VIENNA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Priority actions to accelerate the transformation of the nation’s K-12 educational system to one that is competency-based are captured in a new report released today by the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) titled, It’s Not a Matter of Time: Highlights from the 2011 Competency-Based Learning Summit, by Chris Sturgis, Susan Patrick and Linda Pittenger.
The first-ever Competency-based Learning Summit, organized jointly by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and iNACOL, discussed how the nation could make a major transformation in dramatically increasing opportunities for student learning through competency-based approaches. Guidance from the summit, held in Denver in March 2011, and highlights from innovators in the field are captured in the report available at www.inacol.org.
“This Summit marked the first time that competency-based innovators and policy leaders had convened to share their expertise, knowledge and vision, toward broader goals of re-engineering education around competency-based learning. They all shared a dynamic vision of how we can transform our education system so that all students can accelerate their learning. Competency-based learning benefits the highest achieving students who are bored as well as students with significant gaps in their education that are at risk of disengaging from school,” said Chris Sturgis, co-author of the report and principal at MetisNet.
The report provides an update to the literature by increasing understanding of current innovations and competency-based learning models, sharing the knowledge base of policy and practice, building a common working definition of competency-based learning, and enhancing the strategies across and among innovators and policy leaders moving forward. The report provides a common working definition that can overcome the multiple phrases to describe competency-based learning.
“Competency-based learning allows students to move at their own pace and embrace their passions when gaining the academic knowledge and skills they will need to be successful and globally competitive,” said Susan Patrick, president and CEO of iNACOL.
Leaders of key states and districts where competency-based learning is already underway, from New Hampshire to Oregon and Alabama to New York City, provided updates on their progress. All agreed that states must create space for organic development and expansion of innovations.
Co-author of the report, Linda Pittenger, of CCSSO stated, “Many states are moving toward performance-based learning policies as a way to personalize learning at scale. As states develop these next generation learning models, we are witnessing a fundamental shift among education leaders from a focus on improving schooling to a focus on ensuring that every child has access to high-quality learning. States are recognizing the critical importance of putting student voice and agency at the center of the learning process.”
The summit identified five priority action areas for innovators and policy leaders to support competency-based learning in the next year:
- Create innovation space for competency-based and next-generation learning in every policy and initiative.
- Rethink accountability models from the ground up, focusing on individual student growth.
- Architect information systems to address competency-based learning pathways and data for every student’s individual growth.
- Ensure that traditionally underserved students benefit from the new competency-based learning models to avoid replicating the inequities of the current educational system.
- Focus on student learning to drive all decisions, ensuring a re-engineering of the education system around students.
Patrick said, “Since the early 1990s, education leaders in the United States have recognized that our students are ‘prisoners of time’. With more than 4 million students taking online courses and many more ready to embrace new personalized learning models using technology, there’s no reason that we should keep all students lock-step based on a factory-era bell schedule with a textbook.”
“Students are finding it very hard to understand why they can’t move ahead when ready – and the current practices of K-12 education policy rooted in seat-time for awarding academic credit are now out-of-date. We could be providing personalized learning at any time and any place,” Patrick added.
Copies of the full report are available at www.inacol.org.
About iNACOL
iNACOL is the International Association for K-12 Online Learning, a non-profit 501(c)(3) membership association based in the Washington, DC area with more than 3,800 members. iNACOL is unique in that its members represent a diverse cross-section of K-12 education from school districts, charter schools, state education agencies, non-profit organizations, colleges, universities and research institutions, corporate entities and other content and technology providers (www.inacol.org). iNACOL hosts the annual Virtual School Symposium (VSS). VSS 2011 is being held Nov. 9 - 11, 2011 in Indianapolis, IN (www.virtualschoolsymposium.org).