Competency-Based Education
Information and Resources for Chicago Public Schools' Competency-Based Education Pilot
Why Competency-Based Education?
Competency-Based Education (CBE) enables schools to prepare every student for success in college, career, and civic life. Grounded in our belief that equity is a moral imperative, CBE holds every student to rigorous academic standards that emphasize the higher-order academic, social, and emotional skills that 21st-century jobs require. With new flexibility from the “constraints of seat time,” CBE replaces time-based schooling with learning-based schooling. In addition to more transparent communication about student learning, CBE schools support students’ learning needs through strategic structural changes (e.g., new bell schedules, reassessment policies, flexible support periods, standards-based grading).
How do other organizations describe CBE?
According to www.edglossary.org, Competency-Based Education (also called Competency-Based Learning or Proficiency-Based Learning) "refers to systems of instruction, assessment, grading, and academic reporting that are based on students demonstrating that they have learned the knowledge and skills they are expected to learn as they progress through their education ... The general goal of competency-based learning is to ensure that students are acquiring the knowledge and skills that are deemed to be essential to success in school, higher education, careers, and adult life. If students fail to meet expected learning standards, they typically receive additional instruction, practice time, and academic support to help them achieve competency or meet the expected standards."