What’s New in K-12 Competency Education?

Upcoming Competency Education Webinar

iNACOL and CompetencyWorks are hosting a Special Edition Webinar to reflect on the field of K-12 competency education and explore emerging issues. This webinar is free to attend—register here to receive login instructions. Competency-based education experts Susan Patrick and Chris Sturgis will lead the discussion on important developments and trends across competency education. Join the webinar to help identify the field’s emerging issues and provide insights to inform the future direction of competency-based education.

CBE in the States

• Colorado is expanding student options for earning high school diplomas, offering 12 pathways for students to demonstrate college and career readiness.
• A  public-private partnership, led by the Michigan Center of Innovation in Education (CIE) and the Michigan association of intermediate school administrators (MAISA) released an RFP to develop and pilot a Competency-Based Learning (CBL) transcript and marketplace that provide enhanced choice to students and parents as it relates to the completion of the requirements for a high school diploma under the Michigan merit standards.

Designing Systems of Assessments

• iNACOL and KnowledgeWorks submitted public comments on the Innovative Assessment Pilot under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
• Creating engaging systems of assessments under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) can yield deeper learning and increased student achievement.

Thought Leadership

• What is ‘culturally competent’ teaching? This article explains through videos and interviews.
• Christina Russell of the Asia Society’s Center for Global Education remarks on building education systems to support the development of 21^st century competencies. Learn more in the full report: System Supports for 21^st Century Competencies.

New Resources

• Because teachers matter, hiring matters. A new innovation brief from NGLC details the teacher hiring strategies used by Da Vinci Schools and Generation Schools Network and provides tools educators can use to implement a similar strategy, like an interview schedule, sample collaborative activities, and assessment prompts for candidates.
• REL Northeast & Islands released a Guide to the Competency-Based Learning Survey for Students. Designed to be administered to students attending high schools in which competency-based learning is being implemented, the survey collects information regarding students’ beliefs about, understanding of, and exposure to key elements of competency-based learning.
• The Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy released a policy brief: How Can So Many Students Be Invisible? Large Percentages of American Students Perform Above Grade Level, which explores how many students perform above grade level.

For more news and updates in K-12 competency education, sign up for our monthly newsletter on our homepage and follow us on Twitter: @CompetencyWorks.