Educational leaders across the country are catching on to the idea that traditional grading practices and standardized tests do not adequately capture the scope of what young people know and can do. These schools and districts are experimenting with new models for assessing learning and communicating results with students and families. This…

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 paper explores how an Alaskan school district shifted from a traditional K-12 education system to a personalized, performance-based system, embedded in the culture of the community, which led to increased student achievement. Chugach School District (CSD) first implemented competency education over twenty years ago, paving the way in…

There are many calls for personalized learning (instruction) (in Germany 'Individuelle Förderung'), especially for persons with special educational needs in the transition to vocational training or retraining. Teachers can find a variety of concepts and instruments to construct personalized learning. The challenge is to combine and to connect…

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…

The article describes a method to link a competency based vocational curriculum that reflects current industry standards with the educational planning components of the Individualized Education Program. Implementations strategies and benefits of the V-TECS (Vocational-Technical Education Consortium of States) are considered. (CL)

Describes a locally developed writing program that includes a diagnostic device for pretesting and posttesting, a writing skills checklist, an individualized educational program format, a series of parent notification letters, and a remediation system involving all staff members. (Author/IRT)

In The Netherlands, a growing number of vocational education and training institutes are implementing competence-based approaches to learning, including new career guidance practices. These practices often involve instruments such as portfolios or personal development plans, and are aimed at supporting students in their search for a sense of…

Describes the requirements mandated on educators by the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (1975) which requires the preparation of an individualized education program (IEP) for handicapped students. Provides three options for instructors using a competency-based vocational education (CBVE) method employing competencies as a part of the…

The text of a conversation with a Florida special education administrator explores such aspects as the skills that are being tested, how standards were derived, the effects of testing on curricula, special diplomas, and the improvement in scores noted in the second year of the testing. (DLS)

Classrooms across the country are discovering the power of service-learning--the ideal way to help students develop social and academic skills while giving back to their community. Now for the first time, there's a practical how-to guide on using serving-learning to promote inclusion and differentiate instruction for students with and without…

The paper describes a mainframe based, locally devised computer-based system that meets the needs of a medium sized district in managing Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for handicapped students. The program produces and stores behaviorally based IEPs tailored to reflect the competency based regular education curriculum in use. The system…

The curriculum guide is designed to aid teachers in developing new curricular options as well as modifying existing components to meet the needs of individual secondary level handicapped learners. Section I, on foundations for secondary programing, addresses the prevailing philosophy regarding education of the handicapped; individualized education…

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)

The handbook reviews Wisconsin's use of the designated vocational instructor (DVI) in providing direct instructional support services for vocational educators and special education students enrolled in vocational education classes. DVIs facilitate cooperative relationships between special and vocational education at the local school level. Eight…