NH Schools Embrace Competency-Based Learning

New Hampshire has gone further than most states in forging the policies to enable high schools to award credit based not on seat time, but on demonstrated mastery of course-level "competencies"—the bundles of skills and knowledge that districts specify to reflect state curriculum frameworks.

For instance, a few states allow districts the option of awarding credit for demonstrated proficiency rather than seat time. New Hampshire is the only state that requires districts to do so, though some districts have yet to make that change. Online learning can play a part in competency-based approaches, in part because of its potential to let students pace their coursework as they like. Students at Newfound Regional High can use New Hampshire's Virtual Learning Academy Charter School, or VLACS, to take coursework online. In this rural community, where dial-up Internet service is not uncommon, students can do VLACS coursework at Newfound's computer lab, or from home if technology permits. But while online learning facilitates the "move-on-when-ready" approach that is ideal for competency-based learning, it's not a complete solution if a state's educational vision includes real-world learning.