FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 30, 2013
CONTACT:
Jaryn Emhof
(850) 391-4090
jaryn@excelined.org
“The Shift from Cohorts to Competency”
An In-Depth Look at Competency-Based Education
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Digital Learning Now! (DLN), in partnership with Getting Smart and the Foundation for Excellence in Education, today released the fourth DLN Smart Series interactive paper. “The Shift From Cohorts to Competency” takes a comprehensive look at the overall shift to competency education and the role of technology to help schools meet the college- and career-readiness goals established by the Common Core State Standards.
“By leveraging the technology available today and moving toward competency-based education, states have the opportunity to build a new system – one that is customized to each student, focused on student learning and designed to meet Common Core State Standards,” said John Bailey, executive director of Digital Learning Now!
This paper discusses the ways in which the shift from cohorts (students grouped by age and grade level) to competency (students moving individually according to demonstrations of proficiency or mastery) can improve student achievement and school performance. The authors discuss 10 new capabilities of a competency-based system, 10 design choices and a number of state policies that support competency education.
Moving to a personalized, competency-based system is the logical evolution from the outdated factory model, and is vital to serving the needs of individual students. The current system holds back students who could be excelling while advancing to the next grade students who haven’t yet mastered the fundamental knowledge and skills necessary to succeed at the next level.
Together, technology and competency education can open the door to endless possibilities for students. Through an ever-expanding set of tools for customized learning, students can experience different ways to learn and benefit from ongoing opportunities to show what they know, regardless of their individual pace and level of proficiency. Furthermore, competency education has the potential to connect learning to students’ interests, drawing them to a higher order of thinking and a deeper learning – ultimately paving the way to college and career readiness for all.
The DLN Smart Series is a collection of interactive white papers aimed at equipping policymakers and education leaders with the necessary tools for transforming education for the digital age. Each paper offers specific guidance regarding the adoption of Common Core State Standards and the shift to personalized digital learning. In 2012, the first three papers in the series were released:
The next paper, scheduled to be released in early February, will explore blended learning models and implementation.
Tell others about the shift to competency:
- Check out the newest paper in the @DigLearningNow #SmartSeries titled “The Shift from Cohorts to Competency” https://bit.ly/WwBTre
- 4th paper in #SmartSeries from @DigLearningNow just released! https://bit.ly/WwBTre
- “We have the opportunity to build a new system!” Check out @DigLearningNow #SmartSeries paper released today https://bit.ly/WwBTre
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Digital Learning Now! is a national campaign under the Foundation for Excellence in Education with the goal of advancing state policies that will create a high-quality digital learning environment to better equip all students with the knowledge and skills to succeed in this 21st-century economy. The policy framework stems from the belief that access to high-quality, customized learning experiences should be available to all students, unbounded by geography or artificial policy constraints.
Getting Smart™ is an advocacy firm passionate about innovations in learning. We help education organizations construct cohesive and forward-thinking strategies for branding, awareness, advancement and communication, and public and media relations. We are advocates for better K-12 education as well as early, post-secondary and informal learning opportunities for all students. We attempt to accelerate and improve the shift to digital learning. On GettingSmart.com we cover important events, trends, products, books, and reports.