Writer Argues For Competency-Based Common Core Assessments

In a blog posting for Forbes (12/6), Michael Horn writes that education policy observers are "nervous" about "whether states will stick with the Common Core state standards once the Common Core assessments arrive in the 2014-15 school year." Horn supports the concept of the Common Core "in part because of the innovation their adoption could seed through the creation of a common market. Having common standards across the country could begin to reward content providers that target the long tail of learners because they would help to aggregate demand across the country, as opposed to what happens today where those providers that tailor their offerings to different and idiosyncratic state standards, for example, are rewarded." Horn continues to lay out an argument that competency-based assessments could be crafted into Common Core assessments, reducing the need for "end-of-the-line" assessments and strengthening academic performance.