Competency-based learning (or standards-based or performance-based if you will) is

based on two important ideas:

Students should meet learning expectationspassing kids along with a weak
foundation means they will never achieve higher level knowledge and skills and
will be excluded from the idea economy.
Students should show what they knowits not about turning work in, earning
point, or showing up to class, they should demonstrate in several ways that they
have mastered important knowledge, skills, and abilities.

For most people that sounds logical and for twenty years weve been saying its about
learning not time and learning is fixed and time is variable. Only its notits all about
time and the structures weve ensconced with policies, budgets, and contracts.

Since Horace borrowed the idea from the Prussians weve been batch-processing kids
based on birthdays through a print curriculum. This batch-print system was moderately
efficient until we tried to retrofit it to work for all kids. It just created a mess of tacked on
services and a crazy patchwork quilt of courses. As educational demands of society
increased, it became obvious that the batch-print system is a disaster for at least two
thirds of our kids.

The shift to personal digital learning offers a better alternative. Specifically, a system
based on demonstrated competence and powered by personalized learning technology
holds the potential to double the number of students prepared for college and careers in
this decade.






However, competency-based systems are fundamentally different than batch-
print. Following are ten elements of a competency-based system:
1. Intellectual mission that focuses resources and behaviors on productive habits of
mind and preparation for participation in college, careers, and civic life.
2. Standards that express in some detail what students should know and be able to
do
3. Progress monitoring, historically thought of as grading, and achievement
recognition systems, historically thought of as class rank.
4. Grouping and scheduling systemswhen, why and how groups are used when
learning not age cohorts is the dominant organizing principle.
5. Reporting to the outside world that still thinks in courses, credits, and grades.
6. Content that supports self-directed and customized learning.
7. Tools that facilitate standards-based challenges, collaboration, and scheduling.
8. Teacher support, preparation and development for a dynamic environment with
differentiated (i.e., different levels) and distributed (i.e., different locations)
staffing.
9. Evaluation systems that helps to determine student learning and how
experiences and adults are contributing.
10. Community connections and supports for student success.

Unfortunately, its tough create/manage competency-based environments because the
tool set is just not very good yet. And even new platforms/apps assume a age cohort
system. Next week Ill cover 10 edtech advances that will promote competency-based
learning.