Making the Case: Compelling Data
This growing library features data points describing the impacts and outcomes of student-centered and competency-based teaching and learning. The data are sourced from research studies, evaluation reports and journal articles, as well as evidence collected directly by classroom, school, district and state leaders.
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Project-Based Learning Increases Achievement in AP Courses
Findings from the first year of the Knowledge in Action project-based learning approach revealed an increase in the likelihood of earning a score of three or higher on the AP U.S. Government or AP Environmental Science test by about eight percentage points.
Clarity of Learning Targets Positively Impacts Student Learning
Several student learning capacities (e.g., intrinsic motivation, utility of math/ELA; locus of control, self-management and preparation for courses) were perceived by educators as positively impacted by increased clarity of learning targets in a competency-based system.
Mastery-Based Strategies Bolster Intrinsic Motivation
In an analysis of schools in three states, some competency-based education practices (e.g., clarity and required attainment of learning targets; use of multiple assessment types) were perceived as increasing students’ intrinsic motivation.
Students at Learner-Centered Schools See Greater ELA and Math Gains
Students who started in the bottom quartile from Next Generation Learning Challenge schools demonstrated greater gains than students in a matched comparison group on the NWEA MAP English Language Arts and Math interim assessments after two years.
Competency-Based Teaching Leads to Higher State Test Scores
In the Project Mastery grant initiative, students in schools using competency-based models outperformed demographically similar peers on state tests.
Students Complete Requirements Faster in Competency-Based District
Elementary and middle school students in a competency-based district in Colorado who were academically behind completed math and literacy performance level requirements faster than students in a traditional school system.
Performance-Based District Ranks Highest in ELA Assessment Growth
Compared to 63 similar districts, the performance-based Lindsay Unified School District in California ranked #1 in English Language Arts growth in the 2019 Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium achievement assessment.
Competency-Based District Sees Reading and Math Gains
In the performance-based Lindsay Unified School District in California, student growth in the Smarter Balance Assessment increased by 7% in English/Language Arts and 5% in math, exceeding county and state growth in 2019.
Competency-Based Approach Leads to Reading Achievement
In the performance-based Lindsay Unified School District, students rose from 33rd to 87th percentile on the state’s Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium English Language Arts achievement assessment in 2019.
California School Sees Math Achievement Gains
In the performance-based Lindsay Unified School District in California, students rose from 14th to 38th percentile in the state’s math assessment in 2019, when comparing all Unified School Districts in California.
California District Sees Growth on ELA Assessments
In the performance-based Lindsay Unified School District in California, students rose from 15th to 51st percentile in 2019 in the state’s English Language Arts assessment, when comparing all Unified School Districts in California.
Reading and Math Scores Rise with Personalized Learning in Ohio
Marysville Exempted Village School District saw both English Language Arts and Math Achievement rise at higher rates in their schools with a focused personalized learning curriculum.
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