At KLHS, these Advanced Credits include passion projects and independent research-from opera singing, teaching, and filmmaking to Alzheimer's research, environmental justice, and genome mapping-empowering students to apply what they are learning to the real world. The Mastery Transcript allows admission officers (and employers) to gain a true understanding of the subjects that the applicant has not only mastered but also where they have pursued learning at an advanced level. Along with a growing number of member schools from all over the country (public, private, charter, large, small, urban, rural, well-resourced, and those less so), MTC designed a software platform with an interactive transcript. Khan Lab High School was already deep into using the innovative tool developed by the Mastery Transcript Consortium (MTC) to communicate a more comprehensive understanding of a student’s learning. Pre-pandemic, grade inflation in many high schools was already spinning out of control, and after a year of disrupted classrooms, pass/fail grades were not uncommon. What about applying to college without grades? If the pandemic has taught us anything about college admission, it is that colleges are resourceful and can find ways to identify an applicant's ability, potential, and character without standardized test scores and traditional grades. Many questions remain: What knowledge has been lost? Are students prepared for next-level learning? Will graduates be ready for college? Does an A in calculus mean the same this year as it did before? What do students know? Who has been left behind? How do students and schools effectively communicate what has been learned? And, on a more macro level, is the educational experience of the past what’s right for the future? Even if the return to school buildings is more “normal”, the long-haul impacts of the pandemic on institutions and the young people they serve will be felt for the indefinite future.
Covid-19 refuses to give up without a fight, but as vaccinations slowly spread throughout our nation, students, parents, and educators are hoping that, with the exception of masks and other precautions, back-to-school this fall will resemble something closer to the pre-Covid educational experience. As students across the country return to school, there is considerable discussion about what K-12 education will look like in the coming year.
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