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Impact of Competency-Based Reporting on Learners and Families
Impact of Competency-Based Reporting on Learners and Families
When asked about grading and assessment at Embark Education, a school with Competency-Based assessment and no points or letter grades, a 7th grader said, "Instead of just grades, we get helpful feedback that we can read, and so can our parents. When I get a ‘Practicing,’ it feels a little disappointing, but I can keep working on it and will be supported.” A 6th grader reflected, "The grades here make me feel ... like you grade on how the person is ... it makes me grow a lot more because some kids learn differently than other kids."
In listening to learners’ experience with assessment, grading and reporting it’s clear that as a society we place a great deal of value on grades, but we rarely examine how those grades are determined and what they actually communicate about young people's knowledge and abilities. The table below contrasts how learners in a traditionally graded system talk about their learning experiences compared to learners in a Competency-Based system free of traditional points and grades:
These comments show a powerful distinction between traditional grading and Competency-Based grading. Each grading paradigm shapes teacher, student, family, and institutional behaviors in both intended and unintended ways.
Learners from Bostonia Global, a high school utilizing feedback and proficiency scores on interdisciplinary competencies rather than points or grades, shared their perspectives about their school’s human-centered assessment approach in a student panel to dozens of school leaders. They described their 1:1 conferences where they bring evidence of competencies to advisors and collaboratively determine proficiency levels. One learner, David, noted, “I know it’s not common to get to advocate for your grades, so I like that.”
In Mineola, elementary learners also advocate for their “grades” through a Badge Book structure that turns standards into earnable badges. You can see in this video the ownership learners have of their growth and continued areas for improvement.
Stories from Alumni
Stories from Alumni
Alumni from Clark Street Community School, that uses the Mastery Transcript, were asked to reflect on their time at Clark Street and its impact on their life today (2024). This is what they shared:
“At Clark Street I learned time management - and really, self- management. This is something I have carried with me throughout my life. There are not the same kinds of syllabi, grades, deadlines that do the work of planning and organizing for you - you have to learn to do this for yourself. Taking ownership of this and building my skills helped me in college and in my working life. The system I designed to manage my learning at CSCS is still the system I use to manage my work and life today.”
Eleanor Koenig graduated from CSCS in 2016 and graduated from Beloit College with a BA in Anthropology. She is currently a manager of publisher relations for Macklin Educational Resources.
“There is something missing from our traditional school systems, you get grades and pass classes, but the system doesn’t ensure that you learn deeply or that you know who you are as a person and as a learner. At Clark Street, I became a learner…The processes at Clark Street have had a huge impact on me and have helped me in all areas of my life; there is truly no border to it. At CSCS, I realized that learning isn’t about getting it right the first time, but it is about organizing your thoughts and ideas, trying something out, and getting specific and focused feedback on what you made. I learned that feedback isn’t a personal attack - it helps me see areas of growth.”
Becky Turk graduated from Clark Street Community School in 2016; she graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Madison in 2021 with a BS in Fine Arts.
'Before coming to Clark Street Community School, Natalie Krogul had some very specific ideas about what it meant to be college ready. “I needed to have this grade point average, and this many extracurriculars, and this score on this standardized test,” she recalls, “I just need to be ‘the best’ and that will make me college-ready.” Throughout her freshman year in a traditional high school, the stress of this self-imposed bar created a running thought pattern: maybe I should join another club, maybe I should take a harder class, maybe I am not doing enough. “It was a really stressful experience and wasn’t making me happy.” Coming to Clark Street changed Natalie’s ideas about what it meant to be college-ready and what she wanted in her education, “The structure removes barriers to authentic learning. The lack of grades is something that scares people, but it actually allows you to learn more, to try things without a penalty of failure. If you try and you are not where you need to be, you just keep working on it.” The structure and community at Clark Street supported Natalie in revising her definition of college-ready, “At CSCS, I was able to think about my future education in a way that would meet my needs. The narrative I had about college totally fell away and became something much more meaningful and authentic. For a long time I was worried about looking impressive to a college, but at a certain point I realized that I get to choose the college that is right for me; they need to impress me a little bit. I had developed a better sense of what I wanted from my education and a lot more confidence in myself.” What was once a somewhat rigid list of must-do items became a highly personalized path to graduation and beyond, “There is so much power in being able to modify your own experience and having a sense of agency from a pretty young age. I was able to graduate and go on to college and into my working life able to articulate what I want to do, to learn, and know what kinds of experiences I want for myself. Having these experiences in high school was rigorous in a way that didn’t feel like checking the boxes.”'
Natalie Krogull graduated from Clark Street Community School in 2016 and graduated from Knox College with a double major in Secondary Education and English with an emphasis on Creative Writing. Natalie is currently a Recruitment and Outreach Coordinator for the University of Wisconsin - Madison School of Pharmacy.
Ultimately, all of these learners have taken ownership of their learning and progress. The Competency-Based assessment, grading and reporting structures in these schools are enabling conditions that support this level of agency and empower learners.
These structures not only empower learners, but also have been shown to support families in better understanding their learners’ strengths and growth areas. One parent at Embark Education reflected on how receiving their child’s first “report card” helped them see how unique teaching, learning and assessment is at Embark:
"When we received our daughter's first ‘report card,’ it really hit us how unique and powerful Embark's competencies genuinely are! Reading the educator's feedback, observations, and reflections on how the competencies show up in our daughter made us realize how much they KNOW our daughter! My partner and I had to read and re-read both the competencies, and it was a lightbulb moment for how learning is different, individualized, and growth-oriented at Embark. After that point, I switched to asking about the competencies instead of asking our daughter the typical "How was your day?" (garnering the typical adolescent response). "Which competency did you shine in today? Which one are you trying to grow? How do you see others (friends, educators, family, community members" demonstrating Embark Competencies"? So they became a language that far exceeded our expectations and a new way for all of us to think about learning!"
As this parent reflected, the structure of assessment, grading and feedback in a Competency-Based paradigm supports conversations about not only what learners are learning, but how they are doing and facilitates meaningful conversations between families, learners, and educators. Consider the following questions that we typically ask students and what is often communicated about what we value. If we shift our language from grades and ranking and sorting as success metrics to questions about learning, and growth, it communicates that the process is valued not just the score.
Research
Research
Beyond these powerful anecdotes, schools have also found that Competency-Based assessment, grading, and reporting structures impact metrics quantitatively. At Building 21’s Lab School, they found that “average competency performance levels predict college persistence about twice as well as SAT scores and Keystone exams do” (Moumoutjis, 2022). Similarly, at Lindsay Unified, after implementing Standards-Based assessment, grading and reporting structures, student’s scores went up significantly on state tests (Levine, 2020). These numbers, coupled with the powerful stories from learners and families, demonstrate the impact that shifting assessment, grading and reporting structures can have on learners.
Communicating with Families
Communicating with Families
It is strongly recommended that an engagement campaign be carefully planned and implemented when designing and beginning implementation of a Competency-Based assessment, grading and reporting structure in order to have the best impact. This includes creating videos, FAQs and guides to share with families and attach to Progress Reports themselves. It also includes hosting family nights and virtual sessions that discuss the new grading and reporting structure and answer questions as they arise.
Below are resources from a variety of schools that have been used to share about these structural shifts with families:
Understanding your Child’s Report Card Guide from Hartford School District
Understanding your Child’s Report Card Guide from Barre City Schools
Understanding the Growth Framework, an FAQ from Bostonia Global
Questions You Can Ask About Our Learner Portfolios, a video from Mineola Schools
Standards Referenced Grading and Report Cards, a video from Kearney School District
International Big Picture Learning Credential Explainer, a video from Big Picture Learning
Now it's time to dive into the key design questions every system must address when designing Competency-Based Assessment, Grading and Reporting Structures
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