Instructional time policy is critical to education service delivery because it sets minimum, and sometimes maximum, requirements for learning time. Each state defines instructional time differently, and states have varying requirements in policy. Education Commission of the States (ECS) has released three papers that provide an easy reference for top-level information on instructional time, including Read more about Instructional Time Policy 101[…]
It sounds simple—make sure students are learning. But as more schools and districts begin to develop competency-based pathways, questions have arisen about the best way to go about implementing these models. Complexities related to student grouping, curriculum design, scheduling, assessment, and grading abound. In this month’s issue brief, we explore various resources, research reports, and Read more about March Issue Brief: Competency- Based Learning[…]
The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has released the results of its two-year study of the influential, longstanding Carnegie Unit and its impact on education reform in K-12 and higher education. The Carnegie Unit: A Century-Old Standard in a Changing Education Landscape, authored by Carnegie’s Elena Silva, Thomas Toch, and Taylor White, describes Read more about The Carnegie Unit: A Century-Old Standard in a Changing Education Landscape[…]
Competency-based education (CBE), in which credit is provided on the basis of student learning rather than credit or clock hours, is starting to gain traction with educators and policymakers. CBE programs are often touted as a far more affordable route to college credit and a degree, but these claims often fail to account for assessment Read more about The landscape of competency-based education: Enrollments, demographics, and affordability[…]
Since 1906, the Carnegie Unit, or credit hour/student hour, has been the standard unit by which student progress and mastery in American secondary schools and colleges have been measured. The Carnegie Unit was originally created in 1906 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as a means by which professors could argue for Read more about Re-thinking the credit hour?[…]