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The fall of letter grades & the rise of comprehensive learner records

Meet Bruce Umpstead, director of statewide programs for IMS Global Learning Consortium, who explains what comprehensive learner records are and why these digital transcripts will be a crucial step toward building a competency-based future.
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The Fall of Letter Grades & the Rise of Comprehensive Learner Records (feat. Bruce Umpstead from IMS Global Learning Consortium)

. . .Or listen instead on Apple, Spotify, Google, or another platform.

Many leaders in education believe there are better ways to represent a student’s journey through their K-12 education than the traditional transcript, which typically depicts achievement through letter grades such as A’s, B’s, C’s, etc.

What might a richer representation of a student’s learning look like, and what would it take for us to get there?

This week on the BRIGHT podcast, I chat with Bruce Umpstead, director of statewide programs for IMS Global Learning Consortium, who explains:

  • What “comprehensive learner records” are and why they’re gaining traction in state education programs across the nation
  • Why these digital transcripts will be a crucial step toward building a competency-based future
  • How digital badging, learning analytics, and comprehensive learner records work together to form the foundation of data-driven student learning.

You can listen to our conversation using the audio player above or read the transcript.

Here’s a sneak peek at our conversation:

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Nikki Herta

Nikki’s love for writing, editing and pedagogy brought her to Michigan Virtual as their Content Creator/Editor. A Michigan native, she studied writing at Grand Valley State University before continuing on to the University of Minnesota for her master’s degree. While there, she also taught first-year writing to college freshman. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, playing table-top board games, and curling up in front of the fireplace with a good book and her sassy, ancient cat, Princess Eugene.

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