Quality Principles for Competency-Based Education

As one of the five learner-centered elements found in A Transformational Vision for Education in the U.S., competency-based education removes a difficult barrier for learners within the conventional, school-centered paradigm.

Rather than needing to follow an inflexible pace of learning, competency-based learning meets each learner where they are along their individual learning journey. With all the possibilities well-executed, learner-centered competency-based strategies provide, educators across the country have quickly jumped on board. However, as studied by the team at CompetencyWorks, “insufficient attention to quality due to rapid growth and inadequate understanding jeopardizes the potential impact and successful scaling of competency-based education.”

Acknowledging the potential for disruption, CompetencyWorks has published a robust guide laying out the Quality Principles for Competency-Based Education. The publication focuses on 16 principles including Commit to Equity, Activate Student Agency and Ownership, and Invest in Educators as Learners. While exploring the principles for quality competency-based implementation, consider how they interact with other learner-centered elements like open-walled, socially embedded, and personalized, relevant, and contextualized learning.