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COMPARISON OF
TRADITONAL & PROFICIENCY-BASED EDUCATION
Excerpted from a 2008 Oregon Education Roundtable white paper entitled: "Taking Promising High School Practices to Scale"

TRADITIONAL PROFICIENCY-BASED
View of Learners Some will excel, some will do average work, a portion will fail. All of them can achieve at high standards; failure is not an option.
Learning Program Time based; learning is a variable. It's effective for a portion of students. Learning based; time is a variable. It's effective for all students
Grades

Based on various, and sometimes subjective, points rather than proficiencies; may reflect quantity over quality (such as extra credit work); may be used in part to punish, reward, or control student behavior, subject to inflation.

Grades are sometimes locked in before a course ends.

 Indicate only what student has learned (knows and can do) by demonstration of proficiency; quality of work is based on agreemnets about about evidence of proficiency.

End-of-course grades reflect student proficiency at end of course.
Assessment Relies heavily on summative assessment, including standardized testing. Includes summative assessment, but heavily favors formative assessment as a feedback mechanism to continuously measure and guide student learning, and to drive and improve instruction.
Nature & Structure of Schools Often adult centered in practice. Self-contained education factories in a management hierachy modeled on 20th Century industry. Student centered in practice. Home base for flexible learning experiences where students can assume more initiative, work in teams, and learn in community settings, online venues, and other education institutions as well as in their school of record.
Curriculum Disciplines are independent of one another and content is independent of standards for postsecondary success. Based on recognized standards. Rigor and relevance are driving criteria. Disclipines are often integrated. Content is keyed to what students need for postsecondary studies and job success.
Student Credentialing Students accumulate graded units of instruction to graduate through “seat time,” regardless of skill levels acquired or grades assigned, and a standard diploma is regarded as the end point of the high school experience. For students capable of doing more and advancing while still in high school, the senior year is often spent coasting to the finish line. Students are assessed to assure that they have acquired high standards of knowledge and skills defined by minimum state diploma requirements matched to state standards.

Students with an interest in advanced certification and credits (AP, IB, college credits) are supported in going beyond minimum diploma requirements.
Teachers They dispense knowledge about subject matter; lead class discussion, make assignments, motivate students, assign grades. They do many of the traditional things but also are content experts, mentors, resources, partners in school management, partners with community resource providers, skilled assessment practitioners, members of teaching teams, and members of professional learning communities.
Students They receive or absorb information passively, recite when asked, achieve on tests. Often don’t know at the beginning of a course what constitutes successful learning. They envision and help plan their education path, partner in their own progress, learn by observation and application as well as by reading and taking class notes, and they develop both individual and group skills.

From the very beginning of a course, they know precisely what proficiencies demonstrate desired attainment of knowledge and skills, and they work to achieve those proficiencies.
Student Performance Data Infrequently collected and analyzed, if at all. Frequently collected and analyzed (currently and longitudinally) by teachers, professional learning communities, and curriculum and instruction administrators for program improvement.