We believe that students are more than a letter grade…
At the Bennett Day Upper School, we believe that there are essential human-centered skills that must be developed in order to become a responsible and impactful citizen.
Competency-based learning goes beyond grades to provide each learner with specific feedback related to their strengths and areas of challenge. We identify the core skills for each discipline, then ask students to provide evidence of their ability to perform those skills. A student progresses to the next skill only when the previous one has been mastered. We track every student’s progress and provide one-on-one mentorship so that we can provide challenging, rigorous and meaningful learning that goes beyond the traditional curriculum.
For a deep dive into competency-based education, see here.
Our Core Thinking Skills
Logic and Reasoning
Persuasive Writing
Computational Thinking
Problem-Solving
Mathematical Fluency
Sociological Analysis
Self-Regulation
Artistic Expression (Visual, Musical, or Dramatic)
Narrative Expression (Storytelling)
Strategic Foresight
Technological Literacy
Modern Media Literacy
Global Competence
Democratic Participation
Multilingual Communication
But Don’t I Need Grades to Get Into College?
Not anymore.
Colleges around the country are moving towards competency-based programs, allowing students to submit transcripts that no longer include grades. Top schools around the country, from Harvard to the University of Chicago are committed to nontraditional transcriptions.
Over 150 of the top independent schools across the country, along with numerous public schools, have pledged to move towards “mastery-based” transcripts in the coming years.
We’ve developed a system that allows us to go beyond grades and believe strongly that grades provide inadequate feedback, but if a university is in need of a more traditional transcript, our system can be easily transcribed to fit any university requirement.
Our online system allows students to maintain a real-time awareness of their progress as learners. Our system creates a descriptive, detailed digital transcript that allows our students to have limitless choices available for them to pursue lifelong learning when they graduate from Bennett Day School.