69´«Ă˝

Competency-Based Learning

Learn more about an instructional model where students work at their own pace to meet specific learning goals or competencies

Explainer

What Is Standards-Based Grading, and How Does It Work?
69´«Ă˝ can retool to make instruction more personalized and student-centered. But grading is a common sticking point.
Assessment K-12 Essentials Forum Making Competency-Based Learning a Reality
Join this free virtual event to hear from educators and experts working to implement competency-based education.
November 7, 2024
Close-up of a teacher's hands grading papers in the classroom.
E+/Getty
Assessment This School Didn't Like Traditional Grades. So It Created Its Own System
Principals at this middle school said the transition to the new system took patience and time.
Alyson Klein, November 5, 2024
6 min read
69´«Ă˝ in the Moonshot Program research and create a presentation on Walt Disney and Elon Musk during class at California Area Elementary School in Coal Center, Pa., on May 16, 2024.
69´«Ă˝ in the Moonshot Program research and create a presentation on Walt Disney and Elon Musk during class at California Area Elementary School in Coal Center, Pa., on May 16, 2024.
Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
Personalized Learning Video VIDEO: Inside a Competency-Based Learning Program Without Grades
This district's competency-based program gives students greater autonomy over their education, providing feedback rather than grades.
Jaclyn Borowski & Alyson Klein, October 10, 2024
1:35
Teaching Spotlight Spotlight on Empowering Educators for Student Success
This Spotlight delves into strategies to empower teachers and equip them with the tools to foster student success.


October 1, 2024
Miles Matheny, left, and Lillian Archilla research and create a presentation on Elon Musk and Walt Disney, respectively, during class at California Area Elementary School in Coal Center, Pa., on May 16, 2024.
Miles Matheny, left, and Lillian Archilla research and create presentations about Elon Musk and Walt Disney, respectively, during class at California Area Elementary School in Coal Center, Pa., on May 16, 2024.
Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
Assessment From Our Research Center What Educators Have to Say About Competency-Based Education
Teachers, principals, and district leaders shared skepticism and optimism for the learning model.
Kevin Bushweller, September 27, 2024
1 min read
A child studying in her at home and is sitting at a desk
Milan Markovic/E+
Personalized Learning From Our Research Center Teachers Want to Know More About Competency-Based Learning. Will They Embrace It?
The learning model still has a long way to go before it's a household name, survey data show. But there's interest in learning more.
Mark Lieberman, September 27, 2024
4 min read
Collage illustration of faceless students  with books and bookbags standing in a group talking with collage pieces of graph paper, the U.S. capitol and other political buildings around them.
Nadia Radic for Education Week
Personalized Learning All States Allow Competency-Based Learning. Will It Become a Reality in 69´«Ă˝?
School districts in every state have the flexibility to adopt competency-based learning, but implementation is easier said than done.
Libby Stanford, September 16, 2024
9 min read
A collage of a faceless student sitting and writing in notebook with stacks of books, math equations, letter grades and numbers all around him.
Nadia Radic for Education Week
Assessment From Our Research Center It's Hard to Shift to Competency-Based Learning. These Strategies Can Help
Educators are interested in the model and supportive of some of its key components, even if largely unfamiliar with the practice.
Mark Lieberman, September 16, 2024
6 min read
A collage of faceless educators with books, chalkboard with equations, an open laptop, math symbols and computer icons all around them.
Nadia Radic for Education Week
Professional Development Teachers Need PD to Make Competency-Based Learning Work. What That Looks Like
Can teachers use microcredentials to become skilled at teaching in a way they probably never experienced as students?
Matthew Stone, September 16, 2024
9 min read
Collage illustration of the backs of two students wearing bookbags and walking over a large computer keyboard with collage pieces like sky, numbers, checkmarks, letters, lines, and shapes.
Nadia Radic for Education Week
Special Report Competency-Based Education: What It Is and How to Pull It Off
Competency-based education can upend more than a century of tradition in K-12 schools. How schools have made it work.
September 16, 2024
From left, Amora Grillo, Mia Naughton, Ally Neil, work on a project in the Moonshot Program at California New Area Elementary School in Coal Center, Pa., on May 16, 2024.
From left, Amora Grillo, Mia Naughton, and Ally Neil work on a project in the Moonshot Program at California Area Elementary School in Coal Center, Pa., on May 16, 2024.
Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
Personalized Learning Inside One District's Experiment With Competency-Based Education
It’s tough to discern what grades and subjects are being taught in the Moonshot classroom. And that's part of the point.
Alyson Klein, September 16, 2024
14 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
College & Workforce Readiness Opinion Can Mastery-Based Learning Replace Seat Time?
Developing better assessments and getting buy-in from practitioners will be key to replacing seat time as a proxy for mastery.
Rick Hess, May 30, 2024
6 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
College & Workforce Readiness Opinion It May Be Time to Retire the Carnegie Unit. Are There Better Measures of Learning?
The Carnegie Foundation popularized seat time as a measure of learning. Now, the organization’s president lays out a new vision.
Rick Hess, May 28, 2024
7 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Assessment Opinion To Replace Skill Mastery for Seat Time, There Are 3 Requirements
Time for learning and student support take on a whole new meaning in the mastery-based learning model.
Rick Hess, January 8, 2024
4 min read