1
Executive Summary
Our education system reflects our larger world where for too long, structural inequities have
gone unaddressed, leading to generations of underserved students not receiving the high-
quality education they deserve. Although there are students who do well in our current system,
many of them are not thriving. The Mastery-based Learning Work Group members believe that
Washington has an imperative to shift the focus of our education system from an industrial
model that sorts students to one that intentionally supports every student in developing the
range of dynamic skills we want to see in each graduate of our public K-12 system.
Washington State’s Profile of a Graduate represents a shift in the focus of our system. We
recognize that many educators are already helping students to cultivate the skills laid out in the
Profile. The larger community, students, educators, and families all contribute to the effort to
support our students growing and developing as human beings and learners.
Our collective “why” calls for a transformation of our education system to close both the
opportunity gap and the resulting achievement gap. The Work Group believes that the Profile of
a Graduate should serve as the overarching vision for the entire K-12 education system moving
forward—a vision that will help Washington State achieve the goals of basic education and that
schools, families, and communities will embrace because they helped develop it.
Washington is taking steps to increase capacity for a more personalized learning system. The
Work Group has been reexamining what students should know and be able to do, and how
students demonstrate their knowledge and skills. The Profile of a Graduate will be the bridge
between the two routes to a diploma (credit-based and mastery-based). It would convey that
every student is working toward meeting the same standards. The Profile will set the vision for
our expectations of students, whether they attend a traditional program, or mastery-based
school, or both during their educational journey.
The Work Group is proposing a Profile of a Graduate that reflects a wide range of input from
stakeholders and lessons learned from other states and communities. Our recommendations
align to the charges (in bold) assigned to the Work Group in 2021 through SSB 5249:
1. Consult with students, families, and educators who have been underserved by the
education system: Feedback was solicited through a variety of methods to inform
development of the Profile of a Graduate. The themes from the feedback were generally
consistent across methods and stakeholder groups. For instance, what students shared
about what they need regarding soft skills was very similar to what employers shared.
2. Consult with representatives from postsecondary education and training programs,
labor, and industry: Stakeholders appreciated the goals of the Work Group to refocus
the education system on helping students prepare for their post-secondary goals by
developing their transferrable skills. They particularly emphasized that students need
cultural competency skills so they can work effectively with people from all backgrounds.
3. Develop the Washington State Profile of a Graduate: We do not believe
implementation of the Profile should just be one more thing school districts are taking
2
on in the midst of responding to the coronavirus pandemic. Rather, the Profile should
serve as the North Star for a district, to help design educational experiences that support
every student in attaining the skills they will need in their journey after high school, for
success in postsecondary education, careers, citizenship, and to enable lifelong learning.
a. A group of K-12 educators and business and community representatives should
be convened to develop sample tools and rubrics for the Profile to ease the
burden on schools regarding implementation. These rubrics and other tools will
help tangibly explain to educators, students, and families how Washington’s
Profile of a Graduate skills can be demonstrated by students.
b. The High School and Beyond Plan (HSBP) will be invaluable as a tool for helping
each student track their growth in the Profile of a Graduate characteristics and
focus on what skills they need to develop for their personal goals post high
school. To maximize the potential of the HSBP in supporting student learning and
the Profile of a Graduate, the Work Group recommends additional work happen
at the state level to make the HSBP more uniform and equitable for students.
c. The Work Group recommends the SBE review the Profile every ten years to
ensure the skills still reflect the top needs of Washington’s communities.
4. Provide recommendations for supporting implementation of MBL:
a. The Work Group’s 2020 Report
explains that successful MBL implementation will
require a variety of other policy changes and supports. We provide additional
information and updated information where it is available in this report.
b. The Work Group believes the lessons learned through the MBL Collaborative
grant project will be invaluable. While the SBE is seeking private funding to
extend the effort, SBE will likely have continued requests for ongoing funding
from the Legislature as we are able to demonstrate efficacy of the program. The
Work Group believes this approach will more equitably serve students and has
the potential for a high return on investment for the state.
c. The Work Group recommends that a standardized state format for a mastery
transcript be developed. We want to balance the concerns regarding capacity of
our higher education partners to evaluate mastery transcripts with the desire of
MBL schools to move toward more equitable grading practices. We recommend a
phase-in period for the adoption of the new mastery transcript, determined by
SBE in consultation with higher education partners and other stakeholders.
5. Submit the report on the Profile of a Graduate to the State Board of Education: We
believe SBE should consider a variety of issues in their work to align graduation
requirements to the Profile, including development of a crosswalk between learning
standards, credit requirements, and competencies based on the Profile. This will explain
what skills we expect students to gain from each of the credit/subject area requirements.
The Work Group emphasizes that the implementation of the Profile must be done with an equity
lens. Once implemented, the Profile should help educators and the system recognize and value
what skills students bring to their education from their diverse cultures. This is our opportunity
to radically transform our education system and change the foundation of our system by
centering students, equity, inclusion, and access through Washington’s Profile of a Graduate.
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MASTERY-BASED LEARNING WORK GROUP 2021 REPORT
Overview of the 2021 Work Group Report
As directed by SSB 5249 (Chapter 144, Laws of 2021), the Mastery-based Learning (MBL) Work
Group has developed a Washington State Profile of a Graduate describing the cross disciplinary
skills a student should have developed by the time they graduate high school.
Beyond the recommendations already laid out previously in the MBL Work Group’s 2020 Report
,
this report discusses recommendations for implementation of the Profile of a Graduate (in
section 3) and additional recommendations (in section 4) for supporting implementation of
mastery-based learning. Mastery-based learning is defined in E2SHB 1599 Section 301 as:
a) Students advance upon demonstrated mastery of content;
b) Competencies include explicit, measurable, transferable learning objectives that
empower students;
c) Assessments are meaningful and a positive learning experience for students;
d) Students receive rapid, differentiated support based on their individual learning needs;
and
e) Learning outcomes emphasize competencies that include application and creation of
knowledge along with the development of important skills and dispositions.
Why does Washington need a Profile of a Graduate?
Developing a Profile of a Graduate is an opportunity to radically
transform our education system and change the foundation of our
system by centering students, equity, inclusion, and access. Although
some students succeed in our current system, many students are not
being well served and even many of the students who do well are not
thriving.
Our education system has not substantially changed since the
Industrial Revolution, when it was “…designed to select and sort
[students], rather than to develop potential, and—through
segregation, unequal school funding, and tracking systems—
institutionalized racism and classism are baked into the design of the
system itself.
1
” We cannot continue to simply tinker around the
edges of the system and expect our students to be prepared for a 21
st
century world and
1
Darling-Hammond, L., Cantor, P., Hernández, L. E., Theokas, C., Schachner, A., Tijerina, E., & Plasencia, S. (2021). Design Principles
for Schools: Putting the Science of Learning and Development into Action. Learning Policy Institute, page v
4
changing economy. As a state, we must support schools to intentionally help students develop
the dynamic range of skills we want to see in each graduate of our K-12 system.
Families, employers, and the public all say the education system should focus on developing
innovators, self-starters, and individuals with a full set of “life-ready” skills. The Superintendents
Alliance at the National Center on Education and the Economy, an alliance of urban
superintendents with a combined enrollment of more than 1 million students, recently argued
that “…a life-ready standard would mean students are competent in reading and math but also
able to demonstrate critical-thinking skills, mental and physical health, creativity, collaboration,
leadership, and effective communication. It would mean students have engaged with a rich
curriculum that asked them to think deeply, make connections across disciplines, where
assessments encourage them to explain their reasoning and show what they know.
2
”
According to a nationally representative survey of parents, “Parents are strongly in favor of
schools teaching the skills promoted in social-emotional learning. Things like setting goals,
controlling emotions, and being informed citizens.”
3
The survey found that 86% of parents
agreed somewhat or strongly with the statement: “Learning life skills and social skills at school is
just as important as learning academics.”
4
Likewise, a
2021 national poll of likely 2022 voters revealed that
74 percent of respondents say a lack of personalized
learning focused on individual needs is a problem,
indicating voters support a shift in our system to
increase personalized learning opportunities for
students.
5
We must shift our system focus to
developing each student as a whole person, and
spending time supporting each student’s social,
emotional, and mental needs, as well as their
academic needs.
6
Then every student can truly thrive.
The Profile of a Graduate is a way to make
Washington’s Basic Education Goals actionable, as
schools will help each student develop on a personal
2
https://www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-graduation-must-depend-on-learning-not-time/2021/10
3
https://www.edweek.org/leadership/parents-like-social-emotional-learning-but-not-the-name/2021/08
4
Ibid
5
National School Boards Action Center. (2021, August 25). National Poll Shows Voters Strongly Support Public Schools. Retrieved
September 10, 2021, from https://nsbac.org/2021-poll/.
6
Throughout the report, we have used language focused on the individual student. However, despite conventional grammatical
rules that pronoun usage should be parallel within a sentence (singular or plural), we have intentionally used “their” to be inclusive
and representative of all student perspectives along the gender binary spectrum.
Photo 1 Student and educator in Avanti’s outdoor science
classroom (Avanti HS, Olympia)
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level in the skills and knowledge articulated in the law.
The Profile of a Graduate is not just the latest trend. It is a way of enabling educators to address
all the important skills in the classroom that we want our students to learn beyond the academic
content, such as critical thinking, problem solving, and how to work well in a team. Research
indicates that for learning to “stick,” it must be
integrated with every aspect of our existence: academic, social, emotional, cognitive,
physical, and identity-building…This integration is why children must be seen as whole
people and taught holistically. Children need support in developing self-regulation and
executive functioning. They must develop physical and psychological wellness in order to
understand their self and their relation to the world. These attributes are as important to
positive development and personal growth as learning reading, math, or the arts, and are
critical to learning those things as well.
7
Importantly, as policymakers contemplate the adoption of the skills in the Profile of a Graduate,
they must acknowledge that in order to move forward leading with equity, it is essential that we
value and celebrate the diversity of the bodies and minds that exists in our school system. The
education system must center our students of color and students from low-income households,
who bring a wealth of knowledge, cultural richness, and diversity of experiences into the
classroom but unfortunately, who are disproportionately disciplined for behaviors that would be
otherwise be accepted as developmentally appropriate. Self-regulation must be equitably taught
and reinforced in a trauma-informed manner, paying attention to factors that may influence
behavior, such as crises or challenges at home. Likewise, we must honor students with physical,
cognitive, sensory, and developmental disabilities that may exist differently in the world, thereby
having different, but equally important, needs, goals, and achievement benchmarks with regards
to physical and psychological wellness.
Recently, the Aurora Institute published a policy brief which identified the top issues to address
in state policy to transform the K-12 education system and to move toward an equitable system
that is built around how students learn best. The first recommendation calls for redefining
student success through a Profile of a Graduate
to “create a vision to modernize and redefine
more holistic graduation requirements based on what students need to know and be able to do
for future success.”
8
Multiple states have already adopted a Profile of a Graduate, including South Carolina, Utah, and
Vermont. For instance, “The Profile of a Virginia Graduate was officially approved by the Board
[of Education] in 2017, which updated Virginia’s high school graduation requirements and
7
Science of Learning and Development Alliance . (2020, May). What We've Learned. How the Science of Learning and Development
Can Transform Education. Retrieved September 13, 2021, from https://5bde8401-9b54-4c2c-8a0c-
569fc1789664.filesusr.com/ugd/eb0b6a_24f761d8a4ec4d7db13084eb2290c588.pdf., page 11
8
Patrick, S., Chambers , A., & Truong, N. (2020, April). Future Focused State Policy Actions to Transform K-12 Education.
https://aurora-institute.org/wp-content/uploads/future-focused-state-policy-actions-to-transform-k12-education-2020-web.pdf.
6
opened the way for high schools to more fully embrace a focus on deeper learning, career
pathways and performance assessments.
9
”
Various organizations in the education community across the nation have been arguing that
developing a Profile of a Graduate “framed as an aspirational and descriptive vision of outcomes
for the system—can create momentum for achieving education transformation…by galvanizing
educators and the community around a shared vision and a more comprehensive definition of
success that goes well beyond the limitations of what any standardized test can reveal about a
learner’s future readiness.
10
”
HOW DOES THE PROFILE OF A GRADUATE ALIGN WITH CURRENT LAW?
Washington is taking steps to increase our capacity for a more personalized learning system.
The MBL Work Group has been reexamining what students should know and be able to do, and
how students demonstrate their knowledge and skills. As stated in the MBL Work Group’s
2020
report, the Profile of a Graduate will be the bridge between the two routes to a diploma (credit-
based and mastery-based). It would convey that every student is meeting the same standards.
The Profile of a Graduate will set the vision for our expectations of students regardless of how
we deliver instruction (either through a traditional model or through a mastery-based model).
Some references in law already guide what our students should know and be able to do by the
time they graduate from high school. For instance, “the purpose of a high school diploma is to
declare that a student is ready for success in postsecondary education, gainful employment, and
citizenship, and is equipped with the skills to be a lifelong learner” (RCW. 28A.230.090
). Our
basic education law states that students will have the opportunity to become responsible and
respectful global citizens, to contribute to their economic well-being and that of their families
and communities, to explore and understand different perspectives, and to enjoy productive and
satisfying lives. The goals of each school district include providing opportunities for every
student to develop the knowledge and skills essential to communicate successfully, know and
apply knowledge across subject areas, think analytically and creatively, and solve problems
(
RCW 28A.150.210).
The Work Group strongly supports the policy intent of these laws, believes the Profile of a
Graduate aligns with and further defines them, and envisions the Profile of a Graduate as a
tangible, easily understood representation of the characteristics students will develop by the
time they graduate from the K-12 system (as shown in Figure 1).
9
Steinberg, A., Almeida, C., Cuevas, E., & Krauss , S. (2020, March). Virginia is for Learners. Virginia is for Learners: How One State
Modernized Public Education to Better Prepare High Schools Graduates for a Changing World. Retrieved September 27, 2021, from
https://commonwealthlearningpartnership.org/sites/all/themes/education/resources/pdf/HistoryofVAisforLearners.pdf
., page 7
10
A Report from the Learning 2025: National Commission on Student-Centered, Equity-Focused Education. (2021, August 31). An
American Imperative: A New Vision of Public Schools. Retrieved September 9, 2021, from
https://aasacentral.org/wp-
content/uploads/2021/04/CommissionReportFINAL_040821.pdf.
7
The Profile will be used by the State Board of Education to review and recommend revisions to
graduation requirements (as shown in Figure 2).
Another example of how the
Profile might inform policy
is to look at the need for
students to develop critical
thinking skills. Critical
thinking has been identified
as a need by employers and
higher education for
decades and the importance
now is greater than ever to
prepare students to enter
the global economy and
engage productively in their
communities. Likewise,
critical thinking is a skill that
cannot be centered in an
individual course or
experience. By highlighting it as an outcome in the Profile of a Graduate, the system can
emphasize the importance of this skill across all subject areas and curriculum. The Profile must
support all students so that it can be a transformational tool to help generate an educational
system that better serves all students.
Figure 1 shows how the Profile of a Graduate builds on the Purpose of a Diploma and Basic Education
Figure 2 shows the State Policy Framework for the High School Diploma
8
Specifically in Washington, among the factors employers cite most often when surveyed about
difficulty in hiring is the lack of soft skills in applicants (identified by 32% of employer
respondents on the survey.)
11
Social-emotional learning helps students develop the soft skills
that employers seek as well as other necessary life skills to thrive in the real world. Social-
emotional learning can and should be integrated across the system; we need to help students
learn to self-regulate and self-advocate.
This is our opportunity to breakdown the silos in our education system. The Profile of a
Graduate skills are inherently interdisciplinary. Students can practice collaboration during a
science lab just as easily as they can during a group project in English Language Arts. Science
teachers, English Language Arts teachers, and CTE teachers should all be able to teach the skills
in the Profile of a Graduate. The Work Group recognizes that many educators are already
helping students to develop the characteristics of the Washington Profile of a Graduate. But
these efforts are too frequently isolated endeavors. We must mount a systemic effort that
includes the larger community of students, educators, families, and the public in understanding
and supporting our students’ growth and development as human beings and as learners.
The Work Group believes that the Profile of a Graduate should serve as the overarching vision
for the entire K-12 education system moving forward—a vision that schools, families, and
communities will embrace because they helped develop it.
Washington State Profile of a Graduate
The development of the Profile of a Graduate skills is a lifelong process; these are skills adults
may still struggle with at times in their life. Thus, the K-12 system focus is to support students in
developing age-appropriate foundational skills which prepare them for their next steps in life.
Once fully implemented, we expect all Washington students to be developing these skills
throughout their education and that high school graduates would have the ability to draw upon
each of these interconnected skills at the appropriate time; for instance, when an individual
should be a collaborator versus being a leader.
11
Dula, C. (2020). (rep.). 2020 Washington Employer Workforce Needs and Practices Report. Workforce Training and Education
Coordinating Board. Retrieved from https://www.wtb.wa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/2020-Employer-Survey-FINAL-4-27-
2021.pdf.
9
A Washington State high school graduate:
• Embraces Differences/Diversity: The graduate
recognizes our differences as assets
• Sustains Wellness: The graduate honors their
individual needs and is able to prioritize their
physical, mental, and emotional health.
• Communicates Effectively: The graduate
communicates effectively about thoughts and ideas
using oral, written, and nonverbal communication
skills in many forms and contexts.
• Solves Problems: The graduate generates original
ideas, solutions, and products in imaginative ways,
and extracts learning from failure to move ideas
forward.
• Cultivates Personal Growth and Knowledge: The
graduate understands their own skills, talents,
strengths, and weaknesses (places to lean into the
talent of others).
• Masters Life Skills/Self-Agency: The graduate has
knowledge of core principles across content areas
and understands how to apply this knowledge in
appropriate contexts.
Figure 3 shows the Profile of a Graduate categories and the skill components of each larger category
Photo 2 Student canoe trip experience
(Maritime HS, Des Moines)
10
Each Profile of a Graduate larger category (Communicate Effectively, etc.) is further defined with
the variety of skills necessary to reach the overarching skill (e.g. It is necessary to collaborate as
well as navigate conflict to communicate effectively):
• Cultivates Personal Growth and Knowledge:
o Shows confidence: Believes in themselves, demonstrates excitement to learn,
and a hunger for engaging with the world.
o Applies learning: Uses their knowledge and skills from a variety of disciplines
and can apply relevant information to each situation
o Sets personally meaningfully goals: Creates, monitors, and reflects upon
ambitious and realistic goals.
• Solves Problems:
o Thinks critically: Examines and challenges assumptions, makes decisions based
on evidence, reasons effectively to make logical judgments and explanations.
o Demonstrates resilience: Sets personal goals, applies best efforts to achieve
them, and perseveres when faced with challenges and setbacks. Works well in a
climate of uncertainty and changing priorities.
o Embraces creativity: Generates original ideas, solutions, and products in
imaginative ways.
• Communicates Effectively:
o Works on a team: Honors and leverages others’ strengths to build collective
commitment and action.
o Collaborates: Takes responsibility for self and team through shared, focused
leadership. By joining forces with others, makes room for a diverse range of
voices, skills, and views.
o Navigates conflict: Contributes toward healthy dynamics between individuals
and among communities.
• Sustains Wellness:
o Cultivates physical and emotional well-being: Belief in development of whole
self, including being able to support a healthy balance of mental,
social/emotional and physical well-being. Understands the importance of
universal access to health and wellness resources, such as natural spaces, gyms,
healthy food and produce, and health care.
o Fosters empathy: Listens to others, including people from differing
opinions/backgrounds, to understand their experiences.
o Builds relationships: Builds and sustains strong, healthy relationships in personal
life as well as in school and the community.
• Embraces Differences/Diversity:
o Participates in community: Feels a sense of belonging to a community and a
commitment to contribute meaningfully to that community.
o Promotes global responsibility: Practices responsible decision-making and
considers the impact on others and the environment.
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o Shows cultural competency: Values and embraces diverse cultures and unique
perspectives through mutual respect, open dialogue, and civic responsibility.
Understands own biases and reflects on them regularly. Considers the impact of
structural inequality and understands how power and privilege work to provide
inequitable societal benefits. Has knowledge of current and past structural and
institutional racism and ableism.
• Masters Life Skills/Self-Agency:
o Takes initiative: Seizes opportunities to grow, explore, and lead by combining
hard work and determination with purpose and critical thinking. Able to learn
independently, advocate for oneself and reach out for information when they
hear about opportunities.
o Understands financial and digital literacy: Understands critical financial
information, such as budgeting, taxes, and loans; utilizes technology in
productive, responsible ways in social, academic, and professional settings.
o Accesses resources: Able to find valid and reliable information and supports they
seek in their personal and professional lives.
Work Group Process and Recommendations
The Legislature directed the MBL Work Group to, “…develop a Washington state profile of a
graduate describing the cross disciplinary skills a student should have developed by the time
they graduate high school.” The Legislature required the Work Group, in developing the Profile,
to:
1. Consult with students, families, and educators who have been underserved by the
education system, examples of which include communities of color, English language
learners, and students with disabilities.
2. Consult with representatives from postsecondary education and training programs,
labor, and industry, and seek input from the Council of Presidents and the Washington
Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.
3. Submit a report on the Profile of a Graduate to the Legislature.
4. Provide related recommendations for supporting implementation of mastery-based
learning.
5. Submit the report on the Profile of a Graduate to the State Board of Education.
The following feedback from stakeholders and subsequent recommendations have been
grouped into five sections based on the applicable component of the statutory charges (as listed
above) to the Work Group:
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1. CONSULT WITH STUDENTS, FAMILIES, AND EDUCATORS WHO HAVE BEEN
UNDERSERVED BY THE EDUCATION SYSTEM
F
EEDBACK OVERVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The Work Group was intentional in seeking out feedback from students, families, and educators
who have been underserved by the education system. The feedback was solicited through a
variety of methods to inform initial development of the Profile of a Graduate:
• Profile of a Graduate survey
• Profile of a Graduate public listening sessions (hosted by SBE on behalf of the Work
Group)
• Profile of a Graduate listening sessions hosted in collaboration with partner
organizations, including:
o Washington State School Directors’ Association
o Road Map Project: Parent Leadership Team
o Washington State Commission on Asian Pacific
American Affairs
o Enumclaw High School’s Cultural Club students
o Black Education Strategy Roundtable
• Athena Group affinity group sessions
• The Root of Our Youth community conversations
• Individual meetings with interested parents and students
(hosted by SBE on behalf of the Work Group)
• Listening session with students and staff from the
Spokane Juvenile Detention School Programs
Participants from across all feedback methods had the
opportunity to select if they wanted to be informed about the
Profile of a Graduate development process and receive updates.
Once the Work Group developed a draft Profile of a Graduate, an
email was sent to those who had opted to receive updates to ask
if the draft aligned with their initial feedback and if they had
additional feedback they wanted considered by the Work Group.
Overall, the themes from the feedback were generally consistent across feedback methods and
from different stakeholders. For instance, what students shared about what they need regarding
soft skills and what the employers say they need were the same or very similar; both groups
identified the same necessary skills.
Photo 3 Highline Big Picture student and mentor
(Shoreline)
13
However, a concern, particularly when hearing from communities of color, is about how the
Profile of a Graduate will be implemented. The Work Group emphasizes that the implementation
of the Profile must be done with an equity lens. The way one culture may recognize work ethic
or demonstrate resiliency is different across contexts. The Work Group urges the education
system and each district and school within it to use the Profile of a Graduate as a way to
recognize our underserved students and the knowledge and skills gained through circumstances
and experiences outside of the classroom. For instance, students who are working to support
their families and appear tired in classes could be seen, not as unmotivated, but rather as
resilient and resolute. The fully implemented Profile should help educators and the system
recognize and value what students bring to their education as well as help identify and address
factors that make learning more challenging for individual students.
We must recognize all the ways our students uniquely demonstrate
each of the skills in the Profile of a Graduate, some of which may be
demonstrated in classrooms, and some of which may be
demonstrated through learning experiences that take place outside
of the school building. To do this, educators must get to know their
students, so they know what is happening in their students’ lives and
what learning is occurring outside of the classroom. While many
educators likely already have structures in place to naturally get to
know each student as individuals, some educators may need to think
differently to shift their focus to developing their student as a whole
person, and not focus only on teaching content knowledge. Forming
these relationships is why most teachers became teachers in the first
place; and yet, systemic issues along the way have forced teachers to
narrow their focus.
Likewise, local district and school administrators will need to support educators in this endeavor.
One option, already in place in many schools, may be creating advisory or homeroom classes, so
that each educator has a group of students they are able to interact with and build relationships
with at a deeper level. Students need to have multiple meaningful relationships with adults and
smaller learning groups. The facilitation of small learning communities could be the preferred
method for students to build authentic relationships with multiple adults simultaneously.
Smaller learning groups can be achieved in a variety of ways, e.g., through multiple adults in one
classroom (a certificated educator and a paraeducator, etc.) As stated in the Staffing Enrichment
Workgroup’s report: “Reductions to caseload and class size increases the ability of educators to
individualize instruction or supports, provide timely feedback to students and families, and keep
students actively engaged in learning…caseload and class size impact the ability of staff to more
14
fully serve students and eliminate opportunity gaps.”
12
This recommendation is also supported
by the recommendations provided by students from the Spokane Juvenile Detention School
Program (see later section in the report), who recommended this as one way they could have
been more successful in the traditional school system if they had been given more
individualized attention and support.
P
ROFILE OF A GRADUATE SURVEY
Throughout the summer, the SBE
administered a survey on behalf of the
Work Group to solicit feedback on the
development of the Profile. The survey
was open from July 29 through October 4,
available in twelve languages, and
completed by 300 respondents. Both
broad and targeted outreach was
conducted to solicit responses. The survey
was publicized through all SBE
communication channels (social media
platforms, listserv, etc.) and shared via
multiple partner communication channels
(see Appendix 5
for more details on partner
organizations who spread the word about this work.)
Individual email outreach was conducted to
encourage participation, especially from students
and families who have been underserved by the
education system, and particularly from
communities of color, English language learners, and
students with disabilities. Demographic data for
race/ethnicity and annual household income is
shown in Figures 4 and 5 respectively for survey
respondents.
13
Information regarding respondents’
geographical location by Educational Service District
(ESD) is shown in Figure 6. Additional data from the
survey is available in a separate data appendix.
12
https://www.k12.wa.us/sites/default/files/public/communications/2019-12-Staffing-Enrichment-Workgroup.pdf p. 32, 33
13
We recognize that the survey results received do not adequately represent the target populations from which we were hoping to
obtain feedback; namely, communities of color, families of students with disabilities, and non-native English speakers. Further
feedback from these communities was collected during focus group sessions conducted by The Athena Group, The Root of Our
Youth community conversations, and the Road Map Project: Parent Leadership Team listening session (see Appendix 2).
Figure 4: shows the percent of respondents identifying
with each race/ethnicity by K-12 Educator Status
Figure 5: shows the percent of respondents by
household income.
15
The survey posed multiple questions
about the components to the purpose of
a high school diploma. Washington law
(RCW 28A.230.090) states that the
purpose of a high school diploma is to
declare that a student is ready for
success in:
• postsecondary education,
• gainful employment,
• and citizenship,
• and is equipped with the skills to
be a lifelong learner.
Respondents were asked to indicate how critical each of the four components is as a part of the
Profile of Graduate. The survey asks these questions so that the Profile of a Graduate can help
the system to realign our focus to the areas that are most important or that have not been
emphasized in school.
The survey asked two questions per each of the four components. The first question asked the
respondent to rate (on a scale of 1 to 100 with 100 being the most important) the importance of
the measure. The second question asked the respondent to rate (on a scale of 1 to 100) how
effective the education system
is in providing the outcome to
students. In every case, the
respondents rated the
measure as being very
important but the educational
system as only moderately
effective at providing the
desired outcome. For instance,
Figure 7 shows the ratings for
the importance of and system
effectiveness of preparation
for life after K-12 and lifelong
learning by respondent role.
The survey respondents’ top roles (in order) were K-12 staff, K-12 parent, parent of a post-
secondary student, business owner, post-secondary student, higher education staff, K-12
student (shown in Figure 8).
Respondents were asked to select the top three skills that they thought would be important to
include in a Profile of a Graduate (based on a list of ten skills identified by business and labor
Figure 7: shows the ratings for the importance of and system
effectiveness of preparation for life after K-12 and lifelong learning
Figure 6: shows the percentage of survey
respondents by ESD.
16
representatives at an early Work Group meeting—see the full list in the survey data appendix.)
The top six skills selected, in order from highest to lowest of respondent selection, included:
1. Self-management/responsibility/self-efficacy
2. Systems thinking/critical
thinking
3. Conflict communication
4. Resiliency/adaptability
5. Community-
mindedness/global
citizen
6. Problem-solving
While the Work Group made
some changes in wording/terms
used based on additional
feedback, all six of these skills
show up in the Profile of a
Graduate.
Several quotes from the survey,
14
in response to a question regarding the most important skills
to include in the Profile of a Graduate, include:
• “Students need ‘practice’ using the skills we know are important for them to utilize in
their young adult lives. With ‘experience’ being the best teacher, students need safe,
consistent, environments toward gaining skills to become a productive, healthy, viable
citizen. In other words, schools need to intentionally and immediately incorporate these
skills into all aspects of their education pathway and not only as ‘stand alone’ skills. The
topic that is of utmost importance is personal finance; students need comprehensive
knowledge of this topic immediately and consistently. This is the one item students tell
me they wish had been mandated throughout their school career.”
• “The K-12 curriculum should meet students where they are at and help them develop
and master capacities across these 4 domains: emotional, intellectual, physical and
spiritual. Support students to have ‘sense of place’; to know the land where they live,
play, go to school and engage in their communities. High school graduates should have
multiple experiences with people of different cultures, beliefs and backgrounds and be
skilled in addressing complex systems issues in an interdisciplinary manner together with
others.”
14
Additional quotes are available in Appendix 1.
Figure 8: shows top roles of survey respondents
17
PROFILE OF A GRADUATE PUBLIC LISTENING SESSIONS & STAKEHOLDER GROUP SESSIONS
The SBE hosted four public listening sessions on behalf of the Work Group to provide an
overview of the goals behind the Profile of a Graduate
development and solicit feedback to inform the development of
the Profile. The sessions were held from July to September and
included seventy attendees total.
In addition to the discussion, attendees were polled at each
session and asked to select their top three skills for the Profile of
a Graduate. Across all four sessions, the top three skills were self-
management, critical thinking and problem-solving, and global
citizen/culturally competent. Several quotes from the sessions
included:
• “Lifelong learner—I do everything I can to instill a passion
for learning in my students. Confident, responsible,
reflective, engaged learners. I use my English Language
Arts curriculum to teach the skills I think they’ll need to be
successful in life.”
• “As we define what these skills might look like, we want to
make sure we aren’t perpetuating the bias already present
in our system. We have to utilize Universal Design for
Learning to ensure we are recognizing how various
cultures and students with disabilities are showing these
skills.”
• “As we move into implementation, we need to have shared accountability and
engagement with communities. What does it look like to come back and revisit how is
this working? We will need processes to continually review.”
• “[The Profile of a Graduate] has to be addressed by the whole system, not just high
school.”
• A current student shared: “We need required classes for real life skills like financial
literacy, a leadership class to help with communication, and a cultural studies class.
Students also need to learn to disagree respectfully.”
• “Well-rounded in social emotional intelligence, be an ally, know independent living skills,
a world citizen, have integrity, collaborative, lifelong learner.”
Photo 4 Highline Big Picture student at her
internship site: Pottery Northwest (Shoreline)
18
ATHENA GROUP: AFFINITY GROUP SESSIONS
SBE contracted with The Athena Group as an external consultant to help with specific
engagement with students and families of color as well as students with disabilities.
15
Their
report highlights some of the same skills that came across in the public listening sessions, but
the affinity groups also prioritized empathy, independent life skills to effectively navigate life
and systems, and wellness of the whole person.
Several quotes from the sessions included:
• “Teachers and parents, and the community work together as a unit…[starting] in
Elementary.” –Parent of student with disabilities expressing desire for whole community
approach to raising children
• “Every child can be smart when given the right resources.” –Asian American
parent/guardian talking about the value of support
• “I want my student to definitely have a better life than I did, surrounded by love and
have a strong foundation. I want them to understand how important their education is
so they can have a good job with great pay, always making time for their family and time
for themselves for hobbies and such.” –Multicultural parent/guardian (Black/African
American, Indigenous, Asian American)
• “There are a lot of great minds from different groups of people; if people aren't
accepted, we miss out on those ideas.” –Hispanic/Latina Parent
• “Teaching them leadership skills at an early age is very, very important to help them be
successful in their careers later on.” –Black/African American Parent
T
HE ROOT OF OUR YOUTH
The Root of our Youth (ROOY), the 100% student run subcommittee of The Root of Us,
conducted a community conversation project on behalf of the SBE and Work Group. The
objective of this project was to center student voice (especially Black, Indigenous, People of
Color (BIPOC), queer, trans, and non-binary) in three interrelated areas of SBE work: Profile of a
Graduate, high school graduation requirements, and statewide K-12 accountability.
ROOY came up with their own version of a Profile of a Graduate
. It is more focused on personal
growth and developing as a person than the other Profile of a Graduate examples shared from
other communities. The students shared that they wanted to learn in school about financial
education, how to fill out a rental application, and generally how to “do life.” Students also felt
that the career center was underused and that there should be a career class offered.
Even though most students in ROOY noted they were doing quite well in school by traditional
measures, they expressed that the current education system isn’t engaging and doesn’t give
15
Participants self-identified their race/ethnicity as well as if they (the student) or their student (for family members) had a disability.
19
them a chance to learn in ways that develop them as thinkers and individuals who are going to
be our future leaders. They emphasized the importance of seeing themselves represented at
school through a more diverse educator workforce and curriculum that celebrates diversity. Rote
memorization and the classic classroom setting are not compelling to them. They wished that
educators and policymakers realized that there are problems in our education system not just
for students who are struggling academically, but that even the “best” students feel uninspired
and disengaged by traditional schools where they can “play the game” but don’t get to enjoy
the learning process because of how school is currently structured.
Importantly, the students highlighted their experiences of marginalization, discrimination, and
erasure as students of color with diverse cultural and gender identities. They wanted a revision
of graduation requirements to include a greater diversity of options, more pathways for success,
flexibility in kinds of credits offered, student-led learning, and student-centered approaches.
More information about the larger community conversation project with The Root of Our Youth
is available in Appendix 2
.
INDIVIDUAL MEETINGS WITH PARENTS AND STUDENTS
On behalf of the Work Group, SBE staff offered one-on-one meetings with parents and students
if they wanted to provide additional context to their feedback provided via listening sessions or
the statewide survey.
I
NSIGHTS FROM FORMER STUDENT
Che Teeters
16
dropped out of a traditional high school and recently graduated with a degree in
network technology and computer security from the Open Doors program at Lake Washington
Institute of Technology. He shared the following about his experience in a traditional high
school:
In high school, I know I wasn't the best kid, but when teachers gave up on me then I
gave up on me. They never tried to understand why I was dropping out. My biggest
reason is that high school treats students like we are little kids. When I dropped out, I
didn't know how to be an adult. I didn't know how to make executive decisions or how
to problem solve because I was never taught that in high school. When I left high school,
I felt unprepared for the world—not because I didn't take calculus, but because I didn't
know how to do taxes or how to apply math to my paycheck. In high school, underused
knowledge was prioritized when practical knowledge should have been. So much
pressure is put on kids about their GPA and setting themselves up for the rest of their
lives; it's not fair and it's unnecessary. High school is made harder than it should have
16
Che’s name is used with his permission.
20
been—students base their confidence on how well they do on the test. It’s awful we tell
kids there’s only one path to success: college as soon as they graduate high school.
In the Open Doors program, right away we’re treated as adults and our learning was all
based on applied knowledge (e.g., math in society).
To make schools healthier for kids, it doesn't even have to be a massive change in
schools. Teachers just have to acknowledge that not everyone
learns the same way and get to know their kids. But teachers
need to be supported to do this—they can’t have class sizes of
30-40 kids. Or at least if they do, schools need to come up with
advisory or other cohort structures so teachers have a
responsibility to get to know a small group of kids.
High schools need to teach students to have confidence in
themselves, how to problem solve, how to negotiate a salary,
how to make yourself a desirable candidate for a job, what a
cover letter is and how to write a resume, and make long
lasting connections with people (network, not just for a job, but
socially). Even more importantly, students need to learn how to
express themselves well emotionally and learn healthy life skills.
Several quotes from other one-on-one sessions included:
• Parent of color from South King County:
o My hope is that school districts will align to the Profile of a Graduate work—it is
important. It’s an opportunity to focus on each student’s humanity. If a child has
a foundation to learn, they will learn. Social and emotional skills (like in the
Profile) is that foundation. In my own words, I would prioritize:
o “Truth-seeker”: searching and understanding American history and sifting
through bias
o Compassion: can demonstrate that I can contribute and highlighting wording
that expresses healthy contributions
o Courageous: fighting peer pressure and speaking up for justice
o Embracing identity: for my children, constantly affirming their identity,
encouraging them to speak up, and embracing their own uniqueness as well as
embracing others’ differences
• Parent who is deaf and has a deaf child:
o I want to make sure that the [Profile of a Graduate] makes room for deaf or hard
of hearing students who have already developed self-assessment skills.
o Deaf and hard of hearing students vary so much. The thing they have in common
is that they don't have language access. Because the tests are culturally based on
the ability to hear environmental language—those students will miss the
questions because they don't have experience, not because they're not
intelligent. Lack of connection to experience in the world is a big problem for
assessment.
21
o I work as an employment consultant with deaf and hard of hearing adults to do
job coaching. I worked with a young man who had cochlear implants who had
graduated from Cascadia Technical
school and was brilliant. I came in
as a job coach and found out that
his productivity was low and I was
trying to understand why. I was
signing and talking at the same
time because the man didn't sign
very much, he'd use spoken
English. I realized that he had been
working for a couple of months—
he didn't know everyone's name in
the environment; he didn't even
know the supervisor's name. I had
to tell him you have to know
people's names.
o Students need opportunities to
practice collaboration, problem-
solving, self-awareness, and being
a self-advocate. Soft skills are very
important, especially for deaf students. Often deaf students are told do this then
do this—tell tell tell. Because their access through the teacher is always through
an interpreter—they are more spoon fed. They don't have the experience of
doing things on their own.
o Mastery-based learning [and the Profile of a Graduate work] would really help
solve some of the problems I see in the employment coaching I do because
through those, students are having to direct their learning and apply it. When I
told the man I was coaching that you have to learn more in your content area
and figure out some of these issues on your own, his eyes widened. He thought
he could just play with the machines but when I told him you have to incorporate
other skills to be a valuable employee, he was shocked. He thought he could just
do what he was told, he didn’t realize he’d have to have the initiative to solve
problems on his own.
L
ISTENING SESSION WITH STUDENTS AND STAFF FROM THE SPOKANE JUVENILE DETENTION
SCHOOL PROGRAMS
The Work Group engaged with students and staff from the Spokane Juvenile Detention School
Programs: Success Through Academic Connections (SAC) Day Reporting School at their October
2021 meeting.
The following includes some of the key quotes and takeaways from the discussion about how
we can better serve all students in our traditional system, based on how students in the SAC
thrived under more supportive conditions:
Photo 5 Students in a science/history integration class that
focused on the study of the land and people of the Nisqually
River Delta (Avanti HS, Olympia)
22
• A teacher noted: the Profile of a Graduate is positive because it is about mastery of
objectives and skills. It allows the teacher autonomy and the ability to differentiate. It still
has an end goal but allows the student to show mastery in a creative way. It allows
teachers to help students achieve that victory concretely
but also gives teachers the ability to be creative.
o SAC already teaches many of the Profile of a
Graduate skills explicitly and on a continuum,
never assuming the skill is attained. Every day we
talk about SEL skills, cultural sensitivity, health and
wellness, mindfulness, goal setting, and hope.
o A student believes schools need to focus more on
individualized goal planning and preparation—
and what steps can you take to achieve those
goals. More life skills are needed too, that
students can take with them after graduating high
school.
o They’ve been teaching life skills and financial
literacy for 20 years as a transition class: how to
find a job, how to fill out job applications, credit
card and rental agreements, and how to live
independently. They have a new aptitude test and
videos from over 1000 jobs they can use to do a
Virtual Job Shadow to different job sites and
careers. One of their Title I goals as a school is the
life skills piece. If students don’t graduate, at a
minimum, they need to be able to access appropriate resources and engage in
the community.
o Students read the paper every morning, analyze an article, and look for critical
thinking errors. The teachers would like to see critical thinking taught very early
on in school. This is media literacy— addressing questions about the source and
if is it accurate.
o More schools should be the community hub where students can wash their
clothes, get health services, etc. If we could look at school more holistically, the
whole person, vs. just academic achievement, which this is doing, then we can
streamline a lot of those activities.
• The students like the draft Profile of a Graduate but want to know more about how it will
be implemented. For instance, they recommend that schools should sit down with every
student to develop an individual learning plan, with a focus on personal career planning
and life skills. The students noted that if their post high school plans are unclear, it’s hard
to stay engaged and see relevance in the curriculum.
• The principal noted that special education has been ahead of the game with
Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). It’s more work but sure would be nice if
every kid from kindergarten on had their own individual program.
23
• One of the teachers shared that kids start disengaging in middle
school. We need to think more outside the box to keep them
engaged, so they don’t “check out” in high school. Until we
design programs that allow students to be successful, nothing
will change. We only ever see a discipline file, not a “good job”
file for these students. We need to find the reasons for the
behavior. Their kids don’t have computers or food or clean
clothes, and the behaviors match the difficult life situation. We
have to continue to push teaching staff about restorative
practices. Supports for families are also needed. We can’t
discount parents—they’re the critical piece. They have to know
how to advocate for their child and be welcomed into the school,
even without knowledge of the education system.
o Student shared that he lost hope of finishing school
starting in 7
th
grade. He noted that SAC helps you focus
on your future and helps you make a plan to get there.
Ideally, the middle school system could help kids work
toward their dreams and identify steps needed to achieve
those dreams rather than “throwing whatever” at them by
the end of the week. It is hard to engage if you don’t like the
work or see the point.
• Students excel in small learning community environments where
they can get the help they need to understand various topics.
• The students shared that in traditional schools, they would have
done better if they had been allowed to work at their own pace and
understand an assignment before moving on to the next. In public
school, students receive lots of assignments in one week and are
expected to complete them. If there was material that students were
supposed to learn in middle school but didn’t, then catching up
becomes very hard and students fall behind. Being able to work at
your own pace [like in mastery-based learning] would be very
helpful.
2. CONSULT WITH REPRESENTATIVES FROM POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION AND
TRAINING PROGRAMS, LABOR, AND INDUSTRY
Survey respondents were asked to self-identify their affiliations and 36 participants (11.6%)
selected that they were a business owner/employer. Likewise, 28 participants (9%) of survey
respondents self-identified as either a higher education teacher or other higher education staff.
The Work Group engaged with representatives from labor and industry at their June 2021
meeting as well as with representatives from postsecondary education and training programs at
their July 2021 meeting. During both meetings, it was emphasized that students need cultural
competency skills and recognition of what privileges students have in their own life.
Photo 7 Student from SAC program
Photo 6 student & family from SAC
program
24
Key takeaways from the meeting with employers include:
• In apprenticeships, we look for troubleshooting and problem-solving capabilities/critical
thinking. Soft skills are more important than the technical academic skills.
• Hard skills / core job competencies / technical skills
remain the employer's responsibility to train. We would
look for basic soft skills that make the graduate receptive
to that training and mentally prepared for it.
Key takeaways from the meeting with postsecondary education
and training representatives include:
• For Profile of a Graduate, consider including skills like
confidence or the ability to persevere.
• From the employer view and the companies I work with,
the number one thing I hear is “build lifelong learners.”
Companies also look for problem-solvers that are
competent in communicating about the problem and how
to work with others to solve it. The 4 C’s of collaboration,
communication, creativity, and critical thinking are all
needed to problem solve.
• Math comes up all the time, but specifically proportional reasoning as well as data
analysis and statistics. We need more applied math so students can think about how
they can be a good employee and problem solver.
3. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WASHINGTON PROFILE OF A GRADUATE
The Work Group understands that it will take districts time to align their work to the vision in the
Profile of a Graduate. However, the Washington State Profile of a Graduate is our vision for the
K-12 system moving forward, to better support and develop every student as whole person and
prepare them to thrive in their life after high school. Therefore, districts are strongly encouraged
to begin a process to align their priorities to the Profile of a Graduate vision and goals.
We do not believe implementation of the Profile of a Graduate should just be one more thing
school districts are taking on in the midst of continuing to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.
Rather, the Profile of a Graduate should serve as the North Star for a school district, to help
design educational experiences that support every student in attaining the skills they will need
in their journey after high school, for success in postsecondary education, careers, citizenship,
and lifelong learning. For instance, the Profile of a Graduate could guide each school’s strategic
planning and development of their school or district improvement plan.
Some districts already have a Profile of a Graduate. For instance, Snoqualmie Valley’s
Portrait of
a Graduate was developed in 2019. Othello School District developed their Profile of a Graduate
in 2021. Their Profile of a Graduate website is dynamic; each skill can be clicked on to expand to
Photo 8 Student at her internship site with an
architect firm (Shoreline)
25
the subcomponents that are written as “I can” statements for students. They are also building
out how each skill is shown at the elementary, middle, and high school levels by aligning these
skills to the state learning standards.
The Work Group admires the work these local districts
have done already by engaging with their communities
about their local needs and beginning to shift their
focus to intentionally supporting students to develop
skills that can be applied across contexts. We believe
that Washington State needs to have one unifying
Profile of a Graduate, while also recognizing the
importance of making space for each district’s unique
environment. Each district will be able to locally
determine how to adapt their instruction to focus on
developing these skills as well as assess how students
demonstrate they have gained foundational
competency in each skill. We recommend that districts
who already have a Profile spend time reviewing the
state Profile of a Graduate and finding ways to align the state themes to their own context.
S
ECTION 3 RECOMMENDATION A: DEVELOP SUPPORTS AND TOOLS FOR PROFILE OF A GRADUATE
IMPLEMENTATION
The Work Group recognizes and recommends that the next step to support implementation of
the Profile of a Graduate must include development of sample rubrics and other tools for use by
schools. Again, the Profile of a Graduate cannot just be one more additional thing for schools;
and to ease implementation, we want to provide a framework schools can use to begin
implementing and then customizing to their local context as they move forward.
The Work Group believes that by providing this framework for Profile of a Graduate, the state
would signal to school districts the importance of giving educators permission to build
individual relationships with students and to spend time developing a positive culture in their
classrooms. This also aligns with the need to recenter the focus of our education system as we
heard from the students in The Root of Our Youth
17
: The state, “should acknowledge the
importance of connection, community, and mutuality in learning. These must be better
understood, valued, and centered in Washington schools. The most profound learning is
relational or transformational not transactional.” To further support educators in the renewed
focus to build relationships with their students, as stated previously, the Work Group
recommends that the state continue to support schools through funding for smaller learning
17
See Appendix 2 for more information about The Root of Our Youth recommendations
Photo 9 Student enjoying outdoor learning
(Avanti HS, Olympia)
26
communities or for the hiring of additional teachers and staff to facilitate small advisory groups
that can bolster support for students throughout their educational journeys.
A group of K-12 educators (classroom teachers, mental health counselors, administrators, etc.)
should be convened to develop these sample tools and should also include representatives from
business and community. This group should also address alignment with the state’s
Washington’s K -12 Social Emotional Learning Standards and Benchmarks
. These rubrics and
other tools will help tangibly explain to educators, students, and families how Washington’s
Profile of a Graduate skills can be demonstrated by students. Their work should include real life
examples for how schools can actualize the Profile of a Graduate in kindergarten, 1
st
grade, etc.
as well as how the skills are scaffolded between grade bands.
These sample tools don’t have to be bound by specific grade bands but could have a number of
levels to represent students’ growth in the skills across their K-12 journey. This can help
educators grasp how to recognize students are meeting the criteria in the skills laid out in the
Profile of a Graduate. For instance, South Carolina developed a Profile of a Graduate in 2013 and
then developed associated Competencies of the Profile of a Graduate
five years later. Each
competency, or interdisciplinary skill, has rubrics with six levels that track student growth and
readiness for postsecondary success. The six levels do not represent grade bands, but rather just
growth in the skills across a student’s time in K-12. The state’s department of education provides
ongoing professional learning opportunities around the Profile of a Graduate and associated
competencies, including a teacher leader fellows network to lead the implementation in their
schools and regions.
The Work Group strongly recommends that the Profile of a Graduate skills are reported
separately for students (and are not combined into their academic grades.) While curricula must
cultivate the development of both academic knowledge and the Profile of a Graduate skills,
these Profile skills (also known as habits of success, noncognitive skills, transferable skills, social
and emotional skills, etc.) should not be graded on an A-F scale or reported as numerical grades.
Numerical grades, when used, should reflect only the student’s level of mastery of academic
content. The Profile of a Graduate skills should be reported in ways that don’t impact the
student’s academic grades, but are rather reflected in a manner like “approaching standard,”
“meeting standard,” and “extending beyond” or other such ways of reporting these skills. In
other words, these skills should be taught and tracked as evidence of learning and growth over
time, but not integrated into final academic grades. This aligns with effective practices in
mastery-based schools where “academic progress and lifelong learning competencies — often
referred to as habits of mind, college and career readiness skills or higher-order skills — are
27
assessed and reported separately.
18
” The state of Oregon even requires that schools report
academic progress separately from behavior.
19
Across all of the feedback methods, and particularly the listening sessions and focus groups,
participants always asked about implementation. For instance, a parent in the listening session
hosted by the Road Map Project said: “It all sounds good. But were these not the goal
previously? To go further, where is the plan that supports the how, and when? The wrapping
paper is pretty. I gotta wonder what's inside.”
To ensure the Profile of a Graduate is actionable in all schools and classrooms across the state,
and that it is not just a poster on the wall, we believe providing sample tools will be crucial to
this effort to reimagine our education system.
SECTION 3 RECOMMENDATION B: HIGH SCHOOL AND BEYOND PLANS WILL BE A CRITICAL TOOL
FOR THE
PROFILE OF A GRADUATE
At the student level, the High School and Beyond Plan (HSBP) will be invaluable as a tool for
helping each student track their growth in the Profile of a Graduate characteristics and focus on
what skills they need to develop for their personal goals for after high school. For districts who
require a culminating exhibition as a graduation requirement, students’ culminating exhibitions
could focus on their personal progress and growth on the Profile of a Graduate characteristics.
For all schools, the HSBP could be the method by which students demonstrate they have met
the criteria of the Profile of a Graduate. The HSBP should be used as a key strategy for
operationalizing the Profile of a Graduate. Educators can help students plan their coursework to
support their development of both academic knowledge and transferrable skills to prepare for
their post-secondary goals.
However, HSBP implementation is uneven across the state. More research is needed around
promising practices districts use in their HSBP process as well as data around outcomes for
those students who have experienced a robust HSBP process. In order for the HSBP to fully
support student learning and the Profile of a Graduate, the Work Group recommends additional
work at the state level to make the HSBP more uniform and equitable for students. This work
could take many forms, but beyond the existing requirements in law, the Work Group reiterates
recommendations from its 2020 Report. For instance:
• When teachers understand each student’s individual learning goals as articulated in their
HSBP, they can tailor their instruction to become more relevant and responsive to their
18
Sturgis, C. (2014). Progress and Proficiency: Redesigning Grading for Competency Education. CompetencyWorks Issue
Brief. International Association for K-12 Online Learning, page 21
19
Ibid.
28
students’ interests. For this to take place, professional development is needed for
teaching staff and other educators on the HSBP.
• The Work Group recommends recognizing the value of the HSBP through awarding
credit (in the traditional credit framework) or meeting a content area requirement (in the
MBL diploma framework).
• One possible way to support this recommendation would be through the development
of a state model HSBP curriculum to align with relevant state learning standards but that
could be adapted to fit local needs.
• Districts across the state use multiple platforms for their HSBP process. While districts
should be free to use whichever platform works best for their unique process, the Work
Group recommends that the key components of the HSBP be identified that must exist
on all platforms to ensure high-quality implementation throughout the state.
S
ECTION 3 RECOMMENDATION C: STATEWIDE AWARENESS AND RECOGNITION OF THE
WASHINGTON PROFILE OF A GRADUATE
The State Board of Education was charged through SSB 5249 with reviewing the Profile of a
Graduate developed by the Work Group and permitted to consider modifications to the Profile
based on public comment. SBE is also tasked with submitting a report to the legislature by
December 31, 2022, with recommendations to align graduation requirements with the Profile of
a Graduate.
The Work Group recommends that once the SBE finishes their work outlined in SSB 5249, that
the SBE formally adopt the Profile of a Graduate and review the Profile
of a Graduate every ten years. Organizations like Battelle for Kids that
help local districts develop graduate profiles recommend a regular
review process to ensure the profile stays aligned to local needs; Ken
Kay shared in a recent article that “most communities with a POG
update it every four to five years.
20
” However, for a state level Profile of
a Graduate, the Work Group believes that a review every 10 years is
sufficient.
A review should include another stakeholder engagement process to
ensure the skills outlined in the Profile are still the top needs of the
state that families, schools, communities, and businesses believe the
education system should focus on at the time of each subsequent review. This will ensure that
the Profile of a Graduate is used as intended as the guiding vision for our state’s education
system, by not just the SBE, but by all K-12 stakeholders.
20
https://www.edutopia.org/article/why-school-leaders-should-develop-portrait-graduate
29
4. PROVIDE RELATED RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SUPPORTING IMPLEMENTATION OF
MASTERY-BASED LEARNING
M
ASTERY-BASED LEARNING VERSUS MASTERY-BASED CREDITING
Mastery-based crediting (MBC) is an approach used in schools to award credit to individual
students based on their prior knowledge or other demonstration of mastery of learning
standards. For instance, districts may award credit for a course when the student successfully
completes the next higher-level course in a sequence that includes a natural progression of the
state learning standards from the previous course.
21
Even since the Work Group began our work
in 2019, the availability of MBC opportunities for students has grown. In 2021, out of the state’s
253 districts that include a high school, 159 have adopted a permanent policy allowing schools
to provide mastery-based credit, compared to only 138 in 2019 and eight-nine in 2017. Another
nineteen districts have adopted a coronavirus temporary MBC policy.
22
Likewise, the number of
subjects in which districts offer MBC has also increased, with 2021 results showing that seventy-
seven districts offer MBC in all subjects, compared to only twenty-six districts reporting
availability in all subjects in 2019 and fifty-seven districts in 2020.
Alternatively, mastery-based learning (MBL) is a much bigger shift in
approach from the traditional model. In this report and in our state
generally, mastery-based learning has implications for the full school
building around structuring learning differently, meaning changes in
instructional practice, assessment, scheduling, grading policies, and
more. MBL also includes many hands-on learning experiences like
project-based learning (PBL) and work-based learning where students
can earn academic credit for work completed during internships. At
its core, MBL is personalized learning. Under MBL, students advance
upon mastery of content (not seat time) as measured by meaningful,
authentic assessments tied to state learning standards. Students take
ownership of their learning and receive differentiated support based
on their interests and needs. This model of instruction, which honors
students’ assets and cultural backgrounds, has been shown to help
close opportunity and achievement gaps.
Results of SBE’s recent research on graduation pathways show
that s
tudents, parents/caregivers, and educators agree there is a
need to include additional pathway options that provide students
with more opportunities for mastery-based learning (MBL). Indeed,
nearly half of all respondents indicated that a mastery-based learning
pathway should be added, with students having the highest response
21
See more about mastery-based crediting and applicable requirements on SBE’s Mastery-based Learning FAQ webpage.
22
This is based on preliminary (incomplete) data from SBE’s Basic Education Compliance and Reporting as of November 16, 2021.
30
rate for adding such a pathway (fifty-six percent). A student in one of the focus groups shared:
“Regular learning is so rigid. Mastery-based learning is much more personalized and allows
curriculum to be tailored to us, the students. Mastery-based learning should be a part of all
pathways, not its own pathway
.”
W
HAT DOES THE RESEARCH SAY ABOUT MASTERY-BASED LEARNING?
The five components of MBL outlined in the legislation are widely acknowledged in the field as
the essential elements that define and differentiate MBL from the many individual strategies that
are used to support it. Because MBL has multiple components, robust studies of MBL
implemented in its entirety are limited. In several studies, schools would say they were
implementing MBL but really, they had only made small shifts or were only implementing some
but not all components of MBL (e.g., They had made no changes to their assessment system.)
Change also takes time. In fact, administrators have cautioned
against conducting research on student outcomes for
districts/schools in the early phases of implementation because
significant time is required to ensure MBL practices are implemented
to their full potential and collecting data on student outcomes too
early could produce misleading results.
23
However, research supports that components of MBL have positive
academic and other impacts. Rather than a student being moved
along in the content with knowledge gaps, in MBL, students don’t
move on until they’ve mastered the essential knowledge and skills.
Advocates point to this as one way MBL could reduce the
opportunity and achievement gaps.
24
Additionally, a key component of MBL is performance-based
assessments. Schools participating in the New York Performance
Standards Consortium use performance-based assessments (PBAs)
to assess student progress and have collaborated to add authentic
evidence of student learning to the college admissions process. A
study of the program supports other findings suggesting that
learning experiences structured around PBAs can help narrow
opportunity and achievement gaps.
25
Early evidence from the study suggests Black males in
23
Evans, C. M., Landl, E., & Thompson, J. (2020). Making sense of K-12 competency-based education: A systematic literature review
of implementation and outcomes research from 2000 to 2019. The Journal of Competency-Based Education, 5(4), e01228.
24
Evans, C. M., Graham, S. E., & Lefebvre, M. L. (2019). Exploring K-12 competency-based education implementation in the Northeast
States. NASSP Bulletin, 103(4), 300-329.
25
Fine, M., & Pryiomka, K. (2020). Assessing College Readiness Through Authentic Student Work: How the City University of New
York and the New York Performance Standards Consortium Are Collaborating toward Equity. Learning Policy Institute. Retrieved
from https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/sites/default/files/product-files/RCA_CUNY_Assessing_College_Readiness_REPORT.pdf
Photo 10 Students, instructor
(Maritime HS, Des Moines)
31
particular benefit from this program when compared to Black males in traditional high school
settings—they’re more likely to persist in college and receive higher grades.
26
MBL honors the unique contributions of every student and the knowledge they bring from their
diverse cultures and communities. This aligns to research showing students learn best when they
can connect their cultural backgrounds to what they are learning in school.
27
Outcomes of MBL from a literature review of implementation and outcomes from research
conducted from 2000-19 found mixed results regarding whether MBL supports improved
academic achievement, increased student engagement, and other academic outcomes like
increased attendance and increased goal-setting and self-management.
28
Several studies found
evidence of all of these things, but other studies found negative impacts, especially if they were
done early in implementation.
That is why Washington’s MBL demonstration project (see Rec. 4A
) is so important. The project
will include a robust evaluation from the beginning so we can learn more about the impacts of
MBL on underserved students, particularly students of color, students with disabilities, and
students from low-income households.
MBL
IMPLEMENTATION CONCERNS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
I
MPLEMENTATION CONCERNS
During our time together as a Work Group, we have become even more convinced about the
need for increasing mastery-based learning opportunities for students in our system. MBL is a
way to fulfill the academic needs of student in a holistic way as well as address the institutional
racism present in schools. However, as a Work Group, and as we also have heard from
stakeholders, our concerns regarding MBL revolve around how it is implemented. If educators
are unprepared for this shift in our system, then students who have been underserved in our
system will continue to be underserved. Ongoing, high-quality educator training for preservice
and current educators is critical to ensuring that MBL is successful and does not exacerbate
existing inequities in our system.
This is also why we are not mandating MBL or imposing this on the system or school districts.
We want MBL to succeed, and for that to happen, we strongly believe it has to be a school’s
choice to jump into this system transformation wholeheartedly.
26
Ibid.
27
Darling-Hammond, L., Martinez, M., Edgerton, A. K., Melnick, H., & Schachner, A. (2020). Learning in the Time of COVID and
Beyond. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/sites/default/files/product-files/Restart_Reinvent_Schools_COVID_REPORT.pdf, page 47
28
Evans, C. M., Landl, E., & Thompson, J. (2020). Making sense of K-12 competency-based education: A systematic literature review
of implementation and outcomes research from 2000 to 2019. The Journal of Competency-Based Education, 5(4), e01228.
32
Mastery-based learning has great potential to increase equity in our education system—yet this
will not happen automatically. A MBL system must be evaluated and sustained primarily based
on its progress in reducing both the opportunity and the achievement gap.
We have seen examples from across the country of MBL having no impact on the status quo,
because of the assumption it would inherently increase equity. We know that is not the case—
equity has to be front and center, and MBL education system must be intentionally designed
and cultivated to be culturally responsive and sustaining. As a key part of this work, schools
must engage in authentic community engagement efforts with their community, to first explain
the “why” behind the work and then to co-develop the school’s MBL efforts with community
members seen as valued partners.
I
MPLEMENTATION RECOMMENDATIONS
Mastery-based learning will require various changes in state and local school district policy
structures. As stated in the Work Group’s 2020 Report, successful mastery-based learning
implementation will require a variety of other policy changes and supports:
• A state and regional support structure: The transition to a mastery-based learning
(MBL) model requires a sustained effort over time to ensure state and local policies
support implementation and schools and districts have access to resources to support
their learning as they transform their systems. Developing a clear policy framework and
support structure to implement MBL is essential (p. 23.) The Work Group believes this
previous recommendation aligns well with the SBE’s current work on the Mastery-based
Learning Collaborative (see more in Rec. 4A
).
• Educator training for preservice and current educators: Training cannot be limited to
only classroom teachers. All educators must be provided training to support a MBL
system—teachers, counselors, administrators, other education support personnel (ESP),
and school board members. To ensure a cohesive education system, MBL training should
not be limited to only educators already in the field, but should include preparation
programs for teachers, counselors, and administrators as well (p. 18-19.) Educator
training is a key component of the Mastery-based Learning Collaborative (see more in
Rec. 4A
.)
• Culturally responsive instruction: MBL must be implemented in a culturally responsive
sustaining way (p. 8.) All students benefit from culturally responsive instruction (p. 21-
22.) It is up to Washington to intentionally implement MBL in an equitable way that
disrupts the status quo, ensures every student feels a sense of belonging in their school
community, honors the assets students bring and engages students through their
diverse cultures and communities.
• Changes in accountability and assessment systems: Common state policy barriers to a
mastery-based learning education system include accountability (when the state’s
measures of success don’t align with a mastery-based learning approach) and
assessment (if tests don’t support the learning process) (p. 13.)
o When schools transition to MBL, they require a new approach to assessment but
with the same level of rigor and expectations as our traditional system (since they
33
teach the same learning standards). The Work Group wanted to learn more about
what the literature says about MBL and assessment, which is provided in detail in
Appendix 4.
o SBE has noted the limitations of the current state and federal accountability
system and has been engaged with partners to develop a more authentic and
equitable accountability system for Washington. While not started in response to
this work, the resulting framework will be supportive of a mastery-based system.
• Funding: Legislation (2020 SSB 6521) directed the Office of the Superintendent of Public
Instruction (OSPI) to create and administer an innovative learning pilot program to
authorize full-time enrollment funding for students
participating in mastery-based learning programs. By
December 1, 2022, the OSPI, in collaboration with the
SBE, must report to the legislature regarding the
efficiency, cost, and impacts of the funding model or
models used under the pilot program (p. 44-45.)
Washington policies mostly support a mastery-based
learning approach in classrooms. However, the barrier
arises when students are away from the classroom for
significant amounts of their instruction (one to two
whole days per week.) There are existing regulations
that do fund and support student learning away from
school. Ongoing work will involve learning more
about these models and if/how these are regulated to
ensure the expectations of public education. See
additional details in Appendix 3
.
• Higher education and transcripts: During
Washington’s transition to an education system that supports mastery-based learning
opportunities, students should still have access to traditional high school transcripts until
higher education institutions better understand MBL. However, Work Group members
strongly support the use of a MBL transcript that more authentically demonstrates
student learning, such as the transcript developed by the Mastery Transcript Consortium
(p. 25-26.) See additional recommendations around transcripts in Rec. 4B.
SECTION 4 RECOMMENDATION A: CONTINUE SUPPORT FOR MBL DEMONSTRATION SITES
Washington’s 2023 biennial budget for the State Board of Education (SBE) includes funding for
“implementation of mastery-based learning (MBL) in school district demonstration sites for the
purpose of addressing learning recovery and other educational issues related to Covid-19.” This
work will involve developing state and regional support structures for Mastery-based Learning
(MBL).
Under the leadership of the Washington State Board of Education, and with executive
sponsorship from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and the Professional
Photo 11 Student at fabrication internship
(Shoreline)
34
Educator Standards Board (PESB), the MBL Collaborative will involve a statewide effort, including
personnel at state agencies, educational service districts, community-based partners, educator
preparation programs, and participating districts and schools. Project objectives include:
• Establish a statewide infrastructure to provide needed professional development, policy,
and communications support to enable schools to implement MBL.
• Demonstrate that schools can successfully implement MBL with student learning and
assessment that are more authentic, engaging, and culturally connected and sustaining.
• Document the key steps that states, districts, and schools must take to transition to MBL
successfully.
• Positively impact student engagement and progress toward learning goals.
School grant recipients will participate in the Mastery-based Learning Collaborative (MBLC) to
learn together and share effective practices. They will receive professional learning in mastery-
based learning and culturally responsive-sustaining instruction from a professional learning
provider hired by the state. The professional learning provider will also help schools think
through the other building level changes that will need to be made around assessment and
equitable grading practices as, “…traditional grading practices perpetuate our achievement and
opportunity gaps and improved grading practices promote objective assessment of academic
mastery, transparent expectations, growth mindsets, a focus on learning instead of points, and
student agency—all key ingredients to serve diverse learners and create culturally responsive
classrooms.
29
”
We anticipate that several schools in the MBLC will have already been implementing mastery-
based learning and will serve as leaders in the Collaborative, along with agency staff and the
professional learning provider. As a condition of receiving funding, they will be expected to
share resources with the schools new to MBL. We also anticipate that they may help develop
model frameworks and resources for districts beginning the transformation to mastery-based
learning such as shared rubrics, common performance assessments, etc.
Literature from the field and from our prior reports have demonstrated the importance of a
body of practitioners engaging in this system-changing work together so that educators don’t
feel alone and to serve as lighthouses of practice for the state. This project will also serve as a
feedback loop into further policy development and refinement.
The Work Group believes the lessons learned through the MBLC will be invaluable. In addition to
the schools’ own learning and what state leaders glean on their own, SBE has also engaged
international experts in MBL (the Aurora Institute) to evaluate the project and identify state
policy supports to sustain the work. While the SBE is seeking private funding to extend the
29
Feldman, J. (2018). Grading for equity: What it is, why it matters, and how it can transform schools and classrooms. Corwin Press.
Page 15
35
effort, SBE will likely have continued requests for ongoing funding from the Legislature as we
are able to demonstrate efficacy of the program. The Work Group believes MBL, as well as the
support structure for schools provided through the MBLC, will more equitably serve students
and has the potential for a high return on investment for the state.
S
ECTION 4 RECOMMENDATION B: TRANSCRIPT IMPLICATIONS FROM MASTERY-BASED LEARNING
A
NOTE ON GRADES, ASSESSMENT, AND LEARNING STANDARDS
In education discussions, there is often conflation of grades and assessment and if students are
meeting learning standards. Learning standards “identify the knowledge and skills all public
school students need to know and be able to do” (RCW 28A.655.070).
It is worth starting the conversation of assessment in MBL with a delineation between grades
and assessment. The end goal of MBL is not a grade at the end of a course or segment of
learning, but rather, the acquisition of relevant skills and knowledge of the desired learning
goals (see more about the MBL learning and assessment process and how it differs from the
traditional process in Appendix 4.) Instead of grading a series of assignments, the final grade
represents the degree to which content is mastered and only artifacts that reflect the mastered
learning should be included in the final grade.
30
Grading in MBL focuses on the evaluation of
meeting a learning standard with pre-defined criteria.
A key distinguishing factor of MBL is student participation in the assessment process. Work
Group members have seen a five-year-old explain what learning standard they are trying to
accomplish and how they will get there. In MBL, educators take time to share with students the
current learning standard they are focused on as well as to teach student how to self-assess
their work, as one step toward becoming a lifelong learner. Assessment also provides feedback
to students that supports their learning along their journey toward mastery.
MBL models often have more consistency in how educators evaluate whether a student has
mastered the state and local learning standards than the traditional model. Assessment as to
whether a student met a particular learning standard is more objective than however a
letter/numeric grade (traditionally A-F or 0-100) is placed on student work. As Joe Feldman
explains, “Bias-resistant grading practices help us to focus on a student’s knowledge and not her
circumstances or behavior (or how we perceive and interpret her behavior.) We want our grades
to be accurate reflections of a student’s level of content mastery and not to be lowered because
of how we judge nonacademic aspects of the student.”
31
30
Allen, J. (2005). Grades as valid measures of academic achievement of classroom learning. The Clearing House, 78(5), 218-223.
31
Feldman, J. (2018). Grading for equity: What it is, why it matters, and how it can transform schools and classrooms. Corwin Press.
Page 111-112
36
There is no shortage of research to support the benefits of MBL assessment models. They have
been shown to prevent gaps in learning among diverse student populations, lead to longer-
term retention, build confidence in students, positively influence student mindsets, improve
student-teacher relationships as teachers and students become partners in the learning,
contribute to long-term retention, inspire students to want to learn more when they have
demonstrated mastery at prior learning, support deeper learning and cross-curricular
connections, and motivate students for future learning.
32,33
Furthermore, ongoing feedback
supports social-emotional learning skills such as perseverance, overcoming, problem-solving,
success, and has a direct impact on student mindsets.
34
See more details about what the literature says about MBL and assessment in Appendix 4.
FEEDBACK FROM HIGHER EDUCATION PARTNERS
The Work Group solicited feedback from our higher education partners regarding what would
be needed for students coming from MBL programs and possibly using a MBL transcript to not
be disadvantaged in the admissions process.
The Council of Presidents (COP) and the State Board
for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) shared
in their joint letter to the Work Group:
Washington’s public higher education institutions
support innovative approaches to teaching and
learning in K-12 including innovations in
curriculum and the assessment of students. We
believe the Profile and mastery-based transcription
offer the potential to communicate well students’
work and achievement. However, the Profile and
transcript of mastery-based learning should
include the following to allow for institutions,
employers, and apprenticeships to understand the transcript and properly evaluate the
strength of a student’s academic record and accomplishments:
• Clearly present and describe the school districts’ policies, programs, and practices.
32
Gusky, T. R. (2010). Lessons of mastery learning. Education, School, and Counseling Psychology Faculty Publications, 14.
33
Kulik, C. C., Kulik, J. A., & Banger-Drowns, R. L. (1990) Effectiveness of mastery learning programs: A meta-analysis. American
Education Research Association, 60(2), 265-299.
34
Hattie, J. & Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of Educational Research, 2007. doi: 10.3102/003465430298487.
Photo 12 Students in science (Avanti HS, Olympia)
37
• Be comprehensive and understandable, explaining critical information for review such as
the content and rigor of the academic program, the technicalities of the assessment and
grading systems, and the characteristics of the graduating class.
• In the absence of course grades and GPAs, a common “key” outlining what it means for a
student who passes, meets the average and/or fails a course is needed. A course title,
grade, GPA, or class rank will lack clarity for admissions offices without a “key” (e.g., the
school profile) to understand how the system works and how the applicant performed in
that system to ensure timely review and equity in the admissions process.
• Partner with colleges and universities to address the use of mastery-based learning
transcripts and assessment for not only admissions, but also scholarships and placement.
Institutions use GPAs to determine eligibility for guaranteed admissions, scholarship,
honors programs and English and math placement.
• Implementation of electronic transcripts and alignment with state transcript coding.
The Independent Colleges of Washington shared:
We commend the creativity as well as the goals of greater assessment that the Mastery
Based Learning Transcript initiative seeks to achieve. Still, we want to point out two
significant concerns: a number of colleges and universities award scholarships based on
high school grade point averages (GPAs). It would take a number of years for a given
college or university to collect and analyze the information needed to understand what a
mastery assessment means in relative terms. Therefore, higher education institutions may
be more conservative in awarding scholarship aid to mastery transcript students. We are
concerned that historically marginalized and disadvantaged populations may suffer the
consequences of this shift.
Further, extensive research has shown that cumulative unweighted high school GPA is
one of the best predictors of student success in higher education. Removing it from
student transcripts and college applications opens the door for more subjective
determinations of a student’s capacity to be successful. For example, perceptions of
school quality and rigor may become unofficial assessment tools during the application
review process.
MBL
TRANSCRIPT RECOMMENDATIONS
The Work Group wants to balance the concerns regarding capacity of our higher education
partners to evaluate mastery transcripts with the desire of MBL schools to move toward more
equitable grading practices. For instance, in grading, “Mastery goals have been found to
38
improve students’ persistence and a greater sense of well-being.”
35
According to Joe Feldman,
there are three essential pillars necessary to move toward equitable grading:
1. [Grades] are mathematically accurate, validly reflecting a student’s academic performance.
2. [Grades] are bias-resistant, preventing biased subjectivity from infecting our grades.
3. [Grades] motivate students to strive for academic success, persevere, accept struggles and
setbacks, and to gain critical lifelong skills.
36
The Work Group has discussed how traditional approaches to the 4.0 grading system, as used
through GPA in the higher education admissions process, have been used as a sorting tool to
marginalize students. MBL challenges the conventional ways of representing when a student is
prepared to further their education and the current and traditional methods to admission. This
exposes what is well known, the U.S. education system was designed, created, and structured to
meet the academic, social, political, and economic needs of the dominant group and to maintain
the power of White, heterosexual males and the status quo.
37
Work Group members noted that
our current grading system perpetuates social inequality. It facilitates universities acting as
gatekeepers and having a role in preventing more members of our multicultural society from
being exposed to education and its benefits—particularly class mobility. Across the nation we
have seen some higher education institutions reflect that mastery transcripts are time
consuming and are a less efficient method of admission.
Addressing these issues will require higher education partners and policymakers to think
differently about how they engage with students coming into the system. Washington higher
education institutions have committed to discuss the issue of mastery transcripts and begin
collaborating on how to move toward more equitable methods of assessing students.
A mastery transcript also aligns well with the Profile of a Graduate work, as it could serve as a
tool to showcase the 21
st
skills students are acquiring across the curriculum. The goal of the MBL
Work Group is not to transition all schools in the state to a mastery transcript. Rather, we believe
that schools who have implemented MBL and want to use a mastery transcript should be
allowed to do so after a transition period. Currently, around 20 public high schools in the state
use a MBL model and may want to transition to a mastery transcript if they are not already using
one (to date, six are already using Mastery Transcript Consortium’s transcript). With the creation
of the new Mastery-based Learning Collaborative grant program, additional schools may want
to also transition with time.
35
Feldman, J. (2018). Grading for equity: What it is, why it matters, and how it can transform schools and classrooms. Corwin Press.
Page 61
36
Ibid, Page 71
37
Ibid, Page 110
39
The Work Group recognizes the need for thoughtful discussion around mastery transcripts and
the related systemwide capacity building that will be needed to prepare educators for new
assessment models under MBL. Therefore, the Work Group recommends a phase-in period for
the adoption of the new mastery transcript and phasing out its translation to grades (GPA) over
a period of time determined by SBE in consultation with higher education partners and other
stakeholders. During this time schools would be required to translate or provide a crosswalk of
the mastery transcript to grades and colleges and universities would track student cohorts with
mastery transcripts. The translation would align with the nationally recognized higher education
admissions terminology of credits, courses and grades and allow for colleges and universities to
assess how the mastery transcripts correlate with metrics such as retention and graduation, as
well as how they may affect student diversity.
At the specified time determined by SBE, an evaluation of student cohorts with mastery
transcripts would be completed to inform SBE and MBL stakeholders whether the additional two
years or less is needed. Then, schools would transition to meet the long-term goal of using a
mastery transcript (without GPA) that more authentically demonstrates student learning, such as
the transcript developed by the Mastery Transcript Consortium
(See page 25-56 in the MBL
Work Group’s 2020 Report for more context.) The Mastery Transcript Consortium (MTC) mastery
transcript is only one example, yet the Work Group appreciates that MTC has school profiles for
each school using the transcript that gives information on the school’s background, curriculum,
and how to interpret “Mastery Credits” (MTC terminology) earned by a student in the context of
their school and cohort.
The Work Group recommends that a standardized state level format for the mastery transcript
be developed, in response to concerns from our higher education partners. The Work Group
also agrees with the request from COP, ICW, and SBCTC that any school using a mastery
transcript must develop a comprehensive school profile
38
as the “key” to interpreting the
mastery transcript. Likewise, the Work Group believes that the school profile must provide a
clear articulation of how school defines proficiency to indicate a student has mastered a course.
For instance, most MBL schools set the mastery level at 80% or above for a student to
advance—much higher than a C or D or pass/fail level of a traditional classroom.
The Work Group further supports finding continued ways to partner with the state’s higher
education sectors to collaborate on this work as it moves forward.
38
The school profile for the mastery transcript is a separate concept from the Profile of a Graduate. See previous paragraph for
additional information about how the MTC uses school profiles.
40
5. SUBMIT THE REPORT ON THE PROFILE
OF A GRADUATE TO THE STATE BOARD OF
EDUCATION
Senate Bill 5249 (Chapter 144, Laws of 2021)
directs the SBE to submit recommendations to
the Legislature to align graduation requirements
with the Profile of a Graduate, and to consider:
• Whether changes to the core subject
area requirements, flexible credits, and
noncredit requirements should be made
and what those changes should be;
• The relationship between credits and
core subject area requirements; and
• How the following components of the
high school diploma work together as a
system of graduation requirements
designed to declare that a student is ready for success in postsecondary education,
gainful employment, and civic engagement and is equipped with the skills to be a
lifelong learner: The high school and beyond plan and the credit and subject area
graduation requirements under RCW 28A.230.090 and the graduation pathway options
under RCW 28A.655.250.
The Work Group believes there are a variety of issues the State Board of Education should
consider in its alignment work next year:
• Investigate the relationship between the High School and Beyond Plan and a mastery
high school transcript.
• Consider if the definition of a high school credit should be reevaluated to assist with
mastery-based learning.
• Examine whether learning standards could better support MBL through developing large
categories of interdisciplinary learning standards
• Explore developing a crosswalk (translator document) between learning standards and
credit requirements and competencies based on the Profile.
39
This will help explain what
skills we expect students to gain from each of the credit and subject area requirements.
o For instance, for the English Language Arts credit requirements, what is the
expectation of the competency achieved through the learning standards? E.g.,
39
As an example, see Table 1 from: Levine, E. (2021). Habits of Success: Helping Students Develop Essential Skills for Learning, Work,
and Life. Arlington, VA: Aurora Institute. https://aurora-institute.org/wp-content/uploads/Aurora-Institute-Habits-of-Success-
Helping-Students-Develop-Essential-Skills-for-Learning-Work-and-Life-2.pdf
Photo 13 Students on canoe excursion (Maritime HS, Des Moines)
41
These competencies are the outcome of having mastery of English IV learning
standards.
• A database tool of all the state learning standards would be very helpful for educators. It
would allow them to track at an individual student level when students have mastered
standards from various content areas and could help ease the burden on teachers
collaborating to develop interdisciplinary courses.
Conclusion
The Mastery-based Learning Work Group recommends a Washington State Profile of a Graduate
that reflects a wide range of input from stakeholders and lessons learned from other states and
communities. The Profile is our vision for the K-12 system moving forward. It is intended to
better support and develop each and every student as a whole person and prepare them with
the transferable skills they will need to thrive in their life after high school.
We recognize that many educators are already helping students to cultivate the skills laid out in
the Profile. The larger community, students, educators, and families all contribute to the effort to
support our students growing and developing as human beings and learners.
The Work Group members urge the K-12 system to implement the Profile of a Graduate with
equity and with students at the center of the effort. Washington has the opportunity to actively
redesign our education system through the Profile of a Graduate and with mastery-based
learning. The fully implemented Profile, like mastery-based learning, should help educators and
the system recognize and value the skills and assets students bring to their education from their
diverse cultures. The Profile will also serve as the bridge between Washington’s traditional
system and a mastery-based system by setting the vision for our expectations of all students no
matter where they live or which school they attend.
We believe this work is the way to shift our system focus toward more personalized learning
that supports every student based on their individual needs. With ongoing support, this shift will
also lead to the transformation of our education system, and to closing both the opportunity
gap and the resulting achievement gap. We’re moving closer to an educational landscape where
students are safe to explore, are accepted and appreciated, and are challenged to practice
critical thinking. Our schools can be places for students to discover themselves and learn the
skills they need to thrive in life outside of the classroom. We invite you to join us on this journey
to make our schools, and ultimately our state and our world, more equitable places where each
person is recognized for their unique talent and equipped to take their place as a critical
member of our community.
42
Appendix 1: Summary of Profile of a Graduate Survey Results
A separate document is available that includes data analysis of the Profile of a Graduate survey
results. The following includes quoted excerpts from the survey open text response questions
40
:
• Prepared with skills necessary for life, not just for school success. Confident, with a good
understanding of own skills, talents, strengths, and weaknesses (places to lean into the
talent/support of others). Connected to a network of adults ready to help usher the
young person into a successful adult life with support ready for inevitable struggles
during transition. A sense of belonging to a community and a commitment to contribute
meaningfully to that community. Knowledge that their skills and contributions are critical
to the community and needed uniquely from them. Understanding that no matter where
they "placed" in their graduating class, they have unique skills and inherent talents that
make them vital to a community.
• Environmental steward, civic servant, systems thinker, collaborative worker, creative
problem solver thoughtful, wise communicator, deeply values diversity, equity,
inclusion…
• Ability to think critically, to be a compassionate, empathetic and have social awareness
with the ability to understand the perspectives of others. Especially those with diverse
backgrounds cultures and context and navigate the dynamics of culture differences in
positive manner. Have a plan for post high school, trade, work, or college. Have an
internship in the workforce during school. Have an applied math class that connects to
the real world and banking/ finance management.
Appendix 2: Summary of Findings from External Reports (Athena Group, The
Root of Our Youth, Strobel Consulting)
Throughout 2021, the State Board of Education has engaged in several related research and
outreach efforts. The focus of the research is to engage with communities and stakeholders that
have been left out of key policy conversations that impact them. The engagement with The
Athena Group and The Root of Our Youth was done by SBE on behalf of the Work Group and
were particularly focused on the Profile of a Graduate. Strobel Consulting’s work focused on
researching graduation pathway options, with a focus on mastery-based learning.
A summary of the reports
from the Athena Group, The Root of Our Youth, and Strobel
Consulting is available online.
40
In an effort to keep this report as informative and concise as possible, the full survey report is not included here. However, the full
report (including all open text responses) is available upon request by emailing the State Board of Education: Alissa Muller
, Director
of the Mastery-based Learning Collaborative
43
You can view the full report from Strobel Consulting (Volume I and Volume II) on SBE’s website.
Full reports discussing the results of various feedback opportunities provided to inform
development of the Profile of a Graduate are also available on SBE’s website: The Athena Group
focus group sessions, The Root of Our Youth community conversations, and the Road Map
Project family listening session.
Appendix 3: MBL Funding and the Innovative Learning Pilot Project
Many of the practices of mastery-based learning are currently supported in Washington State
educational policies. Teachers, schools, and districts are provided the local decision-making
authority on how instruction is delivered and assessed toward state learning standards and
credited for graduation requirements. There are a few practices that may require updates to our
data collection guidance and systems, as well as school funding regulations.
The primary identified funding barrier relates to the off-campus instructional time that some
mastery-based learning models utilize for students to participate in individual internships, job
shadowing, and/or other community learning. Existing funding models are based on in-person
instructional time and attendance, with a couple of exceptions including:
• Career and Technical Education’s Cooperative Worksite Learning allows students to earn
credit through employment coordinated through their CTE program. Regulations ensure
connection to the CTE program, as well as a safe and appropriate work environment. The
model is funded at a 2:1 formula counting two hours of work-based learning as one
instructional hour for funding with an annual cap.
• Running Start provides students access to college courses provided by the state’s
colleges. It largely relies on the expectations and regulations of college instruction. It is
funded at a standardized Running Start rate.
• Alternative Learning Experience (ALE) creates flexibility to count instruction when the
student is independent of the regular classroom or schedule for some or all of the
instruction. Regulations support students in these settings while remaining accountable
to state education expectations and the use of public funds. ALE is also funded at the
standardized Running Start rate without access to the vocational enhancement.
The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction is reviewing, as part of this ongoing mastery-
based learning work and through the Innovative Learning Pilot program, whether adjustments
to existing funding models or recommendations for a new funding model may better support
and encourage the benefits of this model while still maintaining school accountability and
mitigating risks to student safety, and the appropriate use of public funds.
Appendix 4: Research on Assessment in Mastery-based Learning
In alignment with the focus of mastery-based learning (MBL), assessment in MBL is a form of
competency-based assessment and grading where students are assessed on their individual
progress toward state and local learning standards and their specific identified learning goals.
44
Mastery learning claims that all students can learn with clear expectations, appropriate learning
conditions, frequent and meaningful teacher feedback, and the opportunity to correct
mistakes.
41
The key to this process is effective classroom assessment practices. What sets MBL
assessment apart from traditional assessment is that the purpose of the assessments is
formative in nature until mastery has been achieved, at which point, students advance to more
complex or new content. Traditional assessment practices are a way to provide a label on a
student’s level of proficiency at a specific stopping point, whereas a mastery-based assessment
model is striving to improve learning to the point of mastery.
Ungrading
It is worth starting the conversation of assessment in MBL with a delineation between grades
and assessment. The end goal of MBL is not a grade at the end of a course or segment of
learning, but rather, the acquisition of relevant skills and knowledge of the desired learning
goals. Eliminating grades, or “ungrading” and focusing on feedback is one way to focus on the
learning.
42
The MBL process of learning and assessment includes students learning at their own
pace, learning from other students working on the same skills, making mistakes, and advocating
for their own learning growth.
43
The traditional learning-assessment process follows a linear
path where the learning takes place, students may practice during the lesson, students may
receive guidance during the practice, and then they finish with a final assessment. The MBL
learning-assessment process, in contrast, involves a more cyclical process where the learning
takes place, students practice, they may receive guidance, they take the assessment, but then
they receive feedback on the assessment, they engage in reflection and processing of the
feedback, revise the assessment, and make another attempt until the point of mastery.
44,45
Mastery-based learning assessments include a variety of assessment tools and opportunities for
students to demonstrate mastery including portfolios, demonstrations, presentations, and
performances rather than only using traditional assessment measures such as essays and exams.
Assessment in MBL is a disruption to the current system. Mastery learning requires multiple
feedback loops on smaller, well-designed, and sequenced units of study.
46
They are meaningful
and provide an opportunity for rapid, differentiated support based on individual learning needs.
Instead of grading a series of assignments, the final grade represents the degree to which
content is mastered and only artifacts that reflect the mastered learning should be included in
41
Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analysis relating to achievement. Routledge.
42
Kuhlmann, J. (2021). Ungrading: Focusing on feedback and learning agency. Knowledgeworks.
https://knowledgeworks.org/resources/ungrading-assessment-feedback-learner-agency/
43
Gusky, T. R. (2010). Lessons of mastery learning. Education, School, and Counseling Psychology Faculty Publications, 14.
44
Farah, K. (2021). How to set up mastery-based grading in your classroom. Cult of Pedagogy.
https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/mastery-based-grading/
45
Newton, J., Williams, M., & Feeney, D. (2020). Implementing non-traditional assessment strategies in teacher preparation:
Opportunities and challenges. Journal of Culture and Values in Education, 3(1), 39-51. https://doi.org/10.46303/jcve.03.01.3
46
Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analysis relating to achievement. Routledge.
45
the final grade.
47
Early education philosopher, John Dewey (1903) argued that grades harmfully
impact education by fostering individualistic competition, fear of failure, and feelings of
superiority. Such consequences are counterproductive to students and the goals of MBL, where
learners are encouraged to challenge themselves to take risks and strive to obtain mastery of
competencies related to their own interests, talents, and goals.
Journey to Mastery
There are two main aspects of mastery, the first begins with the instruction and practice of the
skills and knowledge that are taught. As students are exposed to a new skill, they need to
practice the skill. The practice must include some application, collaboration, and opportunities
for feedback and constant revision.
48
Then when students are ready, they choose to
demonstrate mastery on the skills taught. Ideally, students determine their readiness to
demonstrate mastery with the encouragement and support of the instructor. These assessments
are administered individually and can include a variety of assessment tools and contexts. For
example, in some MBL classrooms there is a “zone” for students to show mastery and it is
embedded throughout the school day. In other cases, students submit a project of evidence
and as feedback is provided, they are given the opportunity to relearn on their own time and
then resubmit. The key is supporting the mastery of the learning in the way that works for both
the educator and the student.
49
These assessments should be bite-sized and easy to assess to provide quick and specific
feedback/scoring. They can be in a variety of formats such as quizzes, demonstrations,
presentations, mini-projects, or even larger projects that have been built on prior learning over
time. The key is feasibility and the ability for students to receive quick and relevant feedback and
are provided the opportunity for reassessment. This is key to mastery-based learning.
50
Benefits of MBL
Much like the practice of mastery-based learning, there is no shortage of research to support
the benefits of MBL assessment models. They have been shown to prevent gaps in learning
among diverse student populations, lead to longer-term retention, build confidence in students,
positively influence student mindsets, improve student-teacher relationships as teachers and
students become partners in the learning, contribute to long-term retention, inspire students to
want to learn more when they have demonstrated mastery at prior learning, support deeper
47
Allen, J. (2005). Grades as valid measures of academic achievement of classroom learning. The Clearing House, 78(5), 218-223.
48
Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analysis relating to achievement. Routledge.
49
Farah, K. (2021). How to set up mastery-based grading in your classroom. Cult of Pedagogy.
https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/mastery-based-grading/
50
Farah, 2021; Hattie, 2009
46
learning and cross-curricular connections, and motivate students for future learning.
51,52
Furthermore, ongoing feedback supports social-emotional learning skills such as perseverance,
overcoming, problem-solving, success, and has a direct impact on student mindsets.
53
Although mastery-programs were shown to require slightly increased instruction time (about
4%) versus traditional teaching methods, the same meta-analysis of 108 studies also
demonstrated that MBL produced higher standardized assessment scores and demonstrated
less variation among diverse student groups within those scores.
54
The higher the requirement
of the level of mastery (e.g., 100% correct), the higher the effects. Furthermore, the study
revealed that MBL also resulted in more positive perspectives and attitudes among students.
Although the research did indicate a slight increase in instructional time, meaning it takes
students a bit longer to demonstrate mastery, the impacts were slight. Such an increase would
be four minutes for every 100 minutes of instruction, barely impacting the experience of the
student or teacher. With such positive outcomes, it seems that MBL would be the answer to
many of the challenges facing education today. However, implementing MBL itself comes with a
set of challenges on their own.
Challenges in MBL Assessment
Mastery-based assessment is not without challenges. First, it has the potential to require more
time for teachers.
55,56
It is important to note that the additional time stems from the investment
in formative assessment. Because teachers are giving students multiple opportunities to show
mastery with feedback at every demonstration, there is more grading that must be completed
efficiently with relevant feedback. However, providing explicit feedback is a research-based
strategy that benefits all students in all learning models and has been shown to be a top
strategy to improve student achievement,
57
but is frequently a neglected component of
traditional instructional models, time being the predominant challenge.
58
In traditional
instructional models, time is held constant and learning is variable (How much can I fit into this
block of time?) and in contrast, MBL posits that the learning be held constant and time is
variable.
59
Some MBL models, such as NYC Mastery Collaborative, claim that the increased time
51
Gusky, T. R. (2010). Lessons of mastery learning. Education, School, and Counseling Psychology Faculty Publications, 14.
52
Kulik, C. C., Kulik, J. A., & Banger-Drowns, R. L. (1990) Effectiveness of mastery learning programs: A meta-analysis. American
Education Research Association, 60(2), 265-299.
53
Hattie, J. & Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of Educational Research, 2007. doi: 10.3102/003465430298487.
54
Kulik et al., 1990
55
Farah, 2021
56
Newton, J., Williams, M., & Feeney, D. (2020). Implementing non-traditional assessment strategies in teacher preparation:
Opportunities and challenges. Journal of Culture and Values in Education, 3(1), 39-51. https://doi.org/10.46303/jcve.03.01.3
57
Hattie, 2009
58
Pellegrino, J. & Hunt, E. (2002). Issues, examples, and challenges in formative assessment. New directions for Teaching and
Learning, 2002(89), 73-85
59
Hattie, 2009
47
commitment is mostly at the onset of MBL adoption and eventually wanes over the duration of
implementation until the time difference between MBL and traditional models is insignificant.
60
Another challenge is that students lack comfort with the process.
61
In fact, some students (and
families) may find discomfort with MBL assessment and resist the model. Students are
conditioned to move on in the curriculum whether proficiency has been achieved or not, rather
than continue persevering through content until mastery has been achieved. Equally, assessing
in MBL can be confusing for many teachers. Some tend to think of it is an “easy A” because
students have multiple opportunities to demonstrate mastery in order to achieve it; however,
mastery may not result in an “A” for every student, but rather, will be the student’s best work in
the context (the setting and timeframe) the learning took place.
62
This means that within the
timeframe and setting allowable, not all students may be able to demonstrate mastery at 100%
(or whatever the criteria may be). However, the goal of mastery learning is to support students
to reach their highest potential within the timeframe mutually established by the educator and
student. For instance, this may occur at the end of the school year or whenever the educator and
student jointly decide the student has reached an acceptable proficiency level (even if that is not
100% mastery) and is ready to be successful in moving onto the next skill in the content area.
How to Implement Mastery-Based Assessment
Mastery-based assessment starts with identifying the criteria/criterion for evidence of
proficiency. Some MBL advocates suggest that students should create the assessment; however,
this should be done with support and collaboration with the instructor, and possibly even
industry partners when necessary. Kulik (1990) and colleagues demonstrated that teacher-paced
mastery-learning produces the highest effects, as the teacher and student’s collaboration and
goal setting provide a foundation of feedback and guidance for the learner. Although teacher-
pacing could appear contradictory to the individualized nature of MBL, as part of the optimal
learning conditions for effective MBL, Hattie (2009) reiterates that the research supporting
teacher-paced MBL results in the highest effects. This does not necessarily mean whole-class
pacing, but rather, places an emphasis on the importance of the teacher using their knowledge
of the student, content, and instructional practices to determine the appropriate pace, scaffolds,
and tools for each individual student. Together, students and instructors can determine goals,
processes, the assessment tool, and related criteria that would exemplify mastery in the
content.
63
Once the criteria for mastery is determined, students are introduced to the skills and
knowledge, which can be done in any variety of instructional modes, provided the students have
60
April 2020 MBL Work Group Meeting Panel
https://sbe.wa.gov/sites/default/files/public/documents/MasteryBasedLearningWorkGroup/April%2016%202020%20-
%20%20Mastery-Based%20Learning%20Workgroup%20Meeting%20Notes.pdf
61
Newton et al., 2020
62
Ibid
63
Ibid
48
the opportunity to spend the time on the skills until they achieve proficiency utilizing feedback
from formative assessment.
64
To ensure effectiveness of this assessment model, it is essential to
establish a culture of revision.
65
Students must feel that revision is a part of learning and that it is
ongoing, and healthy and ultimately, be eager to revise. Equally, self-reflection builds a
foundation for life-long learning and should accompany assessments in MBL, as it allows
students to reflect, grow as learners, and provides support in synthesizing learning for long-term
retention.
Grading in Mastery-Based Learning
Although the consensus for reporting out and grading in MBL is still undetermined, standards-
based, credit-based, and digital badges are all used by some districts to represent mastery.
Standards-Based or Competency-Based Grading
Grading in MBL focuses on the evaluation of meeting a standard with pre-defined criteria, also
sometimes referred to as “standards-based grading.” The MBL Work Group’s 2020 Report
highlights Delta High School of Pasco, Washington, that uses standard-based grading which
encourages students to accept feedback and revise their work and provide at least three
separate pieces of evidence of mastery on each standard to have demonstrated mastery
achievement. Although in some courses at Delta the formative feedback is graded as well as the
summative, which is not necessarily aligned with MBL grading in the purest sense since the
notion of utilizing feedback to refine learning until the learning goals have been met is a primal
element of MBL. It is important to note that many educators refer to standards-based and
competency-based grading interchangeably; however, some experts in the field do argue that
there are fine details that require a clear distinction between the terms. Often, experts prefer to
make the distinction because more traditional schools can use standards-based grading without
making any of the other culture shifts seen in a true MBL school. However, despite the
differences stated in the literature, in this appendix they are grouped together based on the
significant similarities and how the terms are used within the state.
Credit-Based Grading
One form of grading is to use credit as the outcome of achieving mastery versus the traditional
letter grade. One such example, Avanti High School in Olympia, Washington, awards credit
upon mastery of course content. The pace is dependent upon students and upon mastery. The
students have the option of taking more advanced content or enrolling in a new course. The
criterion for mastery is determined by a grade of “B” or above and upon completion the
academic credit is awarded (more information is in the MBL Work Group’s 2020 Report
). In other
64
Farah, 2021
65
Newton et al., 2020
49
models of mastery-based credit, students receive credit based on what they can show in a
content area and/or professional skills using a classroom, school, or district assessment tool
(tests and/or performance tasks) that have been implemented in mastery-based learning
models. For example, if a student enters high school already bilingual, they are allotted credit
upon passing an assessment measuring biliteracy without taking any coursework. Or a student
who was raised working in their father’s auto shop would be able to demonstrate mastery in
auto mechanics through passing a standardized performance task.
Digital Badges
Digital badges have a long history stemming from the scout movement to the military and many
other contexts to display authority, honor, and belonging. In the context of MBL, digital badges
could be used in lieu of or in conjunction with a regular grading system to represent mastery of
specific skills and content. In the digital world, badging has been used in the gaming industry
with great success and the use of badges in education has been encouraged by many leaders in
the digital education environment.
The digital badging hype a decade ago was supported with minimal empirical evidence and in
many instances, fell to the wayside. However, a recent metanalysis of the empirical evidence
suggests that digital badging does positively impact learner engagement and motivation under
the right conditions. The study also found that fidelity in implementation of the digital badge as
evidence of mastery is key to receiving the optimal benefits from using digital badges as a tool
for grading.
66
Areas for Future Research Needed in Mastery-Based Learning Assessment
Although there are systems in place that have proven to adequately assess MBL, one area of
future research and focus is the role that industry partners play in assessing the skills and
content related to the workplace. There is room for this collaborative to grow in regard to
creating criteria for successful workforce skills that could be assessed in the K-12 environment.
Additionally, more current data on effective MBL assessment data and tools in the K-12 context
are needed. With the broad access to instructional technology, MBL instruction and assessment
is undoubtedly different than what is represented in the bulk of studies in the literature
conducted in the 1980’s and 1990’s.
66
Roy, S. & Clark, D. (2019). Digital badges, do they live up to the hype? British Journal of Educational Technology, 50(5). doi:
10.1111/bjet.12709
50
Appendix 5: Organizations the MBL Work Group has sought feedback from or
who helped spread the word
67
about the Profile:
Asian Pacific Islander Coalition (APIC) of Washington
Association of Education Service Districts
Associated General Contractors of Washington
Association of Washington School Principals
Association of Washington Student Leaders
Black Education Strategy Roundtable
Capital Region ESD 113
Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs
Communities in Schools Peninsula
Community Center for Education Results: Parent Leadership Team
Council of Presidents
Developmental Disabilities Administration
Educational Opportunity Gap Oversight and Accountability Committee
Enumclaw High School’s Cultural Club students
Equity in Education Coalition
League of Education Voters
Legislative Youth Advisory Council (LYAC)
Machinists Institute
Migrant Education Program
North Central Educational Service District
Online Learning Advisory Committee
OSPI Secondary School Counseling
OSPI Special Education Department
Peninsula School District
Quinault Indian Nation
Ready Washington
Roots of Inclusion
School's Out Washington
Southeast Seattle Education Coalition
Spokane Military Entrance Processing Station
Stand for Children Washington
The Breakfast Group
Washington Education Association
Washington State Parent Teacher Association
67
Note: A variety of other organizations were provided information about the Profile of a Graduate effort and either didn’t respond
or chose not to share the information with their community due to capacity limitations.
51
Washington State Parent to Parent
Washington State School Directors' Association
Washington State’s LGBTQ & Allied Chamber of Commerce
Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board
Work-Integrated Learning Advisory Committee
