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<h2 class="hd hd-2 unit-title">Can CBE make schools more equitable?</h2>
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<p>When educators talk about their motivations for choosing competency-based education (CBE), they often talk about <strong>equity.</strong> Equity can have many definitions, but we see equity as a lens for looking at educational structures: to what extent are classrooms, schools, policies, etc. designed to help all students succeed? Are all students — especially historically underserved and marginalized students — welcomed, included, supported, and getting what they need?</p>
<p>Equity is a key focus in many of the best implementations of competency-based education (CBE). Some of the key features of CBE that educators are using to try to close opportunity gaps and make their schools more equitable include: </p>
<ul>
<li><strong>High expectations for all students.</strong> All students are expected to meet a set of fixed, well-defined competencies. These competencies are a commitment that every student will master the fundamentals. What varies from student to student is the time invested and the learning pathway. Having fixed, well-defined competencies can communicate to students that teachers believe all students can achieve. </li>
<li><strong>Providing supports so all students can meet these expectations.</strong> Many schools build a daily “flex block” into their schedule for students to get additional academic support from teachers. Scheduling it as part of the school day eliminates the stigma of asking for help, makes opportunities for additional support available to all students, and ensures students’ after school commitments won’t prevent them from getting the support they need. </li>
<li><strong>The path to success is made explicit.</strong> Students from more advantaged backgrounds are often better at “playing the game of school” (understanding the implicit structures, expectations, and practices that can lead to academic success) than students from more marginalized communities. CBE strives to make all expectations clear through well-defined competencies and rubrics. As one teacher put it, “we’re in charge of taking the mystery out of the question: ‘what does it mean to be excellent?’”</li>
<li><strong>A philosophy of shared responsibility.</strong> Behind all of this is an understanding of shared responsibility for student success. If a student is failing to perform academically, at many schools this is seen as only the student’s responsibility. In a CBE school with a focus on equity, educator understand it is also their responsibility to help students get back on track and there are structures in place to help students succeed. </li>
</ul>
<p>One of the most important ways that schools can assess their competency-based education, their CBE efforts, is to be constantly asking, how well are we serving our students who are the furthest from opportunity? Are our efforts especially helpful to students who are less prepared than their peers, and are we identifying their strengths and helping them master foundational skills and concepts that they may have missed in the past?</p>
<p><strong>Keep in mind:</strong> Schools don’t need to commit to a complete implementation of CBE in order to use some of these features to try to lead to greater equity. They can all be used in both CBE and more traditional schools.</p>
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