Illinois is building a foundation for high school transformation through the creation of postsecondary pathways and the advancement of competency-based learning. The foundation for these efforts is the Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness (PWR) Act, signed into law in 2016, which takes a student-centered, competency-based approach to college and career readiness.

Notably, the Act established the Competency-Based High School Graduation Requirement Pilot program, which allows districts to award credit based on student demonstrations of mastery, rather than seat time alone. This flexibility enables better alignment between learning and the acquisition of durable skills required for both workforce and postsecondary success.

A number of schools in Illinois are also participating in a math badging initiative in partnership with XQ Institute. The initiative explores the use of a student-centered, proficiency-based approach to high school mathematics. Students taking part in the pilot model real-world problems to demonstrate their mastery of rigorous math concepts, and earn badges that could one day inform new student transcripts.

As Illinois continues to advance this work, state leaders could expand flexibility from seat time requirements and develop a state Portrait of a Graduate that reflects the broad set of competencies all high school graduates should have by the time they leave high school. State leaders could also explore opportunities to launch a statewide initiative with dedicated resources to incentivize community-led high school redesign.