Personalized Learning

Recently Released State Policy Framework Provides Guidance to States to Advance Competency-Based Pathways

Achieve has released a new state policy framework, Advancing Competency-Based Pathways to College and Career Readiness, to support state education policymakers in envisioning and planning for policies that encourage student-centered approaches designed to help all students learn the full scope of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).

Trends in Seat-Time vs. Competency-Based Policy

The traditional model of credit accumulation adopted by states across the United States is based upon a seat-time requirement known as the Carnegie Unit. Using this model, students must be seated in a class for specific number of hours in order to receive credit for the course. This is true for all students, regardless of prior knowledge, skills, or experiences, and has been the primary means of credit accrual in the United States since the early 20th century.

REL Midwest and Public Television Present Competency-Based Education

At 10 p.m. on Monday, September 2, at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, September 3, and at 11 a.m. on Sunday, September 8, 2013 (all Central Time), Illinois public television viewers can watch Implementing Competency-Based Education Practices in the Midwest, a REL Midwest Making Connections event produced with WTTW in Chicago and taped with a studio audience. The program archive will be available online later in September.

New York Small High Schools Initiative

Last month, the Alliance for Excellent Education held a Webinar about the lessons learned from the New York City (NYC) “small schools of choice” (SSCs) initiative.  As part of this initiative, New York City closed more than 20 underperforming public high schools and in their place opened new small nonselective schools of choice. The new schools served on average 100 students per grade level and were personalized not only in size, but also in terms of relationships among students and teachers.

The Digital Learning Imperative

The Alliance for Excellent Education recently released an issue brief, “The Digital Learning Imperative: How Technology and Teaching Meet Today’s Education Challenges.” The brief highlights several major issues in education and argues that they can be addressed with innovative, technology-based solutions.

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