Future of Learning Top Reads for week of Oct 12 2020
“Caltech, other colleges drop SAT and ACT from admissions decisions,” by Nick Anderson, in The Washington Post
“The California Institute of Technology attracts a certain kind of student, driven to explore science and engineering at the highest levels. It tells prospective applicants mathematics is ‘the bedrock of all coursework’ at the school. More than 90 percent who apply are turned away. Most who enrolled in recent years had perfect or near-perfect math scores on the SAT or ACT.
“But Caltech won’t even consider those tests in the selection of its next two entering classes. It is in the vanguard of a small but growing movement to eliminate the ACT and SAT from admission decisions. The immense educational disruptions of the novel coronavirus pandemic, especially shortages of seats at testing centers, have fueled the development.
“Others experimenting with this approach include the University of California at Berkeley and some other UC campuses, Reed College in Oregon, the California State University System and Washington State University. Catholic University, in D.C., said this year it will omit test scores in admissions from now on. […]
“In May, UC’s governing Board of Regents rocked the college admissions world with a decision to phase out the ACT and SAT. The board voted unanimously to adopt a test-optional policy for the system for 2021 and 2022, and then a test-blind admission policy for in-state applicants in 2023 and 2024.”
Why does this matter to the future of learning?
Consider this another canary in the coal mine for standardized testing in college admissions.
And note that “test-free” or “test blind” goes beyond “test optional.” These schools claim not to even look at standardized test scores in their consideration of an applicant.
In the future, we would happily place our faith in college admissions that focuses on a mastery transcript combined with a student “growth” portfolio (as opposed to a “perfection” portfolio).
…speaking of portfolios…
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”Why skills - and not degrees - will shape the future of work,” by Ravi Kumar S., President, Infosys Ltd, and Steve George, Global CIO, Ernst & Young, on the World Economic Forum blog
“If we shift our focus from degrees to skills, we’ll enable a bigger workforce that represents the diversity of our populations, and will help close the all too familiar opportunity and employment gaps. This will mean transitioning to always-on skills-based education and employment infrastructure that embraces not just credentials and certification but fitness-for-job and employment as outcomes.”
Why does this matter to the future of learning?
First, note who is writing this and what their roles say about their point of view.
Then keep in mind:
Skills require performance assessments (vs. standardized assessments).
Performance assessments are best captured by portfolios.
Curating a portfolio is also a skill.
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“What the Work From Home Revolution Means for Higher Education,” by Ryan Craig, in the GAP Letter
“In a decade, when we look back at the pandemic of 2020, the biggest change to higher education is likely to be the work from home revolution. Such a radical shift in the behavior of higher education’s ultimate customer – employers – means that if preparing students for work is a priority – still debatable at many institutions, particularly for good first jobs that lead to economic success (vs. bad first jobs that lead to persistent underemployment) – institutions will have no choice but to rethink how they’re preparing students.
“First, colleges and universities need to get serious about equipping students with specific digital hard skills, particularly as a tsunami of collaboration platforms for remote work is about to hit entry-level job descriptions. Second, new digital soft skills like tele-empathy (direct communication, verbal cues, active listening, remote conflict resolution) will rear their head. And because graduates need to be prepared to work remotely and autonomously from day one, other soft skills will come to the fore. Without supervisors physically present, they’ll need to have a higher level of organization and take more initiative. Employers are likely to want to see budding entrepreneurs in their remote hires.”
Why does this matter to the future of learning?
Back in 2012, when I first started at Malvern Prep, we launched a first prototype of a vision for the future of learning: Connect, Collaborate, Create.
You could argue that those three C’s were always imperatives, but in a work-from-home present and future, they feel more urgent than ever.
How has you school’s vision evolved when it comes to preparing students to thrive in post-COVID world?
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