It is imperative for policy makers and institutional leaders to commit to expanding high-quality postsecondary pathways that can meet today's students and deliver on the promise of a personally and professionally rewarding career. Competency-based education (CBE) is focused on actual student learning rather than time spent in class or focused on…

Practical aspects of curriculum development, especially that involving multiple authors, often are overlooked, but they are critical to moving a curriculum from concept to finished product. The Ohio 4-H Camping Design Team developed a competency-model-based curriculum for training the state's 4-H teen camp counselors. The team incorporated action…

This paper discusses the nature of higher education business models and how innovation can (or cannot) occur within those models. It explores the stories of educational institutions as they have tried to launch innovative practices, profiling Bellevue University (Nebraska) and Tiffin University (Ohio), schools that tried to build innovative online…

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…

This brief highlights examples of career pathway models funded by TAACCCT [Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training] that were designed for adult students who require accelerated timelines because they are often under pressure to enter or reenter the workforce quickly to support their families. In each of the cases chosen,…

How can states ensure that students who are overage or under-credit (OA/UC) not only graduate high school but are prepared for college or the workforce? Competency-based education (CBE) is one emerging strategy for addressing the needs of at-risk youth. CBE can address the needs of at-risk students because it is personalized to individual…

Focused on educational quality, innovation and opportunity--both within and outside of the traditional system--ExcelinEd advances a broad range of student-centered policy solutions that are successfully: (1) increasing student learning; (2) Readying graduates for college and career; and (3) Advancing equity. This year's annual report highlights…

Students, teachers, and school leaders are seeking flexibility and supports to enable powerful, personalized learning experiences both inside and outside of the traditional classroom. In personalized learning, instruction is tailored to each student's strengths, needs, and interests--including enabling student voice and choice in what, how, when,…

This new district partnership school, slated to open in fall 2015, will serve Columbus, OH students in grades 6-13 in a competency-based, blended learning early college high school model that is focused on both college and career success. The Metro Institute of Technology is designed to solve two problems: (1) capable students may struggle in…

Schools are facing tight budget times that call for doing more with less and finding ways to innovate, increase efficiency and effectiveness, and accelerate reform. At the top of the ideas for increasing productivity is moving ahead with efforts to personalize learning, leaving behind an instructional system modeled on the American factory of the…

A full year of progress in advancing education reform across America is documented in each of the Foundation for Excellence in Education's Annual Reports. The illustrated pages of the 2014 report, provide data-rich updates on Excellence in Education's work to advance student-centered policies in more than 40 states, all aimed at improving learning…

A staff development process, the Basic Skills Articulation Plan (BSAP), has been used by the Franklin County (Ohio) Department of Education to meet state-mandated educational goals. BSAP and its results are summarized. (MT)

In the first decade of the 21st century, the nation, the states, and colleges and universities began to grapple with the challenges of globalization, changing demography, the implications of the digital era, and of a less expansive public sector. Although not a transformative period for higher education, the decade saw significant innovations in…

Ohio's Model Competency-Based Science Program is designed to provide direction for school districts in developing local competency-based science education programs. The model is designed to be used to guide the development of district curriculum. The ultimate purpose of Ohio's Model Competency-Based Science Program is to move Ohio towards the…

In countless surveys, employers, graduate students, academicians, and others continue to list oral and written communication among the most critical skills needed by business students today (Hynes & Bhatia, 1996; Maes, Weldy, & Icenogle, 1997; Plutsky, 1996; Wardrope, 2002). The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)…