Why Competency Learning?
Transforming education from time-based to mastery-based learning that prepares students for real-world success
More than ever, American students see a disconnect between what they learn in school and what they encounter outside of school.
75.2%
of students disagree that teachers make school work relevant and interesting
49%
of high school students are bored every day
1 in 16
seconds a student drops out of school
A straight 'A' student complained school "feels like going to a restaurant and only having one menu item and you have to eat it in a certain way or you fail."
— Wiggins, 2014
Our Framework for Change
A comprehensive approach to competency-based learning across four phases
“All of our mission statements talk about students engaging in authentic, real-world work. But how many students are actually doing it? It becomes an important question to raise: what do we say we do, and what do we actually do? Leah helped us see the ALTmodel as a simple tool that helps not only identify the misalignment, but change it. This is not an addition to the work, this is the work.”
Lori Cummings, Principal of PS 107 in Queens
Our Core Learning Principles
Engagement
Students invest their energy to develop complex ideas and skills through cognitive and metacognitive strategies. True engagement means gaining mastery, not just completing work.
Cognitive Complexity
Students solve authentic problems in non-linear, self-directed ways instead of focusing solely on rote acquisition of facts and skills.
Authenticity
Students create products that are valued outside the school and encounter challenges they’ll face in post-academic environments.
Learning as a Linchpin
In schools, we believe that strategic leverage point is learning. Learning is the linchpin, the most vital element within any school organization. When we get learning right, transformation ripples throughout the entire system.
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Schools and districts often have a common framework for teaching, technology, and even STEM or literacy. But very few have a common, cohesive language to talk about learning. By offering a simple, straightforward lens for learning we help educators understand how to drive deeper learning within student experiences. This unites teachers across content areas and grade levels by providing a consistent, common language for the most fundamental component of our schools.