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Submitted by Zachary Malter on
This blog is one in a series that shares lessons competency-based education leaders at the state, district, and school level. Each post describes CBE efforts and shares lessons for others to consider in their own development of competency-based education.
Submitted by Jennifer Lerner on
This blog series shares lessons from leaders in competency-based education at different levels of leadership: state, district, and school. Each post will highlight the work of several leaders at a given level and will share lessons learned for other educators to consider in their own development of competency-based education.
In order to be successful in the 21st century, students will need to master an expanded set of competencies that extends beyond discrete academic standards. Competency-based education (CBE) is an educational approach that focuses on mastery of these competencies – rather than seat time – as a measure of student learning. This approach is being adopted by a growing number of educators focused on ensuring students graduate college and career ready.
This study from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation looked at the relationship between competency-based education (CBE) practices and changes in student learning capacity. In three states, surveys were administered to Grade 9 students, teachers, and administrators in high schools that were identified as schools implementing CBE and a set of comparison high schools identified as not implementing CBE.
How can educators assess students’ college and career readiness, particularly the deep content knowledge and complex skills required with new standards? Performance tasks are one way to assess students’ college and career readiness because they require students to produce authentic work that demonstrates their mastery of specific skills and content.
Chugach School District (CSD) first implemented competency education more than 20 years ago, paving the way to develop a system founded on student advancement and demonstrated mastery. This report explores how CSD shifted from a traditional K–12 education system to create an infrastructure that supports a performance-based system, expands learning beyond the classroom, embraces the culture of the community, and develops educator growth—ultimately leading to an increased student achievement.
