Transform Education Systems
- Redefine student success through a Profile of a Graduate to create a vision to modernize and redefine more holistic graduation requirements based on what students need to know and be able to do for future success.
- Create Innovation Zones to provide flexibility for schools and districts to advance transformative practices and move to innovative, student-centered learning models.
Create Competency-Based Education Systems & Align Pathways
- Launch competency-based education task forces and pilot programs to allow innovation in new teaching and learning approaches tied to a state vision of student success.
- Offer credit flexibility to redefine credits based on student mastery – building knowledge, skills, and competencies – rather than seat-time.
- Ensure meaningful credentials that articulate what students know and are able to do through mastery-based diplomas, mastery transcripts, and proficiency-based graduation pathways.
- Align competency-based pathways across K-12, higher education, career and technical education and the workforce toward a vision of lifelong, continuous system of learning to ensure all youth have pathways to prosperity.
Build Capacity by Investing in People
- Modernize educator workforce by investing in competency-based educator preparation, professional learning, and micro-credentials.
- Diversify educator workforce to be equity-focused and to reflect the diversity and life experiences of today’s students, communities and schools.
Rethink Accountability & Assessment
- Design balanced systems of assessments for student-centered learning to certify student mastery of knowledge and skills and provide timely feedback on where students are in their learning.
- Redesign next generation accountability systems for continuous improvement to achieve equity and empower stakeholders with multiple, balanced measures and reciprocal accountability.
Federal Policy Priorities
Prepare Educator-Leaders for the Future
- Launch a pilot program in the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act to encourage the development of innovative, fully competency-based and personalized teacher and leader preparation programs.
Increase Access and Affordability to Diversify Educator Talent Pools
- Address college affordability, persistence, and completion in federal student aid policies to increase diversity of the educator workforce.
Expand the Innovative Assessment Pilot
- Remove barriers for states to participate in the Innovative Assessment Demonstration Authority (IADA) by lifting the seven-state cap, by allowing adequate time for planning and statewide scale-up, and by making funding available for states to plan, develop and stage implementation of high-quality, innovative systems of assessments that include performance assessments to support competency-based pathways.
Increase Equity in Broadband Connectivity
- Support continued expansion of broadband infrastructure and increased access to Wi-Fi in schools and homes by fully funding the E-Rate and Lifeline programs.
A National Snapshot of K-12 Competency-Based Education State Policy Across the U.S.
This map provides a national snapshot of state policies across the United States to enable and advance K-12 competency-based education systems (CBE). Across the country, the landscape of policy is changing. Every year more states establish pilots, innovation zones, and new initiatives. Most of the states with seat-time policies that acted as barriers have found new ways of allowing waivers or credit flexibility for CBE.
Advanced States
States with clear policies in support of competency-based education and established roles in building educator capacity in local systems for competency-based education.
Developing States
States with pilots for competency-based education, and/or credit flexibility policies for school districts to transition to competency education.
Emerging States
States getting started with task forces; some state policy flexibility requiring waivers for systems to shift to competency-based education.
No Active Policy in CBE
States policies focus on seat-time credits without competency-based pathways.
Our Policy Goals
The Center for Policy works to educate federal, congressional and state education policy leaders on K-12 education programs and issues to advocate a future-focused, student-centered position on diverse issues affecting our education systems toward transformation.
Our Policy Priorities
Each year the Aurora Institute develops policy priorities to advance modern education systems that prepare all graduates to thrive.
Meet Our Policy Team
For Policymakers
Contact one of our policy experts for more information and technical assistance.
Susan Patrick
Chief Executive Officer
Natalie Truong
Policy Director
Alexis Chambers
Policy Associate