A Different Way to Learn, Part 2

More on competency-based learning.

Recently, EducationWeek published an article titled “What Educators Have to Say About Competency-Based Education.” The educators’ remarks are mixed – some positive, some negative – but overall one has to wonder, based upon these comments, if competency-based education can ever replace “seat time” within our traditional K-12 public school system.

The article begins,

“Competency-based education, proficiency-based learning, mastery-based learning, personalized learning, student-centered education, and standards-based education are all terms that refer to the same instructional model: one in which students make choices about how they learn and demonstrate their knowledge, learn at a pace that might differ from their classmates’, receive individualized support based on their needs, and progress based on their mastery of course material instead of seat time.”

Here are the topics the educators were asked to respond to, and a collection of their responses:

Competency-based learning is an update for an ‘on-demand world

“We have undergone a districtwide transition to standards-based grading and reporting over the last five years. Grades better reflect what students know, and students and parents can see which learning targets students have mastered and on which target students need intervention.” – High School Principal/Arizona

“We have just begun to explore the idea of demonstrating proficiency rather than seat time. The struggle we have found is changing mindsets about grades and then how does this affect scholarships, valedictorians, etc.?” – District-Level Administrator/Arkansas

“I truly believe that elementary school should be based on skills-based learning and students should not have grade levels. I wrote many papers about this. Then you wouldn’t have high school students who can’t read, write, or do arithmetic.” – High School Teacher (social studies/humanities/civics/history)/Nevada

“The U.S. needs educational reform. For decades, I have seen many costly programs implemented, high-stakes testing mandatory, and other changes. Not many have had a great impact. I believe competency-based education is worth a try.” – Middle School Teacher (English/language arts/literacy/reading)/West Viriginia

Schools can adjust pedagogy, but students have to attend

“I’m not sure I understand why the concept of mastery has to be disconnected from grades. Couldn’t grades be driven by mastery? I think grades are important data assuming used correctly – i.e. to reflect skills acquisition and true mastery – and not inflated to please students and parents.” – District-Level Administrator (finance/business operations)/California

“This competency-based education model is utter BS. No deadlines, endless retakes. We are not teaching them habits of life after school.” – High School Teacher (social studies/humanities/civics/history)/Colorado

“We can adjust pedagogical styles, types, and approaches continually, but unless we require students to actually attend school, we will be unsuccessful. I teach about 125 students per day, and absences average 10-12 per day. I am constantly giving, collecting, and grading makeup work. It doesn’t matter what or how I teach if students aren’t here to learn.” – High School Teacher (English/language arts/literacy/reading)/Florida

Grading needs to change, but change requires sound implementation

“As teachers, we know how broken the grading system is and would much prefer ways to give feedback and show proficiency over giving an arbitrary B – when, what does a B actually mean?” – High School Teacher (fine arts) / Idaho

“I think standards-based grading is a great idea, but if it’s not implemented smoothly, it could be a disaster.” – Middle School Teacher (special education)/Illinois

“My school is currently utilizing standards-based grading. Our students have no motivation to do any of the work because they don’t see any value in it. The amount of students who don’t try at all has increased since we have instituted the change. Parents do not understand our grading system and because of that they don’t push their child to do better. I want to have a place where students learn what they want and at their own pace but based on what I am currently seeing in the classroom, I’m not sure it is possible.” – Middle School Teacher (science)/Michigan

The traditional structures in place make it hard to adopt competency-based learning

“Seat time is an outdated concept. So much time is just burned for no purpose (last several days of the year, time after standardized exams like AP, busy work rather than applied learning.)” – High School Teacher (English/language arts/literacy/reading)/Massachusetts

“Years ago, the school that I was working at tried switching over to a mastery-learning approach. We had some setbacks due to the way grades are calculated for end-of-year reports. Even though we attempted to move away from numbers grading, in the end we had to convert final grades to a number-based system. There were a lot of factors outside of our control in relation to moving forward with mastery-based competencies. In addition, parents and students still wanted a final numeric grade. They were not as concerned about mastering a given topic.” – High School Principal/North Carolina

“The consistency of teaching to learn the subject and move on is great in theory but a scheduling nightmare in high school. If they pass Algebra 1 in six weeks instead of nine, would they move on to geometry but with their Algebra 1 teachers?” – High School Teacher (physical education/health)/South Carolina

Districts have tried adopting competency-based learning

“Our district leaders did once have a great deal of support for standards-based grading. They even implemented it in several schools. Teachers and students seemed to thrive but parents were not happy as it did not allow the traditional way for the school to track the upper students’ grades for college admission, scholarships, etc.” – District Level Administrator (curriculum and instruction)/Texas

If you were a betting person, based on the responses above, would you put money on our traditional K-12 public school system that they could implement competency-based learning on a large scale?

I would advise you to keep your money in your pocket.

No, if young learners are going to benefit from a competency-based system, where those young learners can define, plan, executive, and evaluate their own learning, then a new type of learning organization, one that is already around, must scale to the extent that it can compete for increased enrollment compared to its traditional rival.

It’s just not going to happen in our current public school system.

Til tomorrow. SVB