N.H. Schools Embrace Competency-Based Learning

Learning is 'anytime, anywhere'

Brittany Rollins is hanging out a lot at the local animal shelter this year. Delving into the issue of pet euthanasia and writing about it will help her earn English/language arts credits toward graduation.

The 17-year-old senior at Newfound Regional High School, in the rural central New Hampshire town of Bristol, is part of one of the most aggressive statewide efforts in the country to embrace competency-based learning. In New Hampshire, this means saying that accomplishment doesn't depend on how long students are in their seats, but whether they can demonstrate that they know their stuff.

It means letting students learn academic content in new ways. It means agreeing on what constitutes mastery, and holding all students to it, instead of letting some earn diplomas with weak skills. It means figuring out multifaceted ways for students to show what they know, and, ideally, it means letting them progress toward mastery at their own pace.

"Newfound is a school that is really pushing ahead on this," said Chris Sturgis, the founder of MetisNet, a Santa Fe, N.M.-based organization that consults with foundations nationally on education issues, including competency-based learning.

Embracing that approach fully, however, can be tough because it challenges such basic systems as testing and grading. Brittany Rollins' experience at Newfound Regional illustrates both how far New Hampshire has come in shaking off traditional conceptions of time-based learning, and also how far it still has to go.

'Anytime, Anywhere'

Brittany's off-campus work in an "extended learning opportunity" reflects the state's emphasis on three related ideas: "anytime, anywhere" learning, which includes out-of-school and virtual programs; personalized education, which strives to tailor studies to students' needs and interests; and competency-based learning.

New Hampshire began by piloting competency-based approaches a decade ago. But in 2005, the state gave districts a deadline: By the 2008-09 school year, high schools would have to award credit based not on seat time, but on demonstrated mastery of course-level "competencies"—the bundles of skills and knowledge that districts specify to reflect state curriculum frameworks.

New Hampshire has gone further than most states in forging the policies to enable such an approach. For instance, a few states allow districts the option of awarding credit for demonstrated proficiency rather than seat time. New Hampshire is the only state that requires districts to do so, though some districts have yet to make that change.

In Brittany's case, she'll be able to demonstrate mastery of her subject matter on her own timetable. She'll prove her knowledge and skills piece by piece, in a variety of ways, as she masters them.

She says the obligation to demonstrate proficiency in new ways has unleashed an enthusiasm she doesn't often experience in classrooms.

"I'm good at creative writing, but not as good when it comes to getting the facts, so this project is a challenge," Brittany said. "But I like setting it all up myself. And I'm so interested in this subject that I can write more easily about it. It's much better for me than having a teacher stand in front of me and tell me what to do."

Brittany has to conduct in-depth research, produce articles and papers, keep a journal documenting her process, and present her work to a panel of educators and community members this spring. It's part of New Hampshire's move toward performance assessments that gauge not only content knowledge but crosscutting skills such as building an argument and making oral presentations.

The fact that Brittany is parceling out pieces of the English/language arts assessment ...

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