{"id":3955,"date":"2016-09-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-09-30T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/blog\/cw_post\/laying-the-groundwork-for-proficiency-based-learning-in-rhode-island\/"},"modified":"2020-02-05T12:58:27","modified_gmt":"2020-02-05T17:58:27","slug":"laying-the-groundwork-for-proficiency-based-learning-in-rhode-island","status":"publish","type":"cw_post","link":"https:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/cw_post\/laying-the-groundwork-for-proficiency-based-learning-in-rhode-island\/","title":{"rendered":"Laying the Groundwork for Proficiency-Based Learning in Rhode Island"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"RI<\/em><\/p>\n

This post was previously released and has been updated as Rhode Island moves towards a revised set of state policies to guide their Diploma System.\u00a0<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n

Thanks to Lori McEwen, Chief of Instruction, Leadership and Equity at Providence Public Schools<\/a> and Dana Borrelli-Murray, Executive Director, Highlander Institute<\/a> <\/em>for talking with me about how personalized learning, blended learning, and proficiency-based learning are advancing in Rhode Island. <\/em><\/p>\n

There is a lot happening in Rhode Island regarding education. The communities in Rhode Island seem to be bustling with discussions about how to improve their schools, with much of it focused on personalized learning and blended learning catalyzed by the Highlander Institute<\/a>. Much less so on how to create proficiency-based systems.<\/p>\n

Rhode Island is an interesting case study as it has a thick policy foundation for a proficiency-based diploma and secondary school practices to support personalization, yet I couldn’t find any districts that were committed to creating a K12 proficiency-based system. There are certainly sparks of proficiency-based innovation in Rhode Island. For example, the Met, one of the early models of highly personalized competency-based learning, started in Providence. Blackstone Academy<\/a> and Blackstone Valley Prep<\/a> are both proficiency-based, from what I understand. Cumberland High School<\/a> has made incredible progress by starting with the goal of creating a standards-based grading reporting system and then using it to put all the important pieces in place to ensure consistency and transparency. There are also efforts of after-school programs to use competency-based models to create credit-bearing opportunities outside of school as well as Big Picture Learning\u2019s College Unbound. (It\u2019s possible I just didn\u2019t tap into the right networks. Please, if you are a school in RI converting to a proficiency-based system, let us know.) From what I can tell, this suggests that those districts and schools that want to become proficiency-based can within the state policy context.<\/p>\n

Certainly, over the past twenty years, the state has been a leader in establishing a set of policies that support a proficiency-based system. These policies have now been re-organized into a set of regulations called the Diploma System, which emphasizes proficiency and personalization. However, few districts are taking advantage of this…yet. My guess is that we are on the verge of seeing districts in RI begin to realize that they can\u2019t get all their students to graduation-levels of proficiency without increasing the personalization of their schools (focusing on what students need to succeed, not just digitalized content) and converting to a proficiency-based system that helps them monitor proficiency, progress, and pace of their students. (See the story of Connecticut<\/a>, in which superintendents are the leaders in the effort to introduce personalized, competency-based systems of education.)<\/p>\n

Strategic Plan<\/h3>\n

The Board of Education approved a new strategic plan in 2015<\/a> based on the input of 11,000 people in surveys and thirteen meetings held across the state. Truly, this approach to engagement in shaping strategic plans needs to be considered by every state from now on. This is especially important with ESSA opening up the door for communities and states to move beyond the rhetoric of \u201ccollege and career ready\u201d and set the vision for what they really want for their students. If we get this right, then we can demand that the policies, including assessment and accountability, are aligned around them. If you think other things than reading and math are important, now is the time to reboot our state policies to think about children wholistically.<\/p>\n

The vision is for a RI graduate<\/a> to be well prepared for postsecondary education, work, and life. He or she can think critically and collaboratively and can act as a creative, self-motivated, culturally competent learner and citizen. <\/em>The values driving the vision are equity, support, diversity (culture and different bases of knowledge), autonomy, preparedness, personalization, and safety. The priorities are: Teacher and Leader Support; Early Childhood Education; Personalized Learning Statewide; Globally Competent Graduates; Informed Instructional Decision Making; and Student-Centered Resource Investment.<\/p>\n

In the plan, personalized learning<\/em> emphasizes digital approaches to personalizing, while globally competent graduates<\/em> emphasizes social emotional wellness, cultural competency, and dual languages. There is mention in the section on personalized learning that progress will be made base on \u201cdemonstrated mastery\u201d and a reference that educators can use a blended, proficiency-based approach. I wouldn\u2019t expect ideas that develop from community members to include competency-based education unless they had seen it in action. It is primarily an educator-led movement.<\/p>\n

The Diploma System<\/a><\/h3>\n

Since 2003, Rhode Island has put into place many policies that are needed in an aligned comprehensive competency-based system. In 2015, the Council on Elementary and Secondary Education 2015 Secondary Regulations<\/a> created a framework that makes up the new Diploma System<\/a>, including proficiency-based graduation requirements, multiple pathways, individualized learning plans, multiple opportunities, and multiple measures to determine proficiency.<\/p>\n

According to the RIDE website, the concepts of proficiency and personalization permeate the Regulations:<\/p>\n

(1) All students must attain an acceptable level of academic achievement in each of the six core academic areas, integrated with applied learning skills in order to be successful in college and careers; and<\/p>\n

(2) Effective instructional delivery demands an understanding of the needs of each individual student and supports that will help students attain at least the minimum level of proficiency.<\/p>\n

Much of this system is left to the districts to develop. State graduation requirements are:<\/p>\n