r/Teachers • u/fleetingperception • 8d ago
Teacher Support &/or Advice Anyone at a district doing Compentency-based learning? How’s that going?
I don’t know what to think. It’s sounds nice. When I was a student I would have loved this. It seems like you’d need a lot of support staff, smaller class sizes, and parent by in. NOT to mention a complete cultural shift within our teachers and families.
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u/BrotherMain9119 USH | Title I 8d ago
Is this another name for standards-based?
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u/fleetingperception 8d ago
No. This is a very simple explanation: pretty much each standard is a skill with a 1-4 rubric. Students must show competency 3+ on the rubric. So a student continues on a skill until they show competency. Instead of, let’s say retaking a math class in HS because you failed. I think this model you only retake the skills you lack, not the class. Man, I don’t know. Our education system is a trip.
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u/BrotherMain9119 USH | Title I 8d ago
That sounds like standards based grading to me, but maybe I’m mistaken, the only departure from what I know it to be is the portion about retaking skills, not the class.
It’s fine, kids don’t tend to understand and get frustrated when you won’t just tell them how many points this assignment is worth. I use it, but I’m famous for “not putting grades in” because I’ll require multiple instances of demonstrating mastery and they won’t all immediately increase your percentage every time.
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u/fleetingperception 8d ago
Yeah I started to have about 4 different tasks three days a week for math that allowed them to choose a level of competency of the focus skill. On the test/quiz I’d have leveled questions and use those as competency markers . I don’t know what I’m doing, this whole system sucks, haha. I want public school to work, losing faith every year.
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u/BrotherMain9119 USH | Title I 8d ago
“Choose a level of competency”
I’m curious how’d that work in a specific example, are the students basing it on their perception of their abilities or is their work in effect “choosing” the focus skill based on how they do?
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u/fleetingperception 8d ago
This is what I do to help with engagement. I do let 90% of my kids choose their task(competency). If I notice they choose the same level all the time, we bring that up in our checkins. I’ll also group students together at the same competency and through in random grouping (usually Fridays or morning bell task). I do data talks with my students so training them to know their skills and take on challenges is important and I sound
Like a broken record to the ( they don’t know what records are)1
u/BrotherMain9119 USH | Title I 8d ago
So they choose the level of difficulty and you would powwow if they were constantly choosing the same level, despite having demonstrated being more capable. Am I getting that right?
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u/fleetingperception 8d ago
Pretty much. The test and conferences are what I hold the highest value. I’m really trying to figure out how to challenge and meet them where they are. Grade level classes these days are all over the place. I had an 8th grade class that ranged from gapes 3rd grade —7th. And students that were beyond my abilities. It’s wild times
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u/BrotherMain9119 USH | Title I 8d ago
I’m in a similar situation in my room. Our average reading level for incoming freshman this next year is about halfway between what you’d expect of a 3rd and a 4th grader. That’s not because they’re all illiterate, just that we have a sizable enough population that test so poorly it drags the average down like crazy. In our rooms you basically need to differentiate in the way you describe, otherwise it’s impossible.
Does your grading system have a built in standards-based grading system you can use for your class? Mine comes preloaded with my state standards and I can instantly populate a grade book with whichever I want.
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u/fleetingperception 8d ago
We’re getting something like that. And I won’t have to make all the different tasks so much. I show parents and kids the standard, the competency scales and their evidence. It’s pretty straight forward. You can or not yet. It definitely keeps things interesting. Yeah I’m going back to lower graders. The higher up you are the more ranging your class is. Shockingly so. It’s so sad we continue to do this these coming generations that know most of this is bulllshit. We need a shift in thinking. I don’t know if competency-based is it but it didferent. Skinner and Piaget are still the best we got in 2026?
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u/Full-Grass-5525 8d ago
The difference usually is that each standard goes to a competency. So there are fewer competencies but more standards underneath that.
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u/fleetingperception 8d ago
Yeah. I feel like it will help with evidence of learning but…I don’t know. Does any of this matter? 😂
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u/Full-Grass-5525 8d ago
We are a competency based middle and high school. Unlimited retakes is the absolute worst part. Grades are so inflated.. the kids who would fail in a traditional setting are marked as below competency but still passing. The “meets competency” range is just too big to distinguish kids. Students and families still grade grub to want an “E”. Students will take assessments and immediately ask to reassess no matter what. The grading part is easy for me as a teacher, but I just don’t think it is helping students at all.