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Rather than earning grades and credits, Gibson Ek students show learning by demonstrating their mastery of competencies. This means a student’s path to mastery will be personal, unique, varied and challenging. As defined by the Aurora Institute, competency-based education is a system in which:
Gibson Ek is authorized by the Washington State Board of Education (SBE) to graduate students based on mastery of competencies rather than credits, and the competencies are aligned with Common Core State Standards and admissions expectations of selective baccalaureate colleges in Washington state and nationally. The competencies are clustered within five interdisciplinary Learning Goals representing the skills, core knowledge, and attributes of effective learners prepared for college and career.
101 students meet 10 of the 20 competencies or 50% of targets
201 students meet the remaining 10 competencies for a total of 20 competencies
301 students meet 8 competencies, but at a greater depth and rigor and with an increased connection to the community
401 students meet a different 8 competencies, also with greater depth, rigor and community connection
Students can meet or exceed competencies at a foundational or advanced level. A student demonstrates advanced application of competencies through work that has an impact outside of school and exhibits at least two of the following:
Our competency areas fall under 5 overall learning goals:
Personal Qualities: Graduates possess the habits of mind to achieve their goals for the future. They are curious and express a joy for learning. They feel a sense of responsibility to make a contribution in their local communities and in the wider world.
Communication: Graduates are confident, respectful communicators. They initiate conversations and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions with peers and adults to build understanding of concepts and ideas and complete authentic tasks and projects.
Empirical Reasoning: Graduates observe phenomena, generate their own questions, design and conduct investigation, and construct and defend arguments as contributing members of society.
Quantitative Reasoning: Graduates make sense of quantitative phenomena by constructing viable arguments, justifying their thinking, and generalizing understandings to solve real-world problems.
Social Reasoning: Graduates understand diverse perspectives and engage with critical issues of the past and present to examine their impact on society. They use their understanding of local, state, and world policies to become active participants in local, national, and global communities.
[From our Student Handbook]
Most authentic projects are interdisciplinary, so projects will include elements of various competencies and targets. Here are just a few examples of how to integrate competencies.
Personal Qualities
Communication
Empirical Reasoning
Quantitative Reasoning
Social Reasoning
[From the Student Handbook]