Surveying the Landscape of Competency-Based Education: Promising Practices, Potential Challenges, and Future Directions

• In Event: Promoting Competence-Based Education: Landscape, Assessment, and Practices

Abstract

Objectives

Competency-based education expands the ways that learning can be demonstrated, which may equalize opportunities to develop and demonstrate these critical skills. It is currently limited in practice in the K-12 space, though it has great potential to improve equity and opportunity for all learners by valuing a broader range of experiences and skill sets that can contribute to learners’ success in postsecondary education and the workplace. Conceptually, CBE flips the script on traditional education models, focusing more on what students learn (proficiency in learning outcomes) rather than how much they are taught (seat time, courses taken, grades earned) (Lumina Foundation, 2023). This paper examines the practices and experiences of early adopters in the K-12 space to identify key benefits and challenges as we consider the merits of the approach, and its potential for scalability.

Framework

Bringing CBE into the K-12 space requires a paradigm shift, entailing adaptation of current education systems, with implications for federal and state education standards, dominant pedagogies and teacher training, assessments, learning management systems, and receiving institutions (post-secondary schools, employers). Though more than 10 states have started some variations of CBE based on an initial survey, variations in practice and the early nature of implementation leave key questions, including which competencies and skills should be included in CBE; the experiences of stakeholders (students, teachers, parents, and district/state level leaders and policy-makers); how the CBE is incorporated and integrated with current subject-based based curriculum; what is the role of assessment, how different types of learning, such as in-classroom vs. out-of-school learning can be incorporated and captured to support actionable formative insights. In addition, how can CBE in the K12 section support success in higher education and the workplace? This analysis will address these specific questions as we explore the state-of-the-art in CBE, offering a definitional framework and sharing insights from school districts that are early adopters of the model. We conclude with a discussion of prospects for scalability, and implications for equity.

Methods

This paper utilizes a qualitative case study methodology (Ragin, 1987) wherein school districts serve as individual cases to explore the experiences of early CBE adopters. The study began with key informant interviews with state education leaders (e.g. state superintendents, commissioners of education, and their offices) and document reviews where possible to understand the state contexts for the school districts. From there, the authors identified case study candidates that were considered innovators in their respective states in adopting CBE. Each case includes interviews with district leaders and teachers representing STEM, literacy, and fields, and focus groups with parents.

Significance

This paper privileges the voices of stakeholders in the system, leveraging interview data with key groups (education leaders, teachers, and parents) to identify key barriers and facilitators to the successful implementation of CBE, as well as promising practices. The findings can inform future practices and policies, especially regarding the integration of skills and competencies into disciplinary learning and the use of innovative assessments to help evaluate and guide the successful implementation of CBE.

Authors

• Sara Haviland, Educational Testing Service

• Guangming Ling, Educational Testing Service