Running head: COMPETENCY BASED EDUCATION: DIFFERENCES FROM THE

TRADITIONAL EDUCATION SYSTEM AND ITS CHALLENGES

Competency Based Education: Differences from the Traditional Education System and its

Challenges

Megan Wendlick

Eastern Illinois University

COMPETENCY BASED EDUCATION: DIFFERENCES FROM THE TRADITIONAL
EDUCATION SYSTEM AND ITS CHALLENGES 1
Competency Based Education: Differences from the Traditional Education System and its

Challenges

Competency-based education (CBE) is a system based on observable behavior and

educational objectives (Morcke et al., 2013). The objectives, or competencies, are clearly

presented at the very beginning of each course, and the curriculum is designed based on

mastering these objectives (Barman et al., 2013). Some of the goals of CBE include: “tolerance

of ambiguity, agility in the face of complexity, habits of mind such as curiosity, innovation, and

a commitment to lifelong learning” (Morcke et al., 2013, p. 855). In the CBE system, students

learn at their own pace, and it allows them to earn credit for courses by demonstrating what they

learned rather than the time spent in class (McClarty & Gaertner, 2015). Students are not entered

in a grade level based on their age. Instead, their level is based on factors such as “their

development, social emotional skills and academic foundations” (Sturgis, 2018, p. 3). Also, this

system is designed to prepare students for their futures by teaching them ways to apply their

academic knowledge to real world situations.

There are a few different ways of assessing students in CPE. According to McClarty and

Geartner (2015, p. 4), “CPE assessment can take a variety of formats: objectively scored

assessments (for example, those with multiple-choice or true-false questions), performance based

assessments (for example, those including essays, group projects, or simulated environments),

and real-world observations (for example, preservice teachers in the classroom)”. Through these

formats, teachers must gather evidence that the students are mastering each objective. These

evidences are based on test content, response processes (thoughts and behaviors required to

complete an assessment), and internal structure (how the content in the assessment relates to

each other)” (McClarty & Gaertner, 2015, pp. 6-8). In CBE, students only take summative
COMPETENCY BASED EDUCATION: DIFFERENCES FROM THE TRADITIONAL
EDUCATION SYSTEM AND ITS CHALLENGES 2
assessments when they show evidence that they have mastered the objectives (Sturgis, 2018). In

some cases, students have the freedom to choose the way they are assessed. For example, they

can choose to complete multiple small projects that assess one competency, or they can choose to

complete one large project that assesses multiple competencies (McClarty & Gaertner, 2015).

This way, students can learn in a way that better suits their learning styles.

More schools are moving to the CBE system for many reasons. According to McClarty &

Gaertner (2015) studies in Minnesota and Nebraska revealed more success in student

performance and satisfaction in a CBE system. McClarty & Gaertner (2015 p. 12) also state that

“[CBE] would allow graduates to clearly describe (and provide evidence for) the knowledge,

skills, and abilities they demonstrated to earn their degree”. Leaders in CPE aim to fix certain

flaws of the traditional education system, such as how students are treated unequally. According

to Sturgis (2018, p. 2), “Traditional systems often emphasize order and compliance, manifesting

in school disciplinary policies that exclude students, disproportionately impact students of color

and contribute to students feeling that they do not belong. Competency-based schools create

cultures that emphasize growth, inclusion and empowerment for students and adults”. The CBE

system makes sure that all students learn the objectives and that no student is left behind.

How CBE is Different Than the Traditional Classroom Model

In CBE classrooms, the role of the teacher changes in many ways. The teacher is much

more involved in the learning process of individual students. Because of the “success for all”

policy, teachers must discover what teaching methods work best for each student. They also must

know where they are at in the learning process at all times. Teachers must work closely with

students and provide feedback to ensure they are mastering the competencies. In a traditional

classroom, teachers teach at the same pace and teach every student in the same way. Students are
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EDUCATION SYSTEM AND ITS CHALLENGES 3
all assigned the same amount of work, and they often do not have the opportunity to revise their

work. They move on to the next subject even if they are not yet proficient in the material. This is

different than the CBE system where students can only move on if they are ready.

Assessment in the CBE system is very different than assessment in the traditional

education system. According to Sturgis (2018, p. 3), “Traditional systems place heavy emphasis

on summative assessment, much of which emphasizes the lower portion of Bloom’s taxonomy:

memorization, comprehension and application. All students take grade-level assessments at the

same point in time.” In CBE, there is more emphasis on formative assessments. Students take

formative assessments throughout the learning process so the teacher can see where they are at.

Students who are behind must keep practicing and revising their work until they have

demonstrated that they are ready to take the summative. The traditional grading system penalizes

failure, while the CBE system does not. This is because the CBE system believes that failure is

part of the learning process (Sturgis, 2018). In the CBE system, students learn at their own pace

and may take the summative assessments at different times, which is much different than the

traditional classroom.

Challenges With Competency Based Education: Differences from the Traditional Education

System and its Challenges

There are many challenges when moving from the traditional education system to a CBE

system. For teachers, it is difficult to teach students if they are all at different stages in the

learning process. It would be difficult to lecture while also helping each student during class

time. There may not be time in class for students to revise their work and practice in order to take

the summative assessments, which means there would need to be more opportunities to help

students outside of class. This would require teachers to work longer hours, which could be
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EDUCATION SYSTEM AND ITS CHALLENGES 4
costly to the school. Teachers would need to do much more individualized teaching, which

would be difficult in the traditional class size of around twenty to thirty students. In an ideal

competency-based school, it would be more beneficial to have a larger amount of teachers so

they can focus on fewer students. This would be very difficult to implement because of the cost

to hire teachers and the teacher shortage in the United States. One way to solve this issue would

be to switch to online learning. Although, students would not have the social aspects of school

with online learning.

Teachers do not have as much freedom with how they teach in CBE as they do in the

traditional model. According to Barmen et al. (2013, p. 636), “[Teachers] have less freedom now

to develop [the syllabus] from our own creativity and thinking. It has become highly regulated

from the Board of Education and the Department for Administration in Education, how to

formulate and what to write, and what not to write”. Because of this, all teachers are expected to

teach in the same way. Each teacher in the school must collaborate and agree upon the learning

outcomes in order for CBE to be successful. This would require a large amount of time designing

and reconstructing the curriculum when moving from the traditional system to a CBE system.

In CBE, the learning objectives must be very clear at the beginning of the unit and

assessments must be measureable. It is difficult to measure how much student a student has

learned in some forms of assessment. According to McClarty & Gaertner (2015, p. 6), in CBE,

“students would receive the same test results if they were to take a different form of the test

scored by different raters.” Of course, this method would work fine in objectively scored

assessments, but it is not possible to do with performance-based assessments in areas such as

music and writing. Even if there is a rubric with specific learning objectives, teachers may grade
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EDUCATION SYSTEM AND ITS CHALLENGES 5
differently than others based on their opinion. It would require all teachers to grade in the exact

same way, which would be difficult to achieve.

Competency Based Education

The CBE system ensures that each student learns the objectives of each course and are

able to apply what they learn to real world situations. Students have freedom to choose how they

learn, such as choosing what format to take the summative assessment in. Students receive more

individualized help from their teachers, and they are allowed to take the summative assessments

when they show they are ready. Many schools are moving to CBE because of its success in other

schools and how it treats each student equally. In CBE, the role of the teacher changes because

they must teach with a more individualized approach. There are many challenges to the CBE

system. It is difficult to teach a class of students if they are at different stages, teachers do not

have as much freedom, and some objectives would be difficult to assess. To implement CBE the

most efficiently, there still needs to be more research on the system. It will be interesting to see

how CBE will change the way students learn and how schools operate in the coming years.
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EDUCATION SYSTEM AND ITS CHALLENGES 6
References

Sturgis, C. (2018). Ten distinguishing features of competency-based education. Competency

Works.

Barman, L., Silen, C., & Bolander Laksov, K. (2013). Outcome based education enacted:

teachers’ tensions in balancing between student learning and bureaucracy. Advances in

Health Science Education. 19, 629-643.

Morcke, A. M., Dornan, T., & Eika, B. (2013). Outcome (competency) based education: an

exploration of its origins, theoretical basis, and empirical evidence. Advances in Health

Science Education. 18, 851-863.

McClarty, K. L. & Gaertner, M. N. (2015). Measuring mastery: best practices for assessment in

competency-based education. Center for College & Career Success, Pearson.

COMPETENCY BASED EDUCATION: DIFFERENCES FROM THE TRADITIONAL
EDUCATION SYSTEM AND ITS CHALLENGES 7
Part II

In the music classroom, it can be a bit challenging to assess students. Music teachers

mostly have to use performance-based assessments, which can be difficult for each teacher to

assess students in the same way. Although, there are many ways to use objectively scored

assessments in music classes, such as asking students to write the form of a piece or to spell a

chord. In my classroom, I can set specific outcomes at the beginning of each concert cycle or

unit, such as “play with a good tone quality” or “be able to notate a concert A flat scale”. In a

recent assignment, I had to create a unit plan for an entire concert cycle for a junior high band.

The central focus statement of the lesson was: “In addition to learning the three pieces for their

spring concert, students will learn the basic form of a traditional American march and apply this

knowledge to the piece they are performing, March Jubilee. They will learn about march form

through interactive lectures and listening exercises. They will demonstrate their learning by

analyzing scores of different marches, including March Jubilee, and identifying and labelling

each section of the form.” I would not change much about this lesson if I were to teach it in a

competency-based approach. In this lesson, there is a clear objective that the students must

master, which is being able to identify the sections of American marches. They also apply it to

the real world by listening to famous American marches. For the formative and summative

assessments, I had the students analyze a score and label the sections of the march. I had 3

formative assessments throughout the unit, and a summative at the end of the unit. The

assessments were measurable because the students had to label the correct name of the section in

the march. They were objectively scored assessments, and there was a clear right or wrong

answer. Because there were formative assessments, I could see how each student was doing

throughout the unit, and I could help them if they need it. If I were to change something to use a
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EDUCATION SYSTEM AND ITS CHALLENGES 8
more competency based approach, I would allow each student to revise their formative

assessments to ensure they are learning the content. Also, each student would only take the

summative assessment when they proved to me they were ready through their formative

assessments. This would mean students would take the summative at different times. In

conclusion, I support this shift to CBE. I think it is important for students to learn at their own

pace and to not get left behind. Although it would be difficult to implement in large classrooms, I

think it would be an effective system.