Curtis Hier: The proficiency fad
Editor’s note: This commentary is by Curtis Hier, of Fair Haven, who is a teacher at Fair Haven Union High School. “Compare linear and exponential functions of discrete and continuous types.” This is a...
View ArticleMadeline Raynalds: Understanding proficiency
Editor’s note: This commentary is by Madeline Raynolds, of Pomfret, who is a studying for certification as a high school principal and is a principal intern at Sharon Academy. She taught at Hanover...
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Communities divided over proficiency based learning
Rep. David Sharpe chairs the House Education Committee. File photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger For almost 150 years, teachers, parents and students in Vermont tracked progress using a percentage system....
View ArticleRobert Roper: Proficiency based learning not proficient
Editor’s note: This commentary is by Robert Roper, the president of the Ethan Allen Institute. He lives in Stowe. Vermont’s student test scores are falling. It’s no longer a blip, but a trend. As State...
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Proficiency-based learning fails to motivate some students
Different schools are taking different approaches to proficiency-based learning. File photo by Jennifer Hauck/Valley News This article By Kayla Collier was published in the Stowe Reporter on June 14....
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VT-NEA seeks delay of proficiency-based learning mandate
Krista Huling, chair of the State Board of Education, listens to discussion during a board meeting in Barre on Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger The president of the...
View ArticleHelen Beattie: The importance of proficiency-based learning
Editor’s note: This commentary is by Helen Beattie, founder and executive director of UP for Learning (Unleashing the Power of Partnership for Learning). Vermont’s decision to shift from a traditional...
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Vermont’s ‘all over the map’ effort to switch schools to proficiency-based...
Montpelier High School students working on a problem in a math class. Photo by Michael Dougherty for The Hechinger Report This story about proficiency based learning was produced by The Hechinger...
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The Deeper Dig: What proficiency-based learning looks like
A poster showing Montpelier High School’s learning expectations is visible around the building. Students are assessed on habits of learning, citizenship and five other “transferable skills” under the...
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Union survey finds teachers feel unprepared for proficiency-based learning
Montpelier High School students work on an assignment in class. File photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger Vermont’s incoming high school seniors are expected to be the first class across the state to...
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BFA St. Albans principal resigns amid proficiency transcript kerfuffle
Bellows Free Academy in St. Albans. Photo by Peng Chen/VTDigger A northern Vermont principal has abruptly resigned amid growing community frustrations about the school’s switch to proficiency-based...
View ArticleLeigh Pelletier: Proficiency based learning — the dangers of leveling the...
Editor’s note: This commentary is by Leigh Pelletier a former member of the Stowe School Board and and former director and clerk for the Lamoille South Supervisory Union School Board. There are some...
View ArticleAdam Bunting: An argument for proficiency-based learning
Editor’s note: This commentary is by Adam Bunting, who is principal of Champlain Valley Union High School in Hinesburg. After a five-year hiatus from the classroom, I recently had the opportunity to...
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U-32 recalculates GPAs midway through the college application process
U-32 High School Principal Steven Dellinger-Pate sent a letter to parents about changes in how the school will calculate grades under a proficiency-based system. Photo by Andrew Kutches/VTDigger...
View ArticleAndrew Jones & Gabe Hamilton: Proficiency-based learning is best practice
Editor’s note: This commentary is by Andrew Jones, who is the president of the Vermont Curriculum Leaders Association, and Gabe Hamilton, a VTCLA member. Some individuals argue that there is no...
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State Board hears from all sides in proficiency-based grading debate
Vermont Board of Education Chair John Carroll and other board members at a meeting in August. Photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger RUTLAND — Proficiency-based learning is a “radical, long-overdue change.”...
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Leigh Pelletier: Proficiency based learning is making students less proficient
Editor’s note: This commentary is by Leigh Pelletier a former member of the Stowe School Board and former director for the Lamoille South Supervisory Union School board and the Lamoille South Unified...
View ArticleBen Heintz: The inequity of a proficiency-based system
Editor’s note: This commentary is by Ben Heintz, a teacher who lives in Marshfield. A thought experiment: Imagine if driver’s licenses were granted not by the state, but by town governments. In...
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