI-generated K-12 content is explainable and tied to authoritative sources like academic standards, learning science research, and high-quality instructional materials.

| Skill                                                                                  | Rubrics                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
| :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| [K-12 Lesson Planning](/agent-skills/skills/k12-lesson-planning#rubrics)               | <ul><li>Common rubric: [`shared.csv`](https://github.com/learning-commons-org/agent-skills/blob/main/evals/k12-lesson-planning/rubrics/shared.csv?utm_source=docs\&utm_medium=agent-skills)</li><li>Subject-specific rubric<ul><li>[`math.csv`](https://github.com/learning-commons-org/agent-skills/blob/main/evals/k12-lesson-planning/rubrics/math.csv?utm_source=docs\&utm_medium=agent-skills)</li><li>[`ela.csv`](https://github.com/learning-commons-org/agent-skills/blob/main/evals/k12-lesson-planning/rubrics/ela.csv?utm_source=docs\&utm_medium=agent-skills)</li><li>[`science.csv`](https://github.com/learning-commons-org/agent-skills/blob/main/evals/k12-lesson-planning/rubrics/science.csv?utm_source=docs\&utm_medium=agent-skills)</li><li>[`social_studies.csv`](https://github.com/learning-commons-org/agent-skills/blob/main/evals/k12-lesson-planning/rubrics/social_studies.csv?utm_source=docs\&utm_medium=agent-skills)</li></ul></li></ul> |
| [K-12 Lesson Differentiation](/agent-skills/skills/k12-lesson-differentiation#rubrics) | <ul><li>[`differentiation.csv`](https://github.com/learning-commons-org/agent-skills/blob/main/evals/k12-lesson-differentiation/rubrics/differentiation.csv?utm_source=docs\&utm_medium=agent-skills)</li><li>[`clarifying_question.csv`](https://github.com/learning-commons-org/agent-skills/blob/main/evals/k12-lesson-differentiation/rubrics/clarifying_question.csv?utm_source=docs\&utm_medium=agent-skills)</li></ul>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |

Each rubric is represented as a CSV file with the following fields:

| Field                | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
| :------------------- | :-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `id`                 | Unique criterion identifier (e.g., `P1`, `R3`)                                                                                                                                                                                    |
| `bucket`             | Top-level category: `P` (Pedagogy), `R` (Rigor), `O` (Output/Formatting), or `M` (Model Scaffolding)                                                                                                                              |
| `criterion`          | Short name for the criterion                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
| `what_pass_requires` | Specific and scoreable condition that constitutes a pass                                                                                                                                                                          |
| `conditional`        | If non-empty, the criterion applies only when this condition is met (e.g., `K-5`, `ELA-Gr8+`) <Note>`conditional` criteria are applied only when the specified condition is met; otherwise, they are skipped (not failed).</Note> |
| `notes`              | Rationale or design notes                                                                                                                                                                                                         |

<Tip>
  Track per-criterion pass rates across a prompt suite rather than relying on
  aggregate scores alone.

  Since criteria score independently, a failing "Rigor" criterion simply tells
  you something specific about cognitive demand – it does NOT mean that the
  output is "bad".
</Tip>

## Scope and limitations

<Note>
  Remember that LLM outputs can vary across runs, especially on borderline
  cases. We recommend keeping a human in the loop and treating outputs as
  directional signals vs. definitive classroom decisions.
</Note>

| Limitation                     | Details                                                                                                                                                    |
| :----------------------------- | :--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Validated workflows**        | Initial skills focus on K-12 lesson planning and differentiation across math, ELA, science, and social studies.                                            |
| **Knowledge Graph dependency** | Skills work without Knowledge Graph but produce the strongest outputs when connected to standards and curriculum data.                                     |
| **Curriculum coverage**        | Curriculum-specific branches cover supported materials such as Illustrative Mathematics and OpenSciEd; other curricula fall back to general best practice. |

<Warning>
  Agent Skills outputs should not be used for high-stakes applications like
  grading, assessment, or placement decisions without human review.
</Warning>