What’s New in K-12 Competency Education?

Ohio department of education released its application to participate in the state’s new Competency-based education pilot program. It also created self-assessment tools for school districts to determine their readiness to participate in the program.

More Movement in the States

• A joint education conference of Utah educators, lawmakers and businesses designed several new goals aimed at giving Utah students a more competitive edge in the global economy. This agenda focuses on competency education. Tom Vander Ark discusses Utah’s transition to competency education in his recent EdWeek article.
• The Idaho State Department of Education requested $1.2M for mastery-based education opportunities, and a $2M increase in technology to support personalized learning throughout the state. Sherri Ybarra, Idaho’s State Superintedent of Public Instruction, discusses accountability and the Governor’s task force recommendations to bring mastery-based education to Idaho.
• Students and teachers are testing out competency education in Iowa. Students present what competency-based education is in this video.

News

• Arne Duncan supports Purdue University’s competency-based education program, and he is quoted as supporting competency education and shifting away from time-based systems.
• An interview with Jennifer Deenik, Living Systems Science Teacher at Souhegan High School, by Jennifer Poon, Innovation Lab Network Director at CCSSO, takes a peek inside New Hampshire’s performance assessment pilot program.
• Diploma Plus operates small alternative programs for students who have repeatedly failed a grade or are on the verge of dropping out. This interview with William Diehl, chair of the Diploma Plus board, discusses the key components of the schools’ efforts to prepare students who are coming from behind.
• The Woodrow Wilson Foundation, in partnership with MIT, are creating the Woodrow Wilson Academy of Teaching and Learning Sciences, which provides graduate programs in teacher education and school leadership. The Academy will be competency-based with a blended curriculum, and the first class will enroll in 2017.
• In Giving Students Charge of How They Learn, John McCarthy discusses student-developed products based on learning targets, student-developed rubrics, student-developed conferences, and setting students free to learn with you.

Videos and Films

• Beyond Measure is a film that challenges the assumptions of our current education system, and paints a positive picture of what’s possible in American education when communities decide they are ready for change. Watch the trailer here.
• The Illuminating Standards Video Series explore the relationship between meeting demanding state standards and designing powerful learning experiences for all students. The video series are listed by grade level.

Resources

• Getting Smart and NGLC partnered to publish Getting Smart on Regional Next-Gen School Design, which highlights six regional hubs for innovation through NGLC’s Regional Funds for Breakthrough Schools.
• The Maine Education Policy Research Institute published Proficiency-Based Diploma Systems in Maine: Implementing District-Level High School Graduation Policies.
• Achieve and Jobs for the Future partnered to publish Integrating Earning College Credit in High Schools into Accountability Systems.
• Lindsay Unified School District released a new guide to help parents understand the performance-based system in their district.
• The Mindset Kit, produced by PERTS at Stanford University, provides free resources and lessons for parents and educators to foster adaptive learning mindsets.
• The College & Career Readiness & Success Center at the American Institutes for Research published State Approaches to Competency-Based Education to Support College and Career Readiness for All Students.

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