Bennett Day School Advocates for New College Admissions Process
The Chicago-Based School Joins Master Transcript Consortium, a Network of More Than 300 Schools Championing for Change
CHICAGO, July 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Bennett Day School, a progressive school based in Chicago, is committed to providing student-centered education through project-based and competency-based learning and assessment. Now, the school is also championing a new digital transcript in hopes to fundamentally change the college admissions process and high school experience for students around the world. This summer, Bennett Day School accepted an invitation to join the Mastery Transcript Consortium (MTC), a growing network of more than 300 public and private schools seeking to pivot away from the conventional letter-grade transcript towards a more qualitative and holistic transcript that better illustrates a student's growth, experience and interests. The Mastery Transcript was created by MTC to provide an opportunity for each and every student — from all backgrounds, locations, and types of schools — to have their unique strengths, abilities, interests, and histories fostered, understood, and celebrated.
"At Bennett Day School, we believe that traditional letter grades and transcripts are an inadequate means of understanding the value a learner brings to any environment," said Martin Moran, Lead Designer and Director of the Bennett Day Upper School. "We are proud to join the Mastery Transcript Consortium to enact systemic change to the college admissions policy around the world."
In alignment with Bennett Day School's existing values and mission, members of MTC believe there is a better way of preparing high school students for the world and of presenting them to colleges and employers — from how students learn to how they are assessed. Bennett Day School has always believed that competency-based assessment and transcripts provide a more personal approach to learning and evaluation, with a greater focus on the individual and how they progress through academic content than the traditional letter grade system. It allows students to advance based on their demonstrated mastery of a subject, as opposed to the "teach to the middle" method which fails to meet the needs of the modern student.
More than 150 top independent schools across the country, including Phillips Exeter Academy, The Dalton School, Hawken School and more, along with numerous public schools, have pledged to move towards "mastery-based" transcripts in the coming years. Since the initial launch of the Mastery Transcript in fall 2019, it has been utilized by students applying to more than 100 colleges and universities across the country, including Harvard University, Brown University, and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
Bennett Day School is committed to advancing creativity, innovation, and the development of lifelong learners and leaders. The faculty encourages its students to remain curious and critically question the world around them. Now, the team is using its collective voice to advocate for change of an antiquated college admissions process to create a better future for students and beyond.
For more information, visit www.bennettday.org.
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SOURCE Bennett Day School
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