Level 5 Competency-Based Education Summary

 
“Level 5 addresses the extent to which a school matriculates students based on their demonstrated competence rather than on the amount of time they have spent learning. In other words, students only move to the next level when they have demonstrated competence at the previous level.”

Level 5 has three leading indicators that include:
  • Students move on to advanced, or the next level, curriculum only after they have demonstrated competence at the previous level immediate
  • The school schedule is designed to accommodate students moving at a pace appropriate to their backgrounds and needs
  • Students who demonstrated competency levels greater than the grade-level expectations have immediate opportunities to work on advanced content
 
According to Competency Works, the seven main tenets of CBE are:
  • Students are empowered daily to make important decisions about their learning experiences, how they will create and apply knowledge, and how they will demonstrate their learning.
  • Assessment is a meaningful, positive, and empowering learning experience for students that yields timely, relevant, and actionable evidence.
  • Students receive timely, differentiated support based on their individual learning needs.
  • Students progress based on evidence of mastery, not seat time.
  • Students learn actively using different pathways and varied pacing.
  • Strategies to ensure equity for all students are embedded in the culture, structure, and pedagogy of schools and education systems.
  • Rigorous, common expectations for learning (knowledge, skills, and dispositions) are explicit, transparent, measurable, and transferable.
 
CBE at NYOS Charter School
 
Some things you might see in our NYOS classrooms include:
  • Flexible grouping and small group instruction based on student needs
  • Students learning from multiple teachers
  • Teacher-led minilessons combined with independent practice at the student’s own level and pace
  • Differentiation of content and process, and choices for students
  • Strategic use of technology and blended learning to support personalized instruction
  • Pre-assessments to identify strengths, needs, and the path best suited for learning; ongoing formative assessments to determine progress toward the learning goal; summative assessments to confirm proficiency and measure growth
  • Students giving input into “when” and “how” they will demonstrate proficiency
  • Students monitoring their own progress and growth
  • Students collaborating and celebrating each other’s accomplishments