Why CBE? Why Now?
The needs of our educational system are changing drastically, as are world demands a knowledge-base and skill set consisting of far more than just regurgitation and passivity. Our schools, built on a “factory model”, have operated in much the same way for over a century. But educators are recognizing that we must prepare students differently for the world they will enter, and that learning as we once knew it will never look the same.
Competency-based learning is at the heart of this new way of learning, as it provides opportunities for students that have never existed before in our schools. In a competency-based system, learning is a true measure of what a student knows and is able to do and teachers work collaboratively in an environment that is both personalized and student-centered. In this model, educators affect change and leverage opportunities for students to have choice and voice in their learning in ways that have never been possible before, but clearly push back against the traditional structures that may constrict these opportunities for student agency.
“Mastery is effective transfer of learning in authentic and worthy performance. Students have mastered a subject when they are fluent, even creative, in using their knowledge, skills, and understanding in key performance challenges and contexts at the heart of that subject, as measured against valid and high standards.”