An Emerging Role for Competency Education

This brief discusses competency education from classroom practice to assessment and accountability. KnowledgeWorks suggests that competency-based learning is critical to the achievement of college and career readiness and success among high school students. Yet, despite the emergence of programs and initiatives at the state and district level, barriers to competency-based innovation remain intact as a result of federal policy – specifically with respect to traditional time-based accountability and assessment systems. This brief recommends an appropriate role for the federal government to support competency learning practices, as well as a foundational overview of competency-based education and key considerations for policymakers.