ABSTRACT
Transforming schools and school systems to competency-based education programs, and competency- or mastery-based crediting and transcripts, is a complex and extended project. This chapter seeks to learn from the experiences of seven schools and districts that have undertaken this kind of school change, including Alaska’s Chugach district, New Zealand’s National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) system, California’s Nueva School, Virginia’s Christchurch School, Vermont’s Putney School, Global Online Academy’s work with School Year Abroad, and California’s Lindsay School District. Seven lessons are drawn from these case studies, including the importance of constituency communication, adult learning and research, cultivating buy-in from faculty and students, cross-district and cross-school collaboration, patience, and iterative design.
