Competencies
Competencies are specific grade level skills that are derived from the concepts. Competencies identify exactly what students should be able to do as a result of the instruction.
For instance, with the concept "Focus, content, organization, style, and conventions work together to impact writing quality," a teacher can use the competency: Organize and sustain writing in a logical order, including a beginning, middle and end, with appropriate transitions within sentences.
There are many more competencies associated with this particular concept, and a teacher should include all of them in the instruction to ensure students demonstrate that they understand the concept. Competencies are aligned to the Pennsylvania academic standards, and correlate to assessment anchors and eligible content. Students who can demonstrate that they can perform the grade level competencies will likely do well on the PSSA and other state exams.
Competencies use verbs, such as "use," "demonstrate," "identify," and "apply," that describe the specific actions that students are expected to be able to do. In essence, competencies are the specific learning objectives that frame instruction and enable teachers to plan formative assessment strategies that measure students' understanding of a concept. A teacher should also periodically use essential questions and remind students of the big ideas that are associated with this concept and competency so that students can focus on the details without ever losing sight of the big picture.