Earlier this year, Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN) partnered with 1EdTech and Unicon to explore a shared question:
How can institutions more clearly evaluate whether learning technologies truly support skills-based, competency-driven education?
We’re pleased to share that this initiative has created the newly published Skills-Ready Technology Rubric.
What We Accomplished
Through cross-sector collaboration with institutions, technology providers, and interoperability experts, the partnership:
- Established a shared, outcomes-focused framework for evaluating learning technologies
- Centered skills transparency, competency evidence, and learner progression
- Aligned technology evaluation with the real needs of institutions implementing competency-based education
The result is a practical, field-informed rubric that institutions and vendors can use to support more consistent, learner-centered decision-making.
| “D2L is proud to have participated in C-BEN’s Skills-Ready Technology Rubric pilot. As a learning innovation company committed to skills‑based learning, we see this rubric as a critical next step in advancing competency‑based education. We’re excited to contribute to a resource that will help educators, employers, and leaders make informed decisions and adopt the right CBE technologies for their learners’ needs.”- Dr. Cristi Ford, Chief Learning Officer, D2L |
Why This Matters
As skills-based education continues to scale, institutions need tools that go beyond feature checklists. This rubric helps shift the conversation toward:
- Whether technologies make skills visible and portable
- How well systems support competency-based progression
- The extent to which learners can demonstrate what they know and can do
In short, it supports stronger alignment between education, workforce needs, and learner mobility—without prescribing a single technical solution.
| “GoReact enables competency-based education by capturing and documenting authentic, video-based evidence of real-world skill performance. The platform provides the missing validation layer behind badges, credentials, and traditional learning models—ensuring competencies are not just claimed but clearly demonstrated. Observable proof of performance will be the skill-currency of the future, ensuring competencies are credible, transferable, and meaningful. We believe this rubric will serve as a global north star, guiding institutions across higher education and workforce programs toward the right tools to achieve their future.”- Peter Morgan, Director of Corporate Sales North America |
| “At Regent Education, we are thrilled to be the only financial aid management solutions vendor listed in 1EdTech’s TrustEd Apps Directory in the category of “competency-based.” Our self-assessment of the C-BEN CBE Skills Ready Rubric provides detailed information about how the Regent Award Suite meets the criteria as defined by 1EdTech and C-BEN as it relates to competency-based education.”- Heather Hodgson, VP, Marketing, Regent Education |
What’s Next
While this partnership has formally wrapped, the work continues. We invite institutions, technologists, and ecosystem partners to:
- Use the rubric in procurement, design, and evaluation conversations
- Share feedback and lessons from implementation
- Continue collaborating toward a more transparent, skills-ready learning ecosystem
| “We are deeply grateful to the technology partners who shared their time, expertise, and candor throughout this initiative. Their willingness to engage thoughtfully—across platforms, perspectives, and business models—made this work stronger and more grounded in real-world practice. This rubric reflects not just theory, but the collective insight of vendors committed to learner-centered, skills-ready education. Thank you also to Rob Coyle at 1EdTech and Kathryn Green at Unicon for their leadership and commitment to this work”- Dr. Amber Garrison-Duncan Executive Vice President, C-BEN |
Access the Skills-Ready Technology Rubric here.
We’re grateful to our partners and contributors for advancing this work—and we look forward to seeing how the field puts it into practice.
