Global Best Practices

This tool is a practical, action-oriented self-assessment for secondary schools. It was developed for the New England Secondary School Consortium. The tool grew out of a recognition that national borders no longer define the knowledge, skills, and habits of mind that students need for success, and that New England’s high schools may need assistance reviewing… Read More ›

The Glossary of Education Reform

The Glossary of Education Reform (edglossary.org) is a public, online resource that defines and describes major terms, concepts, and strategies in public-education reform. The Glossary of Education Reform was created to help journalists, parents, and community members-anyone with an interest or investment in our public schools-understand some of the major reform concepts being discussed by… Read More ›

ELO: Beyond Classroom

This website is written for New Hampshire educators who are ready to explore student learning outside the traditional classroom. Here you can find information, tools, and resources to help educators understand what extended learning opportunities (ELOs) are (as defined in New Hampshire), how they work, and and they can be used at schools. This website… Read More ›

Classroom Assessments that Informs Instruction

This paper introduces educators to the concept of assessments that informs classroom instruction. It offers representative formative assessments that elementary, middle, and high school teachers can use in their classrooms to inform their instructional practices. Specifically, the authors illustrate assessments teachers can use before, during, and after instruction that will help them understand their students’ learning… Read More ›

Student Ownership through Transparency

This powerpoint presentation provides an example of how educations at Boston Day and Evening Academy are using an assessment system. The presenters shares on how Boston Day and Evening Academy sift to a competency/proficiency- based system leading to a more engaged student body. Source Organization: Boston Day and Evening Academy

The Learning Edge: Supporting Student Success in a Competency-Based Learning Environment

The Learning Edge: Supporting Student Success in a Competency-Based Learning Environment delves into one of the elements of the definition of competency education: Students receive timely, differentiated support based on their individual learning needs. Understanding how to structure supports is important because learning in a competency-based environment means that students and adults are often on… Read More ›

Spotlight: The Changing State of Assessments

This article addresses how formative assessments support teaching and learning as well as how testing is changing in the common-core era. Additionally, it provides arguments on key factors needed to build high-quality assessments. This is a fee-based resource. Source Organization: Education Week VISIT THE RESOURCE

The Courage to Confront Equity Issues in Competency Education

This article discusses the importance of maintaining conversations about equity as the field moves towards more learner-centered models. It makes compelling arguments for thinking about and working to alleviate five key equity concerns: Keeping students in school Addressing inequity in educational/social capital Balancing personal choices and equity in the transition from high school to life Language as asset… Read More ›

TERC

TERC is an independent, research-based organization dedicated to engaging and inspiring all students through stimulating curricula and programs designed to develop the knowledge and skills they need to ask questions, solve problems, and expand their opportunities. TERC’s mission is to improve mathematics and science education. TERC works at the frontiers of theory and practice to… Read More ›

Competency Education Can Address Readiness Gaps – But Not Alone

­My youngest brother’s senior year of high school—in a public school in New Jersey—was also my first year running a competency-based high school for over-age and under-credited youth in St. Louis. It is hard to describe just how different his experience was compared to my students’. My brother attended one of the best public high… Read More ›

Equity in Competency Education: Realizing the Potential, Overcoming the Obstacles

This second paper of Students at the Center’s Competency Education Research Series examines equity concerns in competency education through the lens of family income, exploring the effects and implications, as well as proposing potential mitigations. Equity is both a central goal and a fundamental value of competency education. Competency-based approaches are designed to promote equity… Read More ›