Competency-Based Education and Its Effect on Math Assessment Scores

Competency-based education (CBE) is the practice of assessing student achievement based on one’s ability to master a certain set of competencies for each subject rather than on a number scale. Using COVID-19 disruption data from 2020, socioeconomic status, and the level of urbanization in a district as my control variables, I assessed whether or not the differences in math assessment scores from 2017 and 2022 in 11th grade students were a result of the implementation of CBE in a random sample of 54 districts in New Hampshire, where CBE had been introduced within the past couple of years. Regression results suggested that the implementation of CBE, or lack thereof, was insignificant when it came to analyzing changes in math assessment scores in NH in 2017 and 2022 for 11th graders. In fact, when the control variables were considered, the socioeconomic status of a district—or percentage of students who receive free/reduced lunch—was the only significant variable with a negative effect on test score changes. Therefore, I did not have enough evidence to conclude that the implementation of CBE in NH had an effect on math assessment scores in 2017 and 2022 for 11th graders.