The goal of this report is to inform schools, families and communities about the potential of personalized learning and empower them with ways to support the shift to student-centered learning. The authors define personalized learning and describe why it matters. They highlight examples of personalized learning in action to show how personalized…

Personalized learning programs are proliferating in schools across the United States, fueled by philanthropic dollars, tech industry lobbying, marketing by third-party vendors, and a policy environment that provides little guidance and few constraints. In this research brief, authors Faith Boninger, Alex Molnar, and Christopher M. Saldaña consider…

The original working definition of competency-based education was developed in 2011 at the National Summit for K-12 Competency-Based Education (Sturgis, Patrick, & Pittenger, 2011). The Summit was hosted by the Aurora Institute (formerly iNACOL) and the Council of Chief State School Officers, with more than 100 education innovators and…

The role of public education has never been more important--it is the bedrock of democracy. The failure to provide an equitable public education that enables equal access to opportunity unravels the American dream. Competency-based education holds promise as a uniquely powerful model for fostering equity, but only if equity is an intentional…

"An International Study in Competency Education: Postcards from Abroad" seeks to highlight components of competency education in international practice, to inform US policymakers and decision makers seeking to implement high-quality competency pathways at the state or local level. Other countries are studying our innovations, and we are…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), enacted in December 2015, presents a historic opportunity for the United States to begin to transform K-12 education toward personalized, student-centered learning. Across the country, state leaders are shifting from a focus on compliance toward continuous improvement and systemic change, in order to support…

This paper provides a scan of the literature to expand the knowledge base for the field of online, blended, and competency-based education. Authors seek to integrate the core ideas of personalized learning, blended learning, competency education, and standards. The goal of the paper is to explain the nuances of key terms used across the field of…

Competency education is attracting significant interest as a promising way to help meet our national priority of ensuring that all young people are ready for college and careers. In competency-based schools, students advance at different rates, based on their ability to demonstrate mastery of learning objectives. Teachers provide customized…

This learning module on performance-based vocational education (PBVE) in South Carolina is one of nine developed for use in training administrators, teachers, and prospective teachers in the utilization of Vocational-Technical Education Consortium of States (V-TECS) catalogs of performance objectives, criterion-referenced measures, and performance…

A review of the literature base on competency-based education (CBE) as it relates to vocational education (competency-based vocational education or CBVE) is presented in this information analysis paper. The following topics are discussed: differences between traditional and competency-based education; growth and breadth of CBVE (including…

What competency-based instruction is and how it can help improve vertical articulation between the curriculum of secondary and postsecondary vocational-technical education programs in Minnesota is the focus of this booklet. Explanation consists of responses to the following questions: (1) What is vertical curriculum articulation? (2) What is…

The Instructional Support System for Occupational Education (ISSOE) project, conducted in New York, focused on (1) review of individualized education systems, (2) selection of appropriate occupational clusters, and (3) development and field testing of a system and materials. A product of the Managing Student Progress series of the ISSOE program,…

The student's manual of this set consists of materials dealing with resume writing and job interview skills needed by individuals enrolled in cosmetology instructor training programs. Addressed in the individual units of the course are the following topics: resumes and employment applications, employment interviews, and preenrollment interviews.…

The student's manual of this set consists of materials dealing with the communication skills needed by individuals studying to become cosmetology instructors. Addressed in the individual units of the course are the following topics: the meaning of the term communication, breakdowns in communication, procedures for avoiding breakdowns in…

These workshop materials consist of a presentation text and an audience handout designed to explain a system whereby trade and industrial education teachers can convert a traditional curriculum guide to a competency-based guide. Covered first are the differences between the traditional and competency-based approaches. The format of a traditional…