Competency-Based Education in Three Pilot Programs: What It Is, How It's Implemented, and How It's Working

Competency-Based Education: Examining Educators’ Experiences

“…Some research has suggested that CBE programs may be subject to inconsistent implementationsome components of CBE may be implemented, while others are negatedwhich could impact how CBE outcomes are interpreted. One recent study suggested that student curricular choice and personalized pacing, both key attributes of CBE systems, were not consistently implemented in schools piloting CBE (Steele et al, 2018). Though the educators in the study expressed commitment to a CBE model, ultimately, some key aspects of CBE in the classroom were not implemented.…”

“…Additionally, instead of emphasizing summative assessments administered at the same time for all students to document what they know, CBE utilizes flexibly timed assessments to account for differences in student progress toward learning targets. Completed assessments are analyzed by teachers in order to differentiate instruction to help students meet subsequent learning targets (Steele et al, 2018;Sturgis & Casey, 2018;Twyman, 2014). Through this kind of data-driven instruction, CBE is intended to support teachers in offering clear feedback, and support students in gaining the agency to take responsibility for their learning (Sturgis & Casey, 2018).…”

“…Further, uniform progression is deemphasized, in favor of a more personalized approach to instructional design. However, the concepts of personalization and competency are both open to interpretation (Steele et al, 2018) and have not been adequately defined in the literature. While it may seem like a semantic issue, ambiguity around what competency means could exacerbate achievement gaps if it is defined less rigorously for low-income students or students of color than it is for other students (Achieve, 2016).…”

“…Although proponents of CBE assert that grades should only reflect cognitive performance (e.g., Brookhart, 2011), this component of the model has sometimes proven difficult for teachers to enact because they do not always agree that grading should not include non-cognitive factors. For example, in a two-year mixed methods study of CBE focused on implementation, student experiences, and student outcomes, researchers found that educators in CBE systems were upset that effort was not considered an appropriate grading criterion (Steele et al, 2018). Similarly, using a survey of 315 teachers, another study found that educators in standards-based grading systems used grades not to measure cognitive ability, but to teach social lessons about late work as preparation for the workplace (Tierney, Simon, & Charland, 2011).…”

“…On the whole, there is limited research on CBE in K-12 contexts. Existing research has indicated various challenges associated with implementation (e.g., Sullivan & Downey, 2015), and has shown mixed results for student outcomes in CBE models (e.g., Steele et al, 2018).…”