From assumptions to definitions to assessments
Let’s assume that the purpose of an education is enable the individual to thrive. What exactly does it mean to thrive? How do we define that term?
Two recent Wall Street Journal essays imply some tell-tale answers. In “Is This the End of College as We Know It?” Douglas Belkin writes about “credentials” that are “valuable in the labor market.” In “The $2 Trillion Question: How to Spend on Education for the Future,” Greg Ip and Benoit Morenne write about “investing in ‘human capital’.”
Unsurprisingly, the Wall Street Journal, frames thriving in financial terms—better education leads to better wages and professional advancement.
Beyond the knowledge and skills required to be a productive member of the work force, many schools use their “Portrait of the Graduate” to name other dimensions of thriving—ethical leadership, social and emotional intelligence, and more.
But it’s not enough to define terms and achieve common language. If you were to audit all of the assessments in a school, 95% would probably be related to knowledge and skills. That’s more than a little lopsided, especially when facts tend to have half-lives while “ethical leadership” and “social and emotional intelligence” are likely to compound with interest.
We manage what we measure.
Show me your assessments and I’ll tell you what you value. [1]
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[1] This is why Expeditions culminate with public demonstrations of learning. To the outside world, we call this event a “CEO panels,” but internally the students know it as “The Boss Level.” In addition to the social entrepreneurship knowledge and skills that teams must demonstrate, they must also prove their ability to collaborate, use their strengths, and explain their deep sense of purpose. And the formative assessments that take place prior to the CEO panel address the same things.
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