What is Competency-Based Education?

The U.S. Department of Education describes competency-based education as learning that “organizes academic content according to competencies—what a student knows and can do—rather than following a more traditional scheme, such as by course or seat time.” In other words, students progress when they demonstrate clear, measurable skills and knowledge, not simply because they have spent a certain number of hours in a classroom. Many state agencies and higher education systems now use this model to align learning with real-world skills, flexible pacing, and stronger college and career readiness.

Evidence of Success

Studies across K–12, higher education, and professional training have found that well-designed competency-based programs can improve student achievement, engagement, and retention. For example, recent reviews and meta-analyses report moderate to strong positive effects on mastery of course outcomes, research skills, and readiness for employment when students advance based on demonstrated mastery rather than seat time. Together, these findings support competency-based education as a promising, research-supported approach for helping diverse learners succeed at their own pace while meeting high standards.

Below are some references that you can look at to see that competency-based education (CBE) works. Just don't ask me why it is not used everywhere. I am sure that you have your own guesses.

Governmental / policy reports

U.S. Department of Education. (2017). Issue brief: Competency-based advancement in high schools (NCES 2017‑086). U.S. Government Publishing Office. https://www.ed.gov/sites/ed/files/rschstat/eval/high-school/competency-based-advancement.pdf​

Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario. (2014). Productivity implications of a shift to competency-based education. Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario. https://heqco.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/CBE-Report-ENG.pdf​

Ohio Department of Higher Education. (2016). Competency-based education (2016 Conditions Report, chap. 5). State of Ohio. https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/highered.ohio.gov/files/uploads/board/condition-report/2016-Conditions-Report_FINAL.pdf​

Epic Education Policy Center. (2021). Competency-based education survey instrument technical report. Epicenter for Policy, Implementation, and Collaboration in Education. https://epicedpolicy.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/CBE-Survey-Technical-Report.pdf​

Postsecondary National Policy Institute. (2023). Competency-based education: A primer. Postsecondary National Policy Institute. https://pnpi.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/CBEPrimer_Apr23.pdf​

Academic / research articles and reviews

Alrebish, S. A., Al-Masarweh, A. M., & Alshehri, S. A. (2025). Evaluating the effectiveness of competency‑based didactic approach in higher education. Education Sciences, 15(5), Article 410. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15050410​

Guskey, T. R., & Gates, S. L. (1986). The effectiveness of mastery learning programs: A meta‑analysis. Review of Educational Research, 56(3), 235–274. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543056003235

Loh, E., Khan, N., & Kim, S. (2018). Competency‑based education and medical and nursing students’ learning outcomes: An integrative review. International Journal of Health Sciences Education, 5(1), Article 3. https://dc.etsu.edu/ijhse/vol5/iss1/3​

McGaghie, W. C., Harris, I. B., & Brukner, H. (2021). A practical review of mastery learning. Medical Education Online, 26(1), 192–204. https://doi.org/10.1080/10872981.2021.10159400​

Kelchen, R. (2020). The effects of competency‑based education delivery methods on student outcomes. Journal of Competency-Based Education, 5(3), e01226. https://doi.org/10.1002/cbe2.1226​