Large-scale performance assessment programs are a longstanding reform tool. However, standard setting can be a challenge for assessment programs that use primarily non-standardized assessments. The purpose of this paper is to extend this field of research by explaining the standard setting methodology applied to one more recent instantiation of a…

Local comprehensive assessment systems (LCAS) are essential for ensuring equitable learning opportunities for all students. They have the potential to ensure that each and every learner meets high expectations that are set across all content areas. The Vermont Agency of Education held convenings with educational leaders to refine tools and…

Community colleges are well-positioned to provide formal education and early field experiences to Early Childhood Education (ECE) teachers, particularly the non-traditional students who are balancing multiple obligations of family, work, and education. The increasing demand for online coursework formats by community college students has grown…

Student-centered learning encompasses four overlapping and complementary principles (JFF, 2014): competency-based progression, personalization, flexibility in where and when learning takes place, and facilitation of key skills and dispositions such as agency and ownership. To date, few studies have attempted to quantitatively characterize…

Early in the twentieth century, the industrialist Andrew Carnegie established the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching to create a pension system for the nation's college professors. The introduction of this pension system proved an ingenious educational reform. At the time, American higher education was a largely ill-defined…

This document provides guidelines for developing competency-based pathways in Iowa districts and schools and outlines waiver requirements and procedures. Competency-based pathways provide ways to validate learning of standards that occurs outside the structure of the traditional school and offer flexibility for schools to engage students in…

Performance-based learning is one of the keys to cracking open the assumptions that undergird the current educational codes, structures, and practices. By finally moving beyond the traditions of a time-based system, greater customized educational services can flourish, preparing more and more students for college and careers. This proposed policy…

How can schools effectively prepare students for life after high school? With the accountability standards set forth by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), there are many theories regarding standardized testing. Many schools today are adopting the goal of preparing all students for the college or the workplace. This review of current literature…

Although the competency based assessment "movement" has undergone intense examination and much change, the concept of the competent communicator and the difficulties associated with measuring such proficiencies remain. The progression of terminology used in the literature reflects that what began as lists of skills to be tested so that…

The Oregon Proficiency-Based Admission Standards System (PASS) is based on standards that describe the academic skills and knowledge students need to demonstrate for acceptance into any of Oregon's seven public universities. The Oregon University System (OUS) created PASS in 1993 for three reasons: (1) PASS aligns college admissions with Oregon's…

Standards-based systems generally require students to meet the performance level specified in order to proceed or be certified. This issue of the Oregon School Study Council (OSSC) Bulletin surveys the types of standards currently being proposed. After an introductory chapter, chapter 2 describes eight components of standards, illustrated with a…

This material is designed to implement instructional programs from kindergarten through the 12th grade. Competency goals and performance indicators are identified by grade level categories. Goals are defined as the ends toward which a student's learning is directed and performance indicators as reasonable measures of progress. Goals and…

The Adult Learner Competencies Project included literature and consultation with adult education practitioners in Pennsylvania to establish competencies that can be used by all Adult Basic and Literacy Education (ABLE) providers in the state. The lists that were developed through the project, and which form the major part of this document, are…

This framework is designed to help Idaho schools develop their comprehensive health education curriculum and program and formulate realistic goals for themselves and their students. The guide outlines major shifts in emphasis represented by the proposed framework, such as a shift from focusing on separate areas of content to focusing on making…

This handbook, intended for K-12 teachers in Colorado, is a tool to help educators weave academic content standards, assessments, and career development methods into an integrated and comprehensive educational strategy that prepares all students to meet their future goals. The examples contained in the handbook were created to provide a vision of…