DISTRICT COMPETENCIES FOR LEARNING

PACE - Epping is participating in the NH Performance Assessment of Competency Education (PACE) Pilot. This pilot uses quality performance assessments as a means to evaluate student mastery of content and skills competencies. For more information on PACE please click here.

NH COMPETENCY BASED EDUCATION - The NH Minimum Standards For Public School Approval require competency based education in all schools with the following timeline for implementation.

No later than July 1, 2016 a high school curriculum that outlines district and graduation competencies.
No later than July 1, 2017 a K-8 curriculum that outlines district competencies.

The following are key components of New Hampshire's competency based system.

"Acknowledgement of achievement" means when a student has demonstrated achievement of district competencies and or graduation competencies ...
"Competencies" means student learning targets that represent key content-specific concepts, skills, and knowledge applied within or across content domains. Specific and required types of competencies include district competencies and graduation competencies.
"District competencies" mean specific types of competencies that are common across the district and organized in developmental progressions that lead to achievement of graduation competencies.
"Graduation competencies" means specific types of competencies that are common across the district and define learning expectations for each student for graduation from high school.

Link to the NH Minimum Standards for Public School Approval

STATE COMPETENCIES CROSSWALKS TO EPPING COMPETENCIES - Epping School District has already developed and adopted district competencies for learning including content competencies and skills competencies in all content areas. The following documents have been developed to show how the Epping competencies align to the NH competencies/practices for English language arts, mathematics, and science and work study practices. Please click on the titles below to see how Epping competencies align to NH competencies.

English language arts

Mathematics

Science

Skills/work study practices

DISTRICT COMPETENCIES FOR LEARNING - The Epping School District has identified "District Competencies for Learning" that apply to grades K to 12 and in all content areas. Within each content area there are concepts specific to that content area based on NH curriculum standards and District curriculum frameworks. Each content area also shares a set of skills based on the Framework for 21st Century Learning.

Click here for Powerpoint presentation on the development of District Competencies for Learning

All grade level and course competencies align with the "District Competencies for Learning" so that all Epping students are working toward the developmentally appropriate mastery of content concepts and skills leading to high school graduation.

SKILLS - The following skills are integrated in the content areas.

Collaborator - Students will understand that respect, collaboration, and leadership are critical to interacting and working effectively with others.

Communicator - Students will demonstrate the ability to communicate clearly using the most appropriate and effective means.

Contributor - Students will demonstrate the ability to contribute in class and towards a better world through community service, acceptance and tolerance of diverse people, and responsibility for the environment around them.

Evaluator - Students will demonstrate the ability to access, evaluate, use, and manage information.

Learner - Students will demonstrate the ability to be flexible, adaptable, and accountable throughout the learning process.

Producer - Students will demonstrate the ability to manage projects, produce results, and create media products.

Technology User - Students will demonstrate the ability to use technology respectfully and apply it effectively.

Thinker - Students will demonstrate the ability to think critically, creatively, and systematically to define and solve problems.

Click here to view Epping School District Competencies for Learning.

REFERENCES

NH English Language Arts Standards

NH Mathematics Standards

CONTENT CONCEPTS/PRACTICES

CONTENT - Students will understand content concepts/practices and demonstrate the ability to transfer content skills/practices across content areas and apply content concepts/practices to real-life situations. Content areas include English/language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, unified arts, and world language.

English/Language Arts

Reading - Students will demonstrate the ability to read closely and analytically to comprehend a range of increasingly complex literary and informational texts.
Writing - Students will demonstrate the ability to produce effective and well-grounded writing for a range of purposes and audiences.
Speaking & Listening - Students will demonstrate the ability to employ effective speaking and listening skills for a range of purposes and audiences.
Research & Inquiry - Students will demonstrate the ability to engage in research and inquiry to investigate topics, and to analyze, integrate, and present information.

Mathematics

Concepts & Procedures - Students will demonstrate the ability to explain and apply mathematical concepts and interpret and carry out mathematical procedures with precision and fluency.
Problem Solving - Students will demonstrate the ability to solve a range of complex well-posed problems in pure and applied mathematics, making productive use of knowledge and problem solving strategies.
Communicating & Reasoning - Students will demonstrate the ability to clearly and precisely construct viable arguments to support their own reasoning and to critique the reasoning of others.
Modeling & Data Analysis - Students will demonstrate the ability to analyze complex, real-world scenarios and construct and use mathematical models to interpret and solve problems.

Science

Nature of Science - Students will develop an appreciation for the role science plays in our culture and everyday lives, and actively engage in scientific investigation.
Stability & Change - Students will understand that living things, materials, and systems remain constant, change at different rates, or exist in equilibrium over time.
Systems, Energy, & Matter - Students will understand that there is order and predictability in the universe which can be organized into systems and predicted by laws and theories.
Structure & Function - Students will understand that the structure or shape of a living thing, material, or system is related to its function.
Models & Explanations - Students will understand that scientists use logic, models, evidence, and current knowledge to explain their world.

Social Studies

People, Places, & Environment - Students will understand that individuals, groups and societies interact with each other, their social and physical environments such that cultures evolve over time.
Conflict & Cooperation - Students will understand that conflict and cooperation together shape the development of society.
Global Communication - Students will understand the impacts that the arts, literature, language and technological advances have on society.
Citizenship - Students will understand the role of citizens as members of political and global communities and the responsibilities of individuals as members of a group.

Unified Arts*

Communication - Students will demonstrate the ability to communicate in meaningful and appropriate ways within the context of their own unique experiences, values, and perspectives.
Experiences - Students will understand that the processes of creating and/or performing work are essential to the life experience of the individual and the community.
Global Connections - Students will understand that the unified arts have a fundamental connection with cultures and history.
Evaluation - Students will understand that the products of the unified arts are created to convey a point of view realistically, abstractly, or digitally, and as a result can be critically and constructively evaluated.
Integration - Students will understand that the unified arts integrate with other content areas and these interdisciplinary connections enhance their experience.
*Unified arts includes art, business, digital studies, drama, family consumer science, health, music, physical education, technical education, and technology education.

World Language

Communication - Students will demonstrate the ability to communicate in meaningful and appropriate ways with users of other languages.
Cultures - Students will gain knowledge and understanding of other cultures by mastering the cultural contexts in which the language occurs.
Connections - Students will demonstrate the ability to connect with other disciplines and acquire information that may be unavailable to the monolingual English speaker.
Comparisons - Students will develop insight into the nature of language and the concept of culture and realize that there are multiple ways of viewing the world.
Communities - Students will demonstrate the ability to participate in multilingual communities at home and around the world in a variety of contexts and in culturally appropriate ways.

Click here to view Epping School District Competencies for Learning.