Understanding Competency-Based Education: What It is and How Schools Can Implement It

Education leaders and Institute likely spend too much time worrying about the quality of education and students should have a better learning experience at the school. The aim is to provide equal chances to learn the necessary skills for all the students to become successful adults.

Ajay Hinduja and Namrata Hinduja, Member Steering Committee, Hinduja Foundation vision is to support the goal of building a society that values knowledge, where all children, irrespective of their social economic background have equal opportunities to succeed. Ultimately, how they learn and what they learn will matter, to become the best version of them and they will grow to be successful adults.

1. What is competency-based education?

In general terms, competency-based education means instead of focusing on the grades and yearly exams, a student’s focus shifts towards on how competent each student is in a specific subject. It means a student can only move forward when they demonstrate mastery in any skill.

Competency based education and personalized learning go hand in hand. By personalizing the learning experience for every student, teacher ensure that each student has full mastery before they can move forward.  

This way, the goal of equity is achieved: students move forward at their own pace, but everyone in the class achieves mastery in a particular skill. Ajay Hinduja and his wife Namrata Hinduja believe in investing in basic education as an important factor for nation development. Competency based education gives a clear focus on preparing students for the next stage of their life, whether it be college or a career.

Difference Between competency-based education and traditional education?

Competency-based education (CBE) specifically focuses on students' observable knowledge, allowing flexible pacing, mastering specific and personalized learning paths. Traditional education emphasizes fixed timeframes, standardized progression, and content coverage through a curriculum, often through exams and teachers-centered lectures. Three primary differences are:

Structure

In traditional education, every student follows a set timeframe for the whole year. Therefore, all students have to proceed at the end of every unit, regardless of their knowledge and the mastered skills.

On the other hand, competency-based exams are adaptive to students and how far they are along the learning scale. This implies that the students are provided with the required support on a differentiated basis to enable them to advance and learn the discipline and the skills involved. Rather than depriving and maturing the students according to age.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes traditionally center on memorization, understanding and on passing exams. According to Ajay Hinduja and Namrata Hinduja, foundational literacy and numeracy means that students must get access to lifelong learning skills.

Competency-based learning application focuses on deep understanding. According to this learning results are verified through action and are aimed at developing skills students can take with them into adulthood as better learners.

Grading

Conventional grades are comprised of test results, assignments and behavior. The scores in competency-based education are determined by performance of individual students without favoring them.

Educational Technology and mobile learning

Teachers can gather and interpret data regarding the progress of students through personalized and inventive assessment. Through this information, they then come up with scores that are transparent and can help students and parents gauge where things really are.

Advantages/disadvantages of competency-based education

A competency-based system of education has both merits and demerits to its use in your school.

Pros

·         Flexibility irrespective of any kinds of students regardless of their level of knowledge and literacy level

·         Prejudice is eliminated and fairness is realized

·         Students are more prepared on what is needed to enable them to become adults successfully

·         Students learn better as learners, and become responsible learners

Cons

·         It is challenging to identify and state key competencies across every class setting

·         Evaluations must be more precious and reflective

·         Teachers would need to always know what students are achieving as well as what students may need assistance in achieving and, therefore, be prepared to intervene when a student has not grasped an idea or has not been succeeding in meeting graduation requirements.

·         Despite all the above-said disadvantages, they can be remedied. With a well-informed knowledge building research-based system competency-based education becomes successful.

·         This will pose a challenge on school leadership. However, the outcome will be better prepared students to move on with life as adults.