Off the Clock: Moving Education From Time to Competency

by Fred Bramante, Rose L. Colby

  How to base learning on mastery instead of time The authors not only suggest that student achievement should be based on mastering competencies instead of "seat time," they have implemented it in New Hampshire―and this book tells you how. Fred Bramante and Rose Colby describe their successful 21st century model in This text for educators, policymakers, parents, and community members provides a comprehensive approach to implementing a large-scale competency-based reform initiative.

Genres: Education

192 pages, Paperback

First published March 13, 2012

Reviews

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

Once it gets going, it has two or three pretty good chapters about what learning based on mastery of concepts rather than progression through grade levels might look like. This is what the title promises and, for at least these few chapters, this is what book delivers pretty effectively. For the first 50 pages though, it's a chore, full of tedium about the lives of the authors, New Hampshire school board bureaucracy and an unusual state-wide research method that seemingly disregards the existence of schools outside of the United States. I guess I'm being unfair although I'd suggest the authors might find some good examples of innovative education outside of their own country. The final chapters work a little better but deal mainly with winning over stakeholders. Regardless, the authors do have some good ideas to inspire the rest of us to challenge the current paradigm--the 20th century model as Bramante and Colby call it. I'm not sure about finding real-world learning off-the-clock opportunities as readily in disadvantaged urban school districts, but this alone doesn't invalidate the authors' admirable goals.

My biggest gripe, however, is how pointedly the book ignores the elephant in the room. No, not the racial-economic inequality elephant, although that certainly gets ignored too. I'm talking about the high stakes standardized testing incentives/accountability elephant that has essentially put a stranglehold on anything resembling great pedagogy in US public schools. The first chapter discusses how No Child Left Behind & Race to the Top have set the stage for innovation. That sounds like pro-charter pro-voucher doublespeak to me. I helpfully retitled the chapter "When Life Hands You Lemons, Pretend Lemons Are Your Favorite Thing in the Whole Wide World" in pen in my copy of the book. Later, in considering the role of teachers in the 21st century model (this 20th vs. 21st century thing might be a false dichotomy now that I think about it), they invoke union buster charlatan Michelle Rhee to make the case that measuring teacher performance based on student mastery of competencies will weed out bad teachers. Wrong. This is the same argument made in tying teachers' futures to standardized test results, the outcome of which has been absurd based as it is on the faulty assumption that school results are determined only by what the teacher does in the classroom rather than by the stark reality of what students experience outside the classroom.

Points for thinking outside of the box here. Honestly. As a teacher at a pretty progressive international school, I have a much better chance of implementing something like this than a lowly US teacher currently being micromanaged by dilettantes with MBAs could ever hope to. I honestly do hope it's working out for New Hampshire. If they've found a way for their teachers to honestly devote themselves to something this forward thinking without fear of losing their jobs over not running literacy and math test prep day after day, then good on them. I'd like to hear that story. I'd then be more willing to sit through the optional chapters that begin and end this work.

[Justin Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one really got me thinking more than other professional development books I've read recently. I especially started spinning my wheels in regards to ELOs and opportunities to earn credit through a wider range of quality experiences. I agree with other posters that there is a bit too much of the NH struggle to adopt competencies and the wheeling and dealing involved. I would have appreciated more practical take-always, such as rubrics or ELO standard guides, etc, that have proven successful in the adoption of competencies.

[Susan Losapio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent explanation of Competence Based Education. A must read if you’re in higher Ed!

[Joseph Burke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Makes a ton of assumptions, many of which ignore current neuro-science for how kids learn as well as other research. Contains tons of ideas that make you think about education though. An interesting read.