Policy Background

• The state has launched an initiative to pilot new forms of assessment. See article (2018)
• Districts with "alternative" or "non-traditional" status can seek waivers to use competency-based credits rather than time-based credits. The state is revisiting how they define “alternative” in response to complaints from many traditional schools seeking flexibility from the state’s time requirements (seat time, calendar length, etc.) Georgia has a “test out” option for students to earn credit for courses they have not completed. (CFAT 50-State Scan of Course Credit Policies 2013).
• Georgia considering an EAA/Buzz model (Added by CS Dec 2013; not confirmed)
• Kelly McCutchen, President of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation, advocates for mastery-based learning
• GA Education Reform Commission recommendations include cbe (Dec 2015)

Evidence of Improved Achievement, Attainment, or Cost-Effectiveness: No information at this time (June 2014)

Networks and Resources

• Educate GA Summit (2016 and January 2017)

Districts and Schools

• Fulton County Schools has developed a personalized learning roadmap to guide the district.
• Fulton County Schools: A Big District Approach to Competency Education
• Fulton County Schools Completes “Back Room” Infrastructure to Enhance Technology in Classrooms
• Reflection in EdSurge 2017
• Henry County is beginning the transition to competency-based learning. (GSP and Mastery Design Collaborative both working with them)
• Making Feedback Matter, an Assessment for Learning project
• Examples of graduation competencies and performance indicators K-12

• ELA: Construct task-appropriate writing for diverse purposes and audiences.(add March 2016)

• Math (added March 2016)
• Site visit, fall 2015
• Part 1: Four Big Takeaways
• Part 2: Ensuring Success for Each Student
• Part 3: Scaling Strategies for Mid-Size Districts
• Part 4: What All of This Means for Schools
• Part 5: Impact Academy. 
• Article about Anthony Townsend's experience on the GA Education Reform Commission
• Example of MOU for Cohort Launch Schools
• 2017 articles
•   http://www.cbs46.com/story/35437292/9-principals-to-be-removed-from-struggling-dekalb-county-schools
•   http://www.cbs46.com/story/35502406/henry-county-schools-underperforming
• Article on Locust Grove Middle School by Learning Accelerator
  

• Locust Grove - sounds more blended than cbe. 
• Savannah
• Susie King Taylor Community School - can't tell if it describing blended or cb structure (2017)
• Private Schools
• The Forest School: An Acton Academy is fully committed to mastery-based learning
• Holy Spirit Prep and Mount Vernon are private schools that are in early stages. 

Participating School Sites

• Location: Henry County, GA
• Setting: Suburban
• School Type: District
• Targeted Grades: 9-12
• Number of Participating Students: More than 1,000
• Number of Participating Teachers: 51-200
• Curriculum Area: Social Studies

The Team: Henry County Schools, as part of its district vision and as a Next Generation Systems Initiative participant, is redesigning all 50 of its schools toward a personalized, competency-based model of learning. 

The Project: In a personalized learning model, it is essential to focus on the feedback students get on their work and progress and to measure their ability, willingness, and mastery at responding to that feedback to advance learning. Through aligning feedback protocols, the district believes that students will gain a deeper understanding of their work, have greater ownership of the process of progress toward mastery, and grow in 21st century skills of communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity. 

The project’s goal is to improve leader, teacher, and student capacity to analyze practice turns, provide effective and timely feedback, and track data collected from feedback to determine student agency. The district is piloting a feedback process and student and teacher training, using a locally-developed Learner Profile tool, in 15 pilot schools.

The Hypothesis: If we develop effective feedback protocols, provide systematic professional development on them, and create calibration sessions, then we can transform teachers' and students' use of feedback across the district.  By connecting that process to a systematic method of collecting and analyzing data regarding the feedback received and how it was acted upon, we will positively impact student achievement and agency.  

The Learning: Henry County Schools has been on the path to personalized learning for nearly 24 months. Throughout that time they have been searching for ways to measure student success that go beyond traditional standardized testing and surveys.  The work that the ALP community is engaged in has the potential to redefine how the district measures success for students and schools, and also has the potential to influence evaluation policy for students and teachers. They are honored to be thought partners as they examine the ways to increase and assess student agency, collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and communication. Learn with Henry County Schools through their blog at https://makingfeedbackmatter.wordpress.com/ and on Twitter with the hashtag #makingfeedbackmatter.

Higher Education

Valdosta developing CBE program to train STEM Teachers (April 2016)