Inspired by Knowledge and Learning Spaces, we present a novel framework for explaining the answering patterns of learners through competences and skills. More precisely, we investigate how a given learner-question data may be ascribed by a set of competences such that a learner masters a question if and only if they have a competence that is sufficient for mastering the question. Each competence is some combination of skills, but there may be restrictions on which skills can be combined. In general a question does not require a unique competence.