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Professional Inquiry Project

How does the assessment of competencies


impact students and teachers?

Mary Quiring
May 19, 2015

This is a resource about the value of teaching and assessing competencies.


It is intended for teachers who are working at schools that assess competencies
to gain wisdom on how to maximize the benefit of competencies for students.
New teachers can also refer to this resource to gain perspective and advice on
how to assess competencies in order to benefit student learning. This is also a
valuable resource for administrators to acquire student and teacher feedback on
the disadvantages and advantages of competencies. Developing this resource has
helped me through my internship at Robert Thirsk High School, as competencies
are part of the daily routine at Thirsk. Through conversations with students and
teachers, I have bettered my understanding of the theory behind competencies
and how to implement the competency rubric in the classroom to improve my
assessment practices.
Alberta Education defines competencies as the attitudes, skills, and
knowledge that contribute to students becoming engaged thinkers and ethical
citizens with an entrepreneurial spirit. At Robert Thirsk High School, 70% of a
students final grade is outcome based, and 30% is based on the following ten
competencies: Know How I learn, Think Critically, Identify & Solve Problems,
Manage Information, Innovate & Create, Create Opportunities, Demonstrate Good
Collaboration Skills, Apply Multiple Literacies, Demonstrate Global & Cultural
Understanding, and Identify & Apply Career & Life Skills. Using the competency
development rubric, students strive to meet an exemplary (90-100%), skilled (8089%), competent (70-79%), adequate (60-69%), or basic (50-59%) level. If they
are not meeting the basic requirements for a competency, the student is given a
Not Met (<50%). They have several opportunities to demonstrate the mastery

of a competency. Student achievement of competencies over time is believed to


help students acquire the necessary skills to become successful lifelong learners.
I had students in my two Biology 20 classes complete a survey, answering
various questions about competencies. I also had a sample of teachers answer a
different survey to gain their perspective (See appendix for attached surveys).
Throughout my internship I assessed students on different competencies through
labs, Internet assignments, group projects, and field studies. Through this, I
collected evidence of how assessing competencies affects teachers and students
both positively, and negatively.
The findings of the student survey suggest the importance of assessing
competencies for students. However, it also reveals some issues or areas of
growth and redesign for competencies, based on student feedback. Thirty-nine
grade 10 and 11 students completed the survey. Figure 1 shows that 36% of
students did not know what a competency was, while 64% of students did. Most
students knew that competencies were worth 30% of their grade. 76% of
students who knew what competencies were, thought they were important. What
is more surprising is that half of the students who did not know what
competencies were, thought they were important. This demonstrates that
students see value in competencies but the specific benefits of acquiring these
attitudes and skills, needs to be made clearer. 68% of students who knew what a
competency was, could actually define it, mentioning something along the lines of
life skills. I thought it was interesting that several students who knew what
competencies were, thought that they should not be part of their final grades.
This seems to suggest a flaw in the system. If students truly understood what
they were being assessed on and why, they would see the value of competencies

making up 30% of their grade. I also think the way in which the competencies are
assessed needs to be refined to ensure that competencies are embedded in
outcome-based assessments, rather than additional busy work. Even though
there were students who said they did not know what a competency was, 64% of
those students could provide an example of one such as, thinking critically, create
& innovate, collaboration, or knowing how I learn (Figure 2). This shows that the
competencies are part of every day language at Robert Thirsk High School,
however, teachers should ensure that students understand what each of the
competencies mean.
70
60
50
40
Percenaget of students

30
20
10
0
NO

YES
Choice

Figure 1. The percentage of grade 10 and 11 students who responded yes and no when asked if
they know what a competency is (Sample size, n=39).

66
64
62
Percentage of students

60
58
56
54
52
NO

YES
Choice

Figure 2. The percentage of grade 10 and 11 students who could provide an example of a
competency, whether they knew what a competency was (YES), or they didnt know (NO) (Sample
size, n=39).

In the comment section of the survey, there were some interesting feelings
and suggestions that students had. Several students said they liked
competencies because they boost their grades, while others felt that
competencies were important but should not be graded or impact their marks
because they tend to bring their marks down. One student commented, Most
people dont know what competencies are or how much theyre worth, so being
graded on something you dont even understand doesnt make sense. If we are
going to be graded on it, make it clear on what they actually are. While this may
be a generalization, I think this reaffirms that it is crucial that students know what
they are being assessed on and why.
Another student added, I wish we were like a normal high school. I think
this is unfortunate because I see the value in assessing competencies and helping
our students become successful, well rounded people. However, in order for this
new direction of assessment to be successful, students need to have a say in
what they are assessed on, based on what they value in learning. There were

some positive comments including, I think teachers should spend more time
explaining to their students the values of it so everyone comes to recognize its
value. Several students remarked that they were indifferent to whether or not
they were assessed on competencies. I think this brings us back to the same flaw
of students not understanding what and why competencies are being assessed,
and the importance of these life skills.
I had a variety of Robert Thirsk teachers who have been teaching anywhere
from less than two years up to twenty years, complete the survey. All participants
knew what a competency was and how much they were worth of students
grades, however, only 33% of them knew what a competency was before coming
to Robert Thirsk High School. All of the surveyed teachers thought competencies
were important and valuable to them as teachers to assess, and all of them said
they liked assessing competencies. When asked to provide advice to teachers
who have not assessed competencies, participants advised that teachers try new
things, figure out what has worked from colleagues, and continually modify the
things that are not working. A key piece of advice that was provided was to
explain to students what competencies are and why they are important. Student
understanding is the most important key to making this successful. Make sure
that they know it isnt an event to boost marks, but an important part of their
learning. The teachers that were surveyed provided ways in which they
incorporate competencies into assessment such as labs, inquiry projects,
presentations, self & peer assessments, and problem solving. One teacher stated,
Competencies are important in students future and careers (managing info,
problem solving), and how you do those things will indicate successfulness more
than knowing a specific outcome that can be googled. This is so important in

the technology age that we live in. So many things can be googled, and
therefore it is crucial that we teach and assess students on life skills such as
these competencies, that technology cannot teach them.
One teacher stated, I think they are valuable but I think the weighting is
significant and can give students a false idea of what they actually know
outcome-wise. This may be an area for improvement or revision in future years.
Another teacher commented that, It [competencies] can be very challenging to
assess but it teaches kids that life skills are important, and they provide a better
overall idea of students abilities. Assessing competencies can be a part of
teacher professional development, as one teacher stated, It provides me with
opportunities to revise my thinking about how I am assessing my students.
Another teacher added, I am getting better at creating good tasks that assess
competencies and involve current lessons. It is important that teachers are
supported and receive professional development to grow and refine how they
assess competencies in their classrooms.
As we can see from these survey results, including competencies in
assessment is valuable not only for students, but for teachers as well. However,
the implementation of assessing competencies needs to be intentional, and
continually revised. Students should be made aware of what they are being
assessed on and why it is valuable, so that they take ownership of it. It is evident
that both students and teachers felt that competencies are valuable life skills but
the percentage that they are worth of the overall grade could be lowered. It is
obvious that many students are unaware of what competencies are or they do not
care about them so the school community needs to make that more clear in order
for this to be as successful as possible. Those who are considering including

competencies in their school design should consult this resource for advice on
how to do it successfully.

Appendix

Student Survey
Please circle the answer and explain if asked.
1. What grade are you in?

10

11

2. Do you know what a competency is?

12

Yes

No

If yes, please explain what a competency is:


__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
___________________

3. Do you know how much competencies are worth of your final grade at Thirsk?
Yes No
If yes, please state the percentage: ___________

4. Can you list one of the Thirsk Competencies?

Yes

No

If yes, please list one: __________________________________________________

5. Do you think competencies should be part of your overall grade?

Yes

No

If yes, please explain:


________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________

6. Do you think competencies are important?

Additional comments:

Yes

No

Teacher Survey
How many years have you been teaching? <2
20
>20
Do you know what a competency is?

2-5

Yes

5-10

10-

No

Did you know what a competency was before Thirsk?

Yes

No

Do you know how much competencies are worth of students final grades?
No

Yes

If yes, how much? _____________


Do you think competencies are important?

Yes

No

How do you assess competencies in your classroom?


_______________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________
How do you feel about assessing competencies?

Like

Dislike

Neutral

Explain:
__________________________________________________________________________________
_________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________

Is assessing competencies valuable to you as a teacher? Yes

No

Explain:
__________________________________________________________________________________
_________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________

What would your advice be to teachers who have not used a competency rubric?
__________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________
Additional comments:
__________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________
Resources
1. Competencies for Engaged Thinkers and Ethical Citizens with an
Entrepreneurial Spirit. In Framework for student learning. Alberta: Alberta
Education.

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