In Search of Efficacy: Defining the Elements of Quality in a Competency-Based Education System

This paper seeks to identify what makes up the structures of a competency-based system and launches an exploration of what we might ask or see in a competency-based district and school that would be identified as high quality. This paper explores three questions related to defining what high quality means in a competency-based district or school:

1. What are the common elements of the structure in competency-based schools?

2. What are the features one might expect to see in a high quality competency-based school?

3. What are the approaches that can be used to promote quality in a competency-based system?

This draft paper was prepared in advance of the National Summit on K-12 Competency-Based Education and will be revised based on attendees’ input. CompetencyWorks is hosting the Summit in Denver, Colorado on June 21-23, 2017. The Summit is invitation-only and will convene 100 leading innovators to move the field of competency-based education through the next generation of ideas and actionable outcomes, with a specific focus on equity and diversity. The Summit will tackle 6 issues: equity, policy, quality, meeting kids where they are, identifying emerging issues and revising the working definition of competency education.

Review the other draft Summit papers that explore key issues: 

• An Introduction to the National Summit on K-12 Competency-Based Education
• In Pursuit of Equality: A Framework for Equity Strategies in Personalized, Competency-Based Education
• Meeting Students Where They Are
• Fit for Purpose: Taking the Long View on Systems Change and Policy to Support Competency Education