12/8/2020 Update from the State Board of Education with several points relevant to International Education, World Language Competency-Based Credit Testing, Seal of Biliteracy, and preparing students to be global citizens. As advocates for International Education broadly, we need to make sure that the Mastery-based Learning Work Group of the State Board of Education is fully aware of the groundbreaking work in this area for Languages and that there is equitable access to earning the State Seal of Biliteracy across the state in all districts for all students.
The legislatively-mandated Mastery-based Learning Work Group has released its 2020 report, showcasing recommendations for implementing mastery-based education in Washington classrooms.
Check out the report’s introductory message on SBE’s latest blog post.
Learn more about why MBL is needed in our state, and find stories from students, educators, and districts in the 2020 report summary, released December 1.
They have a note about definitions in the full report:
COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION OR COMPETENCY-BASED LEARNING
Competency-based education is a similar term to mastery-based learning. The choice of using the term mastery-based learning appears a deliberate choice of the Washington Legislature to emphasize that students advance upon mastery of content. In a mastery-based learning experience, teachers and students might work together to define what mastery looks like. Work Group members and others should be aware that in some other states, the terms “competency-based education” or “competency-based learning” are defined essentially identically to how mastery-based learning is defined in Washington’s legislation. When communicating with people from other states or looking at material from other states, it is important to verify the definition of competency-based learning.
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In the 2020 report summary they also talk about the “Profile of a Graduate.”
Many states and districts throughout the country have developed such a profile that includes cross-curricular skills a student should have developed by the time they complete high school: such as being creative, empathetic, self-directed, collaborative, and a global citizen. [Emphasis ours]
