Students need far more than traditional academic skills to succeed in school, work and civic life. Decades of discussion about the knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviors that facilitate success in the information age have produced consensus that students should learn 21st century competencies. However, many schools struggle to meaningfully…

This guide was developed for PreK-12 leaders interested in exploring innovative approaches to evaluating student learning. Specifically, the authors sought to identify promising practices in evaluating critically important learning outcomes that infrequently get evaluated, such as career readiness skills, social and emotional competencies, and…

This guidance document was created to help support schools as they begin to formulate their plans for re-entry into the 2020-2021 school year. The purpose of this document is not to prescribe what schools should do, but rather what considerations and discussions should happen in schools as they plan to support their students and communities as…

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…

As part of a series dealing with competency-based education, this monograph explores the optimum selection and utilization of instructional activities, materials, and methods. The monograph first discusses the responsibility of the instructor to plan learning activities that reinforce targeted performance competencies, and then presents a…

This booklet, which is intended for vocational educators/trainers in Australia, explains the principles and techniques of competency-based training (CBT). The following topics are discussed in the first 10 sections: the decision to adopt CBT in Australia; the meaning of competency; teaching and learning to become competent (competency standards as…

This paper, on the potential contributions of performance science to education, defines performance and performance science, distinguishes between behavior and performance, presents tactics for presenting instruction, presents tactics for designing training, and outlines how to decide which accomplishments are valuable enough to include in a…

This handbook assists vocational education personnel in planning, organizing, and implementing cooperative education activities. The handbook provides a basis for teachers, supervisors, and administrators in making decisions and standardizing cooperative education activities throughout Kentucky. The handbook's 11 sections are as follows: (1)…

This module, one in a series of 127 performance-based teacher education learning packages, focuses on specific professional competencies of vocational teachers. Based on 380 teacher competencies identified and verified as essential for vocational teachers to meet the needs of special needs students in their classes, this module focuses on…

Training Extension Course (TEC) system, based on individual, performance-oriented achievement, represents a revolution in Army training concepts and practices. It involves using measurable behavioral objectives, criterion-referenced testing, and validated training materials. (JOW)

Merges the following into a model: various writer's refinements to systematic instructional design and development and the author's practical experience. There are four phases: competency identification, overall design, production, and evaluation, each of which is broken into a series of steps for thinking and doing. (Author/JEG)

The importance of active student involvement is stressed in this discussion of a competency-based approach to career exploration. Five steps used in developing a one-semester, eighth-grade business exploration course are presented and described. Methods of teaching such a unit and advantages to this approach are discussed. (CT)

Argues that the concepts of competency and performance must be separated. Contends that a student's actual competency level is not accurately reflected through standard performance measurements. Demonstrates how competency levels might be assessed more accurately through the use of multiple sources of data and innovative assessment programs. (BSR)

A two-day training program is described that may be used by individuals or in preservice or inservice experiences to teach participants the knowledge and skills required to design, develop, and evaluate competency-based career guidance programs in whatever their work setting may be. It is appropriate for all career guidance personnel, including…

Distinctions between performance and learning are made in a discussion of databased instructional planning and decision making for handicapped students. Implications for IEP objectives are noted and the importance of continuous assessment stressed. (CL)