Off the Clock: Moving Education From Time to Competency

What if you could remove time and space pressures from the process of teaching and learning? The authors of Off the Clock not only suggest this, but they have implemented it in New Hampshire. Due in part to their work, the New England Consortium won the 2011 Frank Newman Award for State Innovation through the Education Commission of the States. This books core idea is that student achievement should be based on mastering competencies instead of seat time. In addition, learning does not need to be restricted to a school building or traditional school calendar. Fred Bramante and Rose Colby describe a uniquely 21st century learning environment in which: every student is engaged; parents and students have more control over learning;dropouts are all but eliminated; curriculum becomes virtually limitless, project-based, and interdisciplinary.