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A new report discusses how state leaders in K-12 education are rethinking policies to allow students to advance competency-based approaches that allow any time, everywhere learning for today’s youth.
“We are proposing what amounts to a vital change in current methods of instruction and measurement so that students can move ahead when they demonstrate knowledge,” said Susan Patrick, co-author of the report and president of the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL).
“Unfortunately, many states and school districts are still handcuffed by rigid regulations that prevent them from moving toward the student-centered, performance-based approach,” Patrick said. “This report offers guidance and practical recommendations for state education policymakers.”
Cracking the Code: Synchronizing Policy and Practice for Performance-based Learning,recommends that states begin to transform policies from “rigid compliance” to “enabling policies,” by offering seat-time waivers or “credit flex” policies that allow for the flexibility to offer competency-based learning in K-12 education.
A “comprehensive policy redesign” would require competency-based credits, personalized learning plans, information technology, professional development, and qualitycontrol in support of individual student growth for accountability, while aligning higher education with K-12 competency-based efforts. The report also offers states a number of approaches toward tackling emerging state policy issues in order to speed the transition to a competency-based approach.
Sturgis said, “With state leadership creating the necessary policy conditions to enable children to progress when they have mastered skills, we will finally be able to overcome the inequities of our current education system.”
“Competency-based learning is essential to a future for students in the United States to remain globally competitive, and this transformation in enabling policy must begin at the state level,” said Patrick.
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