Tag: Colorado

Site Visit Takeaways

May 22, 2013 by

logoAs you may know, ACHIEVE has established a Competency-Based Pathways Work Group to examine how competency education may impact assessment, accountability, graduation requirements, and other state policies.  Working with leaders from ten states, Cory Curl and Anne Bowles are providing tools, research, and analysis so that state policymakers can assess opportunities to support competency education.

Cory and Anne have just completed site visits to Maine, Kentucky, Illinois, and Colorado, and shared their findings during a webinar (inspiring me to think about sharing insights that way rather than the blog….Hmm, what do you think?) Given that others had visited as well, we shared our insights. Here are a few of the highlights:

  • Danville, Kentucky has been getting attention for their project-based learning  (See the show on PBS.) They see the ACT as a meaningful metric for determining college and career readiness and are moving toward improving ACT scores based on the college ready benchmarks.  Their website explains, “Students are considered to be college-ready by meeting specific benchmark scores for each content-area tested by the ACT. EXPLORE and PLAN also provide benchmark scores that tell us whether or not students are on track to meet those important ACT readiness scores. Scores from these assessments are also included in a school and district’s overall score.” They are now in the process of beginning to weave competency education into their work, keeping a strong focus on equity. (more…)

Yes, This Is Definitely Evidence

December 4, 2012 by

from cbsadams50.org

In a previous post I summarized the evidence of competency education making a difference in student achievement and school performance.

Sometimes a picture says a thousand words.  Below is a snapshot of Adams 50 transformation from having seven schools identified as lowest-performing to having zero. ZERO.  Notice the schools in green – those are the highest performing schools that expanded from two to seven schools in three years.

 

 

You can see the image more clearly here. (more…)

Getting Butts Out of Seats and Kids Out of Ruts

October 30, 2012 by

Take a minute to see the Colorado Legacy Foundation‘s incredible video.  It is a vibey, upbeat, inspiring video that sets the direction for next gen learning.

This video says it all. Thanks to CLF for getting it so-right.

The Results are In!

August 28, 2012 by

Time is the Variable. From Adams 50 web

We have all been watching and learning from Adams County School District 50 (Adams 50).  This district, on the outskirts of Denver, embraced competency education with early support of the Reinventing Schools Coalition (the folks who led the way in Chugach, Alaska). They have been staying the course, even with changes in district leadership. They have been staying the course even when they weren’t seeing positive indicators.

And it is paying off — According to the article in the Denver Post, Francis Day Elementary school jumped two levels from turnaround status to performance status. Other positive indicators are that enrollment in the district has started climbing back up and there was no principal turnover this year.  (more…)

Blended Learning and Competency-Based Education Collide in Colorado

June 26, 2012 by

The Donnell-Kay Foundation (DKF), Colorado Department of Education (CDE), and the Colorado Legacy Foundation (CLF) recently hosted a three-part blended learning series. Each part highlighted one component of blended learning: best practices and barriers to implementation, professional development and collaboration, and national policy and next steps for Colorado.

The third session had direct discussions surrounding competency-based education with speakers Utah State Senator Howard Stephenson, and New Hampshire Deputy Commissioner Paul Leather both presenting the progress in their respective states. You can watch the archived webinars and access presentation materials at the Donnell-Kay Foundation’s website.

It may have been a series on blended learning, but it was clear that a competency-based education system is a goal for Colorado. Educators and (more…)

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