Replacing Seat Time with Competency - Now That's a Good Idea!

In a recent  blog, I mentioned two articles arriving in the same newsletter.  Today I’ll take up the second article “Replace ‘seat time’ with competency, reports says”. 

As must be apparent by now, I am an advocate of proficiency-based education, although these days it has many similar labels such as performance-based or competency-based or standards-based learning.  When I started my advocacy almost 40 years ago, it was hard to get anyone to listen.  Now there is so much is going on in the field of proficiency-based education that I can’t keep up with it.  The news in this article is very exciting!  It discusses a new report “Cracking the Code: Synchronizing Policy and Practice for Performance-Based Learning ” by the International Association for K-12 Online Learning...

Their site describes the report:

“The report sets a policy framework for advancing performance-based learning and builds on recommendations made during the 2011 Competency-Based Learning Summit ...earlier this year. The report recommends that states begin to transform policies from "rigid compliance" to "enabling policies," by offering seat-time waivers or "credit flex" policies that allow for the flexibility to offer competency-based learning in K-12...”

Wow!  That is great!

The Executive Summary says the report’s goal is “to loosen the regulatory environment that is 
handcuffing the administrators and educators who are ready to move toward student-centered, competency-based models of learning.”

 

Click here to continue reading.