In general, a course competency (or outcome) is a competency that is written in broad terms to cover a wide range of complex, interrelated sets of knowledge, skills, and/or abilities that students should acquire by completing a course.  Since course competencies tend to be broad in nature, directly evaluating whether or not students have met the course competencies can be challenging.  Therefore, it is often advantageous for an instructor to break course competencies down into subcompetencies that are more manageable. 

A subcompetency is a competency that is written in specific terms that addresses a narrow knowledge set, skill, and/or ability that students should acquire by completing a particular segment of learning.  Since subcompetencies are narrow in scope, the evaluation of student proficiency tends to be easier.  Subcompetencies are generally grouped together in such a way that students can demonstrate proficiency on the course competency by meeting all of the corresponding subcompetencies.

In order to ensure that subcompetencies are truly actionable, it is important that they are written so that they are observable and measurable.  This starts with choosing a strong action verb.  The action verb describes what the student will do in order to demonstrate understanding.  Examples of strong action verbs might include define, analyze, compare, apply, evaluate, and create.  The action verb is then followed by the content.  The content describes the knowledge, skill, and/or ability that is demonstrated through the action.  Finally, a well-written competency includes context which is the circumstances under which the learner will demonstrate the knowledge, skill, and/or ability.  The context provides clarity and parameters for student learning.  These three elements—action verb, content, and context—combine together to result in a high-quality competency statement.

The following example illustrates the relationship between course competencies and subcompetencies.

1. SUBCOMPETENCY: Develop an interview question form that could be used for a behavior-based interview.
   
2. SUBCOMPETENCY: Prepare a performance appraisal instrument that could be used to guide an employee performance session.
   
3. SUBCOMPETENCY: Write objectives for an employee training session.
   

Notice that the course competency is relatively broad while the subcompetencies provide more focus about what students should know and be able to do.  In addition, if a student can successfully meet the subcompetencies, then the overarching course competency is also met.  In each of the subcompetencies, measurable and observable action verbs—develop, prepare, and write—have been chosen.  In addition, content and context are present in each subcompetency to clarify what students should be doing.

Here are some additional examples to illustrate the connections between course competencies and subcompetencies.

1. SUBCOMPETENCY: Describe methods that psychologists use to study the mind and behavior, including descriptive, correlational, and experimental approaches.
   
2. SUBCOMPETENCY: Apply statistical reasoning to research in psychology and to everyday life.
   

1. SUBCOMPETENCY: Build and interpret frequency tables for data sets.
   
2. SUBCOMPETENCY: Build and interpret two-ways tables.
   
3. SUBCOMPETENCY: Build a variety of visual displays of data including bar graphs, line graphs, circle graphs, dot plots, stem-and-leaf plots, time-series plots, histograms, boxplots, and scatterplots.
   
4. SUBCOMPETENCY: Describe, analyze, and interpret visual displays of data, and use visual displays to answer questions and draw conclusions about data sets.
   
5. SUBCOMPETENCY: Determine if a visual display of data is misleading and describe the characteristics of the display that cause it to be misleading.
   

Industrial Technology Example

1. SUBCOMPETENCY: Demonstrate the proper use of wire strippers and crimping tools.
   
2. SUBCOMPETENCY: Construct electrical splices ensuring that they have been soldered properly.
   
3. SUBCOMPETENCY: Explain the different types of flux used in industry.
   

An important thing to note is that assessments are often aligned to the subcompetencies.  Given that the subcompetencies generally have a narrower focus, assessments tied to the subcompetencies are usually better aligned and better equipped to measure proficiency accurately on the targeted knowledge and skills.

In short, course competencies describe a broad range of concepts that students learn about during a course; but they can be difficult to directly measure and observe.  Consider writing more specific subcompetencies that focus on targeted knowledge sets, skills, and/or abilities.  With the right action verb, content, and context, subcompetencies can be easier to measure and observe and can be easier to evaluate with aligned assessments.  Subcompetencies help make the make things actionable when determining what a student knows and understands and form the foundation for well-aligned courses.