Giving Compass' Take:

· At Latin School of Chicago, language teacher have implemented a proficiency-based learning system where students can only move to the next level after they show they have understood the material taught previously. Bing Wang analyzes the effects this system has had on student comprehension and the challenges she and other educators faced when it first rolled out. 

· What negative effects could come from using a proficiency-based learning system over a traditional grade-level system? 

· Read more about proficiency-based learning in colleges.

“But, Ms. Wang, why am I in this class?” asked a 9th-grade boy on the first day of school. This was about three years ago and it was a first day of sorts for me as well. I had just transitioned back into the classroom at Latin School of Chicago from a job in publishing and this was not the kind of question that I had prepared myself to answer. Back then, the Chinese language program at Latin had begun piloting a proficiency-based model, which is structured differently from a traditional grade-based model.

The transition raised multiple challenges including course placement, grading, and community communications. I embarked on this journey along with the foreign language department and the one other Chinese teacher at my school believing in the effectiveness of this student-centered approach. Yet there were still so many questions to answer.

“Why am I in this class?”

Back on that first day, this 9th-grade student continued to press me. “Why am I not in the class that Noah is in?” My mind spun for a moment. I eventually decided to put aside my planned activities to address this elephant in the room: placement.

The proficiency-based model is closely related to competency-based learning, where students are grouped with those who are closest to their language abilities, regardless of age or seat time. This helps them learn at a pace and level that fits them best, but it stands in contrast to the traditional model where students progress to the next level—for example from Spanish 1 to Spanish 2—by default after a year of study. In this new model, students progress through six levels, starting at “ Low Novice” before gradually moving into “Intermediate” and potentially “Advanced” levels. This is not a new idea, but logistically and culturally it still raised challenges and stirred reactions.

Read the full article about grade levels by Bing Wang at EdSurge.