ABSTRACT
There are many models of competency-based education available for study, but there are few examples of fully implemented competency-based crediting in secondary schools. This chapter looks at closely at three models of competency-, or proficiency- or mastery-based crediting: one university model, Western Governors University; one graduate school example, Lerner Medical College; and one secondary school model from abroad, New Zealand’s National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA). For each, students are not awarded credits for completing courses or for “seat-time,” but only for demonstrated competency or mastery in defined areas, or “competencies,” and accordingly, their transcripts document only these types of credits, not courses completed. Each of the three models has strengths and weaknesses which are thoroughly explored, and lessons are derived from these examples, including the importance of portfolios, rubrics and rubric validation, formative assessment, intellectual engagement, mandatory core curriculum requirements, and a focus on the changes to teaching and learning that new crediting and transcript models should entail.
