Competency-Based Education: Past, Present and Future
The debates over competency-based higher education (CBE) has been going on for at least 5 years with a significant media coverage since President Obama and Arne Duncan pushed for outcome-based assessment of higher education, more transparency of student learning, flexibility and lower costs. However, before looking into the current situation of CBE in the American higher education, pros, cons and the challenges of its adaptation, let us look in the past to have a better understanding of what CBE is.
Kate Ford (2014), Director of Information and Research Analysis at the Center for Innovation in Learning and Student Success, identifies several phases in the development of CBE in the U.S. with
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She refers to the “practice of giving credit for prior learning ... to help war veterans [WWI] earn high school equivalency through competency-based exams” (Miller, 2015). I would argue, that CBE model was first developed in 1900s when “American society had undergone significant shifting of resources and expectations towards defining the high school diploma as the “benchmark of education literacy” (Hunter and Harmon, 1979 as cited in Kasworm, 1980) (Kasworm, 1980). Kasworm writes that Competency-Based Adult Education (CBAE) programs started at that time allowed adults to take short courses, master missing skills to be considered literate (basic English reading and writing and math) and based on that to receive a High School Diploma. (That initiative was not dropped over time, moreover, it was adopted nation-wide and currently The National External Diploma Program, the derivative of the first CBAE program, “allows adults to demonstrate …show more content…
First, not all students will benefit from this type of learning. Second, Johann N. Neem (2013) argues that CBE “makes sense for those vocational fields ... where the primary goal is certification.” She continues with the statement that the purpose of education is “not to train but to change people, and this takes seat time” (Neem, 2013). Another concern is the quality of education voiced by faculty members and missing element of classroom participation and debate (Kamenetz, 2013), which has proven to foster learning.
Besides the concerns, there are many challenges for implementing CBE across all colleges and universities that lie in the basis of the American higher education system. The first one is the Carnegie Unit that is time-based and that is a basis for awarding financial aid to students (Silva et al, 2015). The second one is the complexity of re-designing curriculum into interrelated competencies and the problem of identifying these competencies in the current diverse educational landscape (Silva et al,
Subsequently what is done is that selected high schools develop a curriculum that is organized around a specific career cluster, which are like a specialized charter school. The goal is to feature a series advanced “pathway” courses that can help students to enrich their knowledge through work-based learning and academics. In turn, this specialized education will allow student to demonstrate their understanding through assessments and industry credentialing opportunities. As well these schools are enrolled in a learning exchange that have partnerships that are organized to support the programs of study by coordinating statewide networks of education partners, businesses, industry associations, labor, and other organizations (2013, p. 21-23). Consequently, the program is driven to help high school students develop a career path and to receive exploratory education that will given them an advantage in either college endeavors or in the job market.
“There is no doubt that education is important. There is also no doubt that every person has the right to an education” (Pharinet 680). Therefore, it makes it controversial that whether every American citizen should participate in tertiary education or not. One of the divergences in this controversy is that the vocational school is or is not accounted for tertiary education as college is. In On “Real Education”, the author, Robert T. Perry, claims that everyone should have experience of “postsecondary education”, no matter which kind of form it is (672). Since he defined the term “postsecondary education” clearly, he efficiently sells his ideas to most of audiences. However, he alienates the hostile and even neutral readers effectively because of the insufficiency of evidence or objectivity, the deficiency of credibility and the incompletion of logic.
The report, Higher Education for American Democracy, triggered changes in federal policies and subsequently the universities followed suit. Members of the commission arg...
In the past several years, there has been a growing trend in the number of college-bound individuals getting two-year degrees from community colleges or earning certification for their desired career field at vocational schools. Such schools certainly seem to have some valuable qualities: all boast of having lower costs than other colleges, of their absence of student loans, of allowing people to make more money quicker, of being narrowly focused so students don’t have to take classes they don’t need. They attempt to point out apparent weaknesses in liberal arts colleges as well, claiming that such an education is unnecessary in today’s world. However, for every reason to go to a community or two-year college, a vocational track, or an apprenticeship, there is another, stronger reason for going to a traditional, four-year college, and the liberal arts degree gained at four year colleges far outstrips the degree gained at a two year school or through a vocational track.
A look back at the institution of education over the past 20 years will reveal that once upon a time a bachelor’s degree was long since considered the marker of ultimate success, the highest level of achievement that one could make in their lives. In those days, if for some reason you failed to march across the stage on graduation day after an epic, four-year stretch of high tuition, long nights studying, and unrelenting professors that found great joy in riding your back, then you had indeed failed at life.
Over the past few years, people have begun to see going to college as a way to achieve the American Dream through career-readiness. People used to go to college, hoping to get a better well-rounded education. For most the well-rounded education, it usually came with the courses required for a liberal arts education. The courses would provide a level of analytical and in-depth understanding that would prepare the students for both life and whichever career path chosen. No matter the amount of money paid, parents would be willing to gi...
Career and technical education courses are intended to prepare high school students to enter the work force in a skilled trade. It equips the students with the experience and education necessary to succeed in an average skill level job while maintaining the student’s interest. In an article that focuses on an aviation CTE program, a “senior policy analyst at the Morrison Institute, said that Career and Technical Education provides another opportunity for students who struggle in high school.” The assumption is that students who struggle in high school presumably do not want another four years of education to attain a bachelor’s degree. Until recently, schools have been excessively geared towards college readiness. The dogma was elementary school, high school, college, without exception. With this “one size fits all” education system in place, a different education course had to evolve. CTE courses offer a break from the tedious grind by introducing career readiness as an alternative. In place of the four years in a college, CTE programs gives student...
For far too long, people have regarded vocational schooling as a second class option to a traditional college. Some believe that only under achievers will attend this type of school...
Muller, Gilbert H., ed. The McGraw-Hill Reader: Issues Across the Disciplines. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2008. Print.
On December 10, 2009 at Hamilton University in Clinton, New York, college professors debated current college curriculum (Liew). They talked about how their college could make the leap from being good to being great. At the 22nd American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges conference held in Long Beach, California on November 14, 1996, the topic of changing curriculum was discussed (“Mich”). The University of Louisiana, Lafayette, is eliminating its philosophy major, while Michigan State University is doing away with American studies and classics, after years of decline in enrollments in those majors (Zernike). The purpose of a college education is to meet the student’s needs so that they can compete and understand the connection between a degree and a job that will enable them to compete with other world economies, give them a well-rounded education that will enable them to earn a higher income, and retain a lifetime full of knowledge....
Gurney, Gerald. "Commentary." The Chronicle of Higher Education. N.p., 12 Apr. 2011. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.
In conclusion, education is broader than just falling into what the contemporary school system has to offer. Both Gatto and Graff proved this by explain how conforming students to certain perspectives of education limits their potential in other educational branches that interest the students. Also, curricula should bring a balance between making a school a place for obtaining information, and accommodating the educational demands for each individual student. It is imperative to understand that reforming the academic system, by fine-tuning schools to have its students learn what exactly they are interested in, will lead to having students accessing their full intellectual potential.
Sarah Balistreri is a coordinator in the Office of Academic Initiatives at the College Board. F. Tony Di Giacomo is a director in Research & Development at the College Board. Ivanley Noisette is a Mitchell Scholar. Thomas Ptak is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Oregon. 2012, The College Board. College Board, Advanced Placement Program, www.collegeboard.org.
The historical development with in higher education has been a direct acclimation of the academic profession (Altbach et al., 2011). There is a long history among universities that has created many traditions. Of these traditions, the profession of academia has played a vital part of it all (Altbach et al., 2011). Shaping practically every movement in higher education, from instruction to research to institutional governance, Staffing has become a critical issue (American Federation of Teachers, 2007). Lail (2009) suggests that quality teaching has effects on the quality of its faculty. To reflect our nation ’ s social and political history, A historical outline of American higher education plays a significant role in telling the story of higher education’s legal and administrative difficulties. The U.S. tradition in higher education has always promoted a strong commitment to undergraduate education whether they had taken place in the eighteenth, nineteenth, twentieth, or twenty - first centuries (Thelin, 2003). In the early 21st century, higher education has become a competitive enterprise. In many countries students must compete for scarce places in universities and in all countries admission to the top institutions has become more difficult. Universities compete for status and ranking, and generally for funding from governmental or private sources. While competition has always been a force in academe and can help produce excellence, it can also contribute to a decline in a sense of academic community, mission and traditional values (Altbach et. al, 2009). Higher education is increasingly viewed as a major engine of economic development.
Silberman, H. (1978). Academic versus vocational education in the United States. International Review of Education, 24(2), pp.167--176.