Elevating Competency-Based Learning in a PLC at Work: Actionable Assessment, Defensible Evidence, and Equitable Grading

When it comes to tracking student progress, not all evidence is created equal. Using the IMPACT framework—illumination, multiple sources and opportunities, pedagogies that are learner-centered, assessment practices, collective actions, and transparency—K–12 leaders and teachers can forge a defensible body of evidence for learning that is central to competency-based learning systems. With tools and strategies, this book is an essential guide for deeper student-centered learning.

K–12 school leaders and teachers will:

• Learn how IMPACT can help them build a rock-solid body of evidence, ensuring their schools meet all accountability measures
• Discover how PLCs can support evidence collection and drive data-driven decision making
• Design assessments that illuminate deep learning and empower learners, resulting in high-quality work
• Understand how to implement diverse evidence sources—from rubrics and portfolios to personalized learning plans—to paint a complete picture of student progress
• Master the art of equitable, evidence-based grading and reporting practices that support every learner’s unique journey

Contents:
Introduction: A Guiding Framework to IMPACT Actionable Assessment, Defensible Evidence, and Equitable Grading
Chapter 1: Shifting to Competency-Based Learning to Build Defensible Evidence
Chapter 2: Supporting Building a Defensible Body of Evidence With PLC Structures and Processes
Chapter 3: Exploring How a Student’s Body of Evidence Represents Balanced Assessment Practices
Chapter 4: Designing Assessments That Illuminate Deep Learning, Empower Learners, and Result in High-Quality Work
Chapter 5: Designing and Using Competency-Based Evaluation Tools
Chapter 6: Building a Defensible Body of Evidence
Chapter 7: Building Protocols for Equitable, Evidence-Based Grading and Reporting
Epilogue: Considering Final Thoughts to Assist Teams as They Refine and Deepen Their Work
Appendix: Defensible Body of Evidence Tools
References and Resources
Index

Karin K. Hess, EdD, author of the Hess Cognitive Rigor Matrix, is a recognized international speaker and leader in developing practical approaches for using cognitive rigor and learning progressions as the foundation for formative, interim, and performance learning and assessment. Her twenty-six years working in schools include fifteen years as a classroom educator and as an elementary and middle school principal and district curriculum director.
For almost fifteen years at the Center for Assessment in Dover, New Hampshire, Karin distinguished herself as a curriculum and assessment expert in multiple content areas. She has effectively guided over forty U.S. states and territories in the development of grade-level expectations and test specifications for both general education and alternate assessments for significantly cognitively disabled students. She has authored and coauthored a dozen books and book chapters, and numerous articles and white papers related to instructional practices, Karin’s work in competency-based learning has included guiding and supporting school districts and states in implementing competency-based learning systems and creating and analyzing the use of high-quality benchmark and performance-based assessments.

Brian M. Stack, CAGS, is the superintendent of schools in Fremont, New Hampshire, and the director of competency-based learning for the New Hampshire Learning Initiative. From 2006 to 2022, Brian was the principal of Sanborn Regional High School in Kingston, New Hampshire. During that time, he was a member of the research, design, and implementation team for the district’s first-in-the-nation nationally recognized K–12 competency-based learning system. Brian has a passion for assisting schools in the development and reimagination of their own personalized, student-centered learning models. Prior to his work at Sanborn, he was a high school mathematics educator in Massachusetts and served for six years on the school board in his local community.
Brian has a BA and a BS in mathematics education from Boston University, an MEd in education administration from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, and a certificate of advanced graduate study as a superintendent of schools from New England College. He lives with his wife, Erica, and their five children—Brady, Cameron, Liam, Owen, and Zoey—on the New Hampshire Seacoast.

Jonathan G. Vander Els specializes in supporting educators and administrators in schools and districts across the United States to develop, sustain, and enhance structures that support all learners. As a practitioner, he blends his experience and expertise to meet educators where they are and assist them in developing practical next steps to ensure high levels of learning for students in their schools. He is the coauthor of Breaking With Tradition: The Shift to Competency-Based Learning in PLCs at Work (2018) and Unpacking the Competency-Based Classroom: Equitable, Individualized Learning in a PLC at Work (2022), both with Brian M. Stack.
Jonathan serves as a director of collaborative learning for the New Hampshire Learning Initiative, supporting personalized and competency-based work in schools throughout the state of New Hampshire. Formerly, he was principal of Memorial Elementary School in Sanborn Regional School District in New Hampshire. Under his leadership, Memorial School became a nationally recognized Model PLC and competency-based learning elementary environment.
To learn more about Jonathan’s work, follow @jvanderels on X, formerly known as Twitter.