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Updated: Jan 10, 2026

Problem-Solving Before Instruction PS-I: A Protocol for Assessment and Intervention in Students with Different Abilities
Published on: September 11, 2021
An Integrative Approach to Grading in Competency-Based Curriculum
Amanda Safford1, Rachel Lowery, Ashley McMath
1Author Affiliations: School of Nursing, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama.
Background:
Competency-based education (CBE) and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing's 2021 Essentials framework necessitate a shift in traditional methods of assessment and evaluation in nursing education.
Problem:
Establishing a process for converting demonstrated competency levels into equivalent alpha-numeric grades is important to maintain the calculation of a student's grade point average.
Approach:
A faculty task force across 3 undergraduate/prelicensure programs developed an adaptable grading scheme and competency-based grading scale applicable to multiple course settings.
Outcomes:
Adapting the Ottawa Surgical Competency Operating Room Evaluation scale into nursing competency descriptors and aligning the levels with alpha-numeric grades provides a helpful grading structure to operationalize CBE within institutional constraints. This also allows academic freedom for course faculty to design and implement formative and summative assignments based on their relevance to mapped course outcomes.
Conclusion:
CBE frameworks support a progressive and developmentally leveled approach to competency assessment. Integration of educational pedagogies promotes consistency in competency evaluation.
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