WASHINGTON—Awarding credits based on student mastery of content and skills can remove barriers to increasing student readiness for college and careers, according to a new issue brief released today by the National Governors Association.
Currently, education systems in most states dictate inputs such as the amount of time students are required to complete a course instead of outputs such as student learning. State Strategies for Awarding Credit to Support Student Learning provides states with strategies that encourage flexible policies for awarding credit and a competency-based education system.
“By shifting our education system from focusing on inputs such as seat time and the number of days in a school year to focusing on outputs like student mastery of academic skills and knowledge, states could realize gains in student achievement,” said NGA Executive Director Dan Crippen. “Transitioning to credits based on mastery could also reduce the costs of remedial education.”
State Strategies for Awarding Credit to Support Student Learning shows how governors can lead efforts to foster alternative methods of awarding credit by working to:
- Build flexibility in state policy for students to earn credit based on learning;
- Modify school funding formulas to allocate resources based on student mastery of content and skills as opposed to enrollment;
- Ensure data systems are linked across state agencies and education providers; and
- Require public institutions of higher education to accept student transcripts with credits earned by demonstration of mastery.
To learn more, please visit www.nga.org/cms/center/edu.
###
Founded in 1908, the National Governors Association (NGA) is the collective voice of the nation’s governors and one of Washington, D.C.’s most respected public policy organizations. Its members are the governors of the 50 states, three territories and two commonwealths. NGA provides governors and their senior staff members with services that range from representing states on Capitol Hill and before the Administration on key federal issues to developing and implementing innovative solutions to public policy challenges through the NGA Center for Best Practices. For more information, visit www.nga.org.
