Introduction
Competency-based education (CBE) programs are growing in popularity as an alternative path to a college degree. Freed from seat-time constraints of traditional programs, CBE students can progress at their own pace and graduate having gained relevant, demonstrable skills. The CBE model has proven particularly attractive for older students who must juggle work and family commitments.
Still, the long-term viability of CBE programs hinges on employers’ acceptance of the credentials earned in these programs. The credibility of those credentials, in turn, depends on the quality of the assessments used in CBE programs.
In this paper, we introduce a set of best practices for high-stakes assessment in CBE.
Recommendations
We argue that CBE programs should focus on providing evidence that supports the validity of their assessments and their interpretation of assessment results. Specifically, program designers should clarify the links between the tasks students complete on an assessment and the competencies those tasks are designed to measure.
Moreover, external-validity studies—relating performance on CBE assessments with performance in future courses or in the workplace—are crucial. Without them, employers will have little reason to accept the assessments as credible evidence of students’ career readiness. External validity is the central component of our four recommendations:
- CBE programs should clearly define their competencies and clearly link those competencies to material covered in their assessments.
- To support valid interpretations of test scores, CBE assessments should be empirically linked to external measures such as future outcomes.
- Results of empirical research studies should be used in the initial standard-setting process.
- CBE programs should continue to collect and monitor graduates’ life outcomes to show that a CBE credential indicates the same level of rigor and preparation as a traditional one.