(2013-08-14) Is Your Studentcompetent A New Education Yardstick Takes The Measure

Is your student 'competent'? A new education yardstick takes the measure.

Grading at Sanborn Regional High School in Kingston, N.H., is not influenced by some of the more traditional factors, such as turning in homework on time or doing "extra credit." Instead, each class defines a set of about four "competencies" – central concepts and skills – and a student must be proficient in each one to pass. Stellar performance in one can't make up for lack in another.

Students here have multiple opportunities along the way to show teachers what they know: There are quizzes and tests, yes, but also Projects, individual Portfolios, and class performances.

For the unit on World War I, before students have a single lecture or reading assignment, they experience the tangled alliances that helped spark the war

The Simulation takes several class periods and drives home lessons on nationalism, geography, economics, military strategy, and culture, so when the teachers incorporate the facts of World War I, students can take away more than just a string of events

After a pilot program that started in 1997, all of New Hampshire's public high schools were required to tie graduation to competency Assessments by 2008-09.

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