Expand Competency-Based Education and Accept Competency-Based Transcripts for College Admissions
The Commission recommends that competency-based education in K-12 and college settings be expanded to compile a portfolio of learners’ skills and competencies that does not rely on seat time or credit hours to demonstrate mastery of in-demand skills and core academic content. The Commission also recommends that institutions of higher education analyze their admissions practices and endeavor to create a path by which a student with a competency-based high school transcript experiences an application process that is similar to a student with a traditional high school transcript.
A competency-based high school or college transcript should validate learners’ proficiency in high-demand, durable skills and academic content standards. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and ETS have partnered to reimagine the assessment of skills learners will need to succeed in the 21st century. In higher education settings and service-year programs, this process may take the form of identifying and promoting microcredentials or badges that could be added to degree paths to validate learners’ competencies. Service-year programs could also develop a competency-based transcript equivalent to document participants’ skills in a format that would be accepted in college admissions processes.
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Related recommendation:
Validate and Demonstrate Essential Knowledge and CompetenciesIn New Hampshire, the Performance Assessment of Competency Education (PACE), which has since transitioned into the Performance Learning and Assessment Consortium for Educators (PLACE), empowers local educators to design performance assessments that align to state academic standards.1 PACE has decreased the frequency of standardized state assessments to just four of the K-12 grade levels and relies on common tasks in each grade and subject to calibrate assessment of learners’ competencies.
Related Promising Practices
Performance Assessment of Competency Education (PACE)
New Hampshire’s PACE is an assessment and accountability system designed to ensure that students achieve critical knowledge and skills.
- NH
- Validate Competencies
- K-12 Educators & Leaders
- Policymakers
Higher education institutions review transcripts from a large variety of domestic and international high schools and colleges to evaluate applicants’ knowledge, skills, and, ultimately, readiness for college and the workforce. Students with a competency-based high school transcript must be empowered to pursue any of the postsecondary paths best suited to them. College admission processes should treat a competency-based high school or college transcript equitably to other transcripts.
Related Promising Practices
New Mexico High School Graduation Requirements
New Mexico’s high school graduation requirements create a more meaningful and personalized high school experience for students.
- NM
- Break Down Silos
- Validate Competencies
- Early Exploration
- K-12 Educators & Leaders
- Policymakers
Nevada’s Competency-Based Learning Program
Nevada’s Competency-Based Learning program empowers each learner to progress toward their individual goals at their own pace.
- NV
- Break Down Silos
- Data Systems
- Durable Skills
- Validate Competencies
- Early Exploration
- K-12 Educators & Leaders
- Policymakers
South Carolina Office of Personalized Learning
South Carolina’s Office of Personalized Learning is a student-centered approach where students are true partners in the learning process.
- SC
- Validate Competencies
- K-12 Educators & Leaders
- Policymakers
Endnotes
- 1
New Hampshire Department of Education, “Performance Assessment of Competency Education,” https://www.education.nh.gov/who-we-are/division-of-learner
-support/bureau-of-instructional-support/performance
-assessment-competency-education.
