After taking a look at the CompetencyWorks publications on competency-based education I thought it would be helpful to put together resources on how to implement competency-based education.
Definitely start with Delivering on the Promise: The Education Revolution (DeLorenzo, R. A., Battino, W. J., Schreiber, R. M., & Gaddy Carrio, B. B. (2009). It is one of the best to understand what it means for a district to flip the script. It’s especially useful as readers feel the difference between compliance schooling and competency-based learning based on Chugach’s actual experiences.
And after rereading Quality Principles for Competency-Based Education (Sturgis and Casey, 2018), I think it’s still a pretty good primer. Don’t read it cover to cover. Use it with colleagues to talk through the design principles and red flags to deepen understanding. It’s the beginning of my understanding of how important it is to root everything in the research about how we learn. (Stay tuned for Wired for Brilliance co-authored with Sydney Schaef.)
Now let’s turn to the technical manuals. Competency-based education, like any education model, shows up as a mix of programs, practices, and policies. As you read, keep the learning sciences front and center. Ask yourself: Why should this idea lead to learning? How might it be implemented to maximize learning? And where might remnants of the “banking model” Paulo Freire described—fixed views of intelligence, knowledge transmission, and carrots-and-sticks motivation—get in the way?
Systemwide / district + leadership implementation
DeLorenzo, R. A., & Mourant, R. L. (2024). Competency-Based Education Ignited: A Transformational Systemwide Approach for Leaders. Solution Tree Press. (Publication date: May 13, 2024).
A “road map” book for leaders who are trying to move beyond pockets of innovation and build a coherent CBE system. Useful when you want language for sequencing change and aligning the adult work (structures, expectations, communication) so it doesn’t collapse into a thousand disconnected pilots.
Marzano, R. J., Zima, B., Simms, J. A., et al. (2025). Marzano Mastery Approaches: A Decision-Making Process for Competency-Based Schools. Marzano Resources / Solution Tree. (Publication date: June 10, 2025).
More “leadership decision-tree” than inspirational manifesto: it’s about the choices schools must make to operate competency-based practices consistently (and the tradeoffs you can’t avoid). Good if you’re trying to get a leadership team to stop hand-waving and start deciding.
Classroom practice + teacher team playbooks (PLCs, assessment, grading)
Bergmann, J. (2022). The Mastery Learning Handbook: A Competency-Based Approach to Student Achievement.ASCD. (Publication date: Oct 14, 2022).
A practical “how it looks on Tuesday” guide to mastery learning (a close cousin of CBE in day-to-day instruction). Helpful for educators who need concrete routines for pacing, feedback cycles, and getting students to the finish line without turning the classroom into chaos.
Vander Els, J. G., & Stack, B. M. (2022). Unpacking the Competency-Based Classroom: Equitable, Individualized Learning in a PLC at Work®. Solution Tree. (Publication date: Apr 25, 2022).
A PLC-friendly implementation guide that connects competency-based practices to equity and the “nuts and bolts” of classroom systems (policies, procedures, evidence of learning). Nice when teams need shared moves and shared language.
Hess, K. K., Stack, B. M., & Vander Els, J. G. (2024). Elevating Competency-Based Learning in a PLC at Work®: Actionable Assessment, Defensible Evidence, and Equitable Grading. Solution Tree. (Publication date: Sep 11, 2024).
If your district is stuck in the swamp of “we’re competency-based… but also grades… but also points… but also vibes,” this one brings a strong spine: what counts as evidence, how to build a defensible body of evidence, and how to connect that to grading/reporting without punishing kids for being human.
Stack, B. M., & Vander Els, J. G. (2022). Teaching in a Competency-Based Secondary School. Solution Tree. (Publication date: May 10, 2022).
Secondary-focused teaching guidance for running a competency-based classroom when schedules, credits, and course structures make everything harder. Useful when high schools want to move past “CBE is easy in elementary” and into real operational strategies.
Happy reading!
Bye for now,
