A New Old Model

At a recent workshop on Math, the presenter suggested that it might be worth using a different evaluation model because of the cumulative nature of the subject. Instead of using the standard letter grades, we could ‘certify’ students who demonstrated proficiency in basic math criteria, like number sense, word problems, fractions, etc.

This is nothing new, of course. An educational generation ago, when I was starting my career, Outcomes Based Education (OBE) was the hot topic. Students would show their mastery of specifically chosen, measurable outcomes in order to progress through school.

There was considerable controversy over OBE, which essentially sunk most of the ship though there are some places that practice it. The Coalition of Essential Schools promotes an extensive form of OBE. What has remained alive of the original concept of OBE is standardized testing, minus the other types of authentic assessment.

But given the tense climate of the educational world with swirling controversies over assessment, NCLB, teacher training and burnout, the disconnect between traditional curricula and current global realities, perhaps revisiting a fuller OBE would be a reasonable venture. Could the weaknesses in the old OBE model be addressed and remediated?

The first prerequisite in examining this would have to be crystal clear: determining learning objectives could NOT be mandated at a federal level. That would create more dissatisfaction than the current ‘one size fits all’ nature of NCLB that has so many upset.

Yet this would be a legitimate fear: it seems that educational entities often tend to acquiesce to higher authorities too easily – states to the federal government, districts to the state, schools to districts, and so on. I compare the creation of central standards to franchising, the attempt to create a singular educational experience for all students. Anyone who has spent time in a classroom knows the impossibility of this model, yet . . .

(originally posted 4/26/08)