"I'm really struggling to actually give a kid a one. But then when at the end of the year and after she looked at like their state testing and everything, she was like, the ones I thought should be were a one."
-Miranda Thorman
The Principal's Dilemma That's Breaking Our Kids
Your best sixth grader just got a zero on their first math test. Under traditional grading, they'll never recover. That A-grade dream? Mathematically impossible now.
This crushing reality hits thousands of administrators daily. You watch bright kids give up by October because early failures doom their entire semester.
But Miranda Thorman, Executive Director of East Bay Innovation Academy in Oakland, discovered something that changes everything.
The "Aha" Moment That Started a Revolution
Thorman's breakthrough came during her first year implementing competency-based learning at her previous school. Her sixth-grade math teacher was struggling with a fundamental question.
The teacher realized something profound: Traditional grading was lying to everyone.
Those "mercy" grades weren't helping students—they were masking real learning gaps. Kids who needed support weren't getting it because their grades looked fine.
What Competency-Based Learning Actually Looks Like
Forget everything you think you know about grading. Competency-based learning flips the entire script.
Traditional model: Learn content → Take test → Get grade → Move on (ready or not)
Competency-based model: Learn skills → Apply to real problems → Get feedback → Keep improving until mastery
The Real-World Connection
Think about your last job change. You didn't learn everything in exactly two weeks, take a test, and never touch those skills again.
But here's the kicker: You got multiple chances to figure it out.
The Continuum vs. Rubric Game-Changer
Here's where Thorman's approach gets really interesting. Most schools using alternative grading still rely on rubrics—those checkbox-style assessments.
But rubrics create a "paint by numbers" problem.
Enter the continuum approach.
Instead of checking boxes, students progress along a learning continuum. A seventh grader might demonstrate 10th-grade level thinking in one area while still developing grade-level skills in another.
The Civil War Teaching Revolution
Same content, completely different approach. Thorman uses Civil War instruction as a perfect example.
Traditional approach: Memorize battle dates → Learn Gettysburg Address → Take test on facts
Competency approach: Analyze primary sources → Form evidence-based arguments → Apply historical thinking
The content stays identical. The learning goes infinitely deeper.
The Teacher Pipeline Challenge (And Solution)
Implementing competency-based learning sounds amazing in theory. But what about actually training teachers?
Thorman's honest about the challenges: "If I'm a brand new teacher and I'm coming into the classroom and I'm being asked to think about have my students really mastered something and what does that look like is more challenging."
The Bay Area Reality Check
Teacher recruitment in the Bay Area is brutal. High cost of living, sparse pipeline, intense competition.
But Thorman's found a pattern: Teachers seeking this model are already innovating.
These educators crave professional development, curriculum design opportunities, and tight-knit communities focused on student relationships.
The Growth Mindset Breakthrough
Here's where competency-based learning becomes truly transformative. Traditional grading kills growth mindset before it starts.
Competency-based learning flips this completely.
The Bike Riding Analogy
Building 21, a competency-based learning network, uses a brilliant training exercise. They show videos of people riding bikes at different skill levels:
- Toddler learning to balance
- 10-year-old riding down the street
- High school BMX tricks
- Olympic-level performance
Age doesn't determine competency ceiling. Practice and feedback do.
Start Tomorrow: The Principal's Action Plan
Ready to test this approach? Thorman offers concrete first steps that don't require blowing up your entire system.
Step 1: Audit Your Assignments
Example: Instead of "students will read Shakespeare," ask "students will write amazing argumentative essays."
Step 2: Redesign Your Gradebook
Step 3: Read "Grading for Equity"
Joe Feldman's book opens teacher minds to assessment inequity. Start here for staff conversations.
Step 4: Check Your Formative/Summative Balance
Get your team aligned on assessment purposes before diving deeper.
The Standardized Testing Reality
The elephant in the room: How do competency-based students perform on state tests?
Thorman's refreshingly honest about this challenge. Students need test prep and practice with multiple-choice formats.
But here's the interesting part: California's SBAC test is evolving toward competency-based assessment.
Students struggle with stamina for these longer, deeper assessments—exactly what competency-based learning develops.
The Family Transition Challenge
Parents freak out when their sixth grader gets a "2 out of 5" in the first quarter. Thorman's team does extensive family coaching around this reality.
The mindset shift is hard but necessary. A "2" at the beginning of sixth grade isn't failure—it's an accurate starting point for growth.
Why This Matters More Than Ever
Students today are paralyzed by failure. Risk-taking is down. Fear of imperfection is up.
Competency-based learning directly addresses this crisis by making failure a learning tool, not a permanent sentence.
The transition is challenging. The payoff is transformational.
Resources to Get Started
Books:
- "Grading for Equity" by Joe Feldman
- "Thinking Like a Historian" by Sam Wineburg
Organizations:
- Aurora Institute (competency-based learning research)
- Building 21 (Philadelphia-based network)
Assessment Tools:
- NWEA MAP testing for formative assessment
- Competency continuum development
Here's What Actually Matters
Look, we've all watched bright kids shut down after bombing their first quiz. They do the math (literally) and realize they're toast for the semester.
That's not a grading problem—that's a system problem.
Miranda's school proves you don't need to blow everything up to fix this. Start small. Pick one class. Try the "first assignment doesn't count" approach. Watch what happens when kids know they can fail forward.
Here's the thing: Your best teachers are already doing versions of this. They're the ones staying late to give extra feedback, creating multiple versions of assignments, and actually caring whether kids learn the material.
Now imagine if your whole school worked that way.
