Personalized Learning Video

VIDEO: Inside a Competency-Based Learning Program Without Grades

By Jaclyn Borowski & Alyson Klein — October 10, 2024 1:35
Students in the Moonshot Program research and create a presentation on Walt Disney and Elon Musk during class at California Area Elementary School in Coal Center, Pa., on May 16, 2024.

Three years ago, the California Area school district in Pennsylvania’s Allegheny Mountains, gave students the chance to opt into a very different kind of K-12 experience.

These students—about 75 of the district’s roughly 900—no longer receive traditional grades. Instead, they get feedback from teachers. And instead of learning the same content as everyone else, their lessons and assignments are based on their goals and personal interests.

Here, learn more about the challenges and benefits of this approach.

See Also

From left, Amora Grillo, Mia Naughton, Ally Neil, work on a project in the Moonshot Program at California New Area Elementary School in Coal Center, Pa., on May 16, 2024.
From left, Amora Grillo, Mia Naughton, and Ally Neil work on a project in the Moonshot Program at California Area Elementary School in Coal Center, Pa., on May 16, 2024.
Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
Personalized Learning Inside One District's Experiment With Competency-Based Education
Alyson Klein, September 16, 2024
14 min read

Jaclyn Borowski is the Director of Photography and Videography for Education Week.
Alyson Klein is an assistant editor for Education Week.

Video

Artificial Intelligence Video How AI Complicates Student Well-Being. What Schools Should Know
AI-powered products are becoming increasingly powerful. Existing education tools that incorporate AI are being developed with the intention of helping kids build better social skills and support their mental health. But mental health experts have raised alarms over adolescents’ abilities to tell the difference between the simulated empathy of an AI-driven chatbot and genuine human understanding.
Mathematics Video The Algebra Hurdle: One School's Strategy to Help Students Clear It
An EdWeek video describes an Indiana school's use of tutoring and courses with different levels of rigor to help students.
1 min read
Student Well-Being & Movement Video Female Athletes' Physical and Mental Struggle to Recover From Torn ACLs
For many female athletes who tear their anterior cruciate ligaments, the arduous hours spent recovering through physical therapy are only part of the battle.
1 min read