EdGate Powers Podcast #38- with Jeremy Ashcraft
Artificial intelligence is transforming curriculum alignment, making it possible to process more content in less time than ever before. But speed alone does not guarantee quality. Without structured workflows, domain expertise, and repeatable methodologies, AI-generated alignments can quickly become inconsistent, difficult to validate, and costly to maintain.
In this episode of the EdGate Powers Podcast, Rich Portelance speaks with Jeremy Ashcraft, EdGate's Director of Technology and Software Architect, about how organizations can combine AI with proven alignment processes to achieve precision at scale. Together, they explore why curriculum alignment is far more complex than many organizations realize and how concept-based methodologies help publishers, edtech providers, and education leaders maintain accuracy as standards continue to evolve.
Whether you're preparing instructional materials for state adoption, responding to RFPs, or managing curriculum across multiple jurisdictions, this conversation highlights why scalable alignment depends on more than automation alone.
In this episode, you will learn:
- Why AI should enhance curriculum alignment workflows rather than replace them.
- The difference between fast alignment and accurate, repeatable alignment.
- Why standards alignment becomes more challenging as content scales across states and subjects.
- How concept-based taxonomies create consistent, scalable alignment.
- The critical role of human expertise in validating AI-generated results.
- How organizations can align content once and efficiently scale it across multiple standards frameworks.
- Why alignment has become essential for educational infrastructure for publishers and curriculum providers.
Why This Conversation Matters
Education standards are becoming more detailed, state-specific, and continuously evolving. At the same time, publishers, curriculum developers, and edtech providers are under increasing pressure to demonstrate accurate standards alignment while reducing manual effort and accelerating time to market.
Organizations that combine AI-driven automation with structured alignment systems and expert validation will be better positioned to improve curriculum quality, reduce duplicate work, strengthen adoption readiness, and respond confidently to changing educational requirements.
Join Rich and Jeremy as they explore how AI, human expertise, and scalable infrastructure are shaping the future of curriculum alignment.
Not just faster alignment, but more accurate, repeatable, and scalable alignment for the education market.
Learn how artificial intelligence is transforming curriculum alignment, and how EdGate's concept index and platform, ExACT, can help you align without missing a beat.
Jeremy Ashcraft oversees cybersecurity, product development, and EdGate’s technology infrastructure. With more than 25 years of experience in EdTech, Jeremy brings deep expertise in full-stack web development, application architecture, DevSecOps, API development, and AI integration.
Over his 20+ years at EdGate, Jeremy has helped lead the evolution of the company’s technology platforms, including cloud migration initiatives, scalable development processes, and advanced integration strategies for clients across the education industry. His background also includes work in biotech, healthcare, and sales incentive industries, giving him a broad perspective on building secure, scalable technology solutions that support complex business needs.
Rich is passionate about eEdTech and helping people discover pathways to successful careers. He leverages his many years of business experience in strategy, product development, brand creation and sales & marketing as a frequent industry speaker and sought after consultant.
Beginning his career in digital marketing and web development, Rich was recruited into the private, independent school market to help usher in digital technologies and social media. During this time, Richard served as a student advisor and was nominated to serve on the CAIS (Connecticut Association of Independent Schools) Technology Commission. In 2012, Rich joined York & Chapel, a brand and digital transformation agency where he began working with secondary and higher ed clients, developing strategies for student engagement and pathway creation. In 2014, Richard founded CareerPath, a SaaS engagement platform. Over the past ten years, Rich has given back to the industry as an advisor to numerous EdTech startups, and generally has had a blast doing what he loves to do — help others succeed.
Questions Answered
During the podcast, we tackle plenty of critical questions related to how AI should and should not reshape curriculum alignment.
- What is the education industry getting right and wrong with AI-powered alignment tools?
- Why is the distinction between speed and precision with AI so important?
- Why is alignment harder than people think?
- From a technology standpoint, what makes standards alignment such a difficult problem to solve at scale?
- What does EdGate mean when it talks about alignment as infrastructure?
- How does ExACT align, correlate, and scale content?
- What are the biggest risks organizations face when alignment isn’t precise?
- Why do automated systems struggle with granular standards requirements? Can’t they get better over time?
- How does ExACT’s infrastructure-driven alignment improve speed without sacrificing accuracy?
- How will alignments evolve to meet the need for more specificity and detail for states? What is happening with alignments to meet that need?
- What do edtech publishers and providers need to stay competitive today and in the future?
- What does precision at scale ultimately enable that one-off alignment projects never can?