Instructional Design Article Critique #2

Vail, K. ( 2010, March) American School. Leveling the Field. Volume 197, No.3 pages 14-19

“All research shows when you do something new, it takes five years to show results”. (p.15)  The Adams County School District 50 in Colorado did not have five years to turn things around.  They had persistently low achievement scores, 75 percent of their students were eligible for free and reduced lunches, and almost 40 percent were ELL.  So Adams 50 adopted a standards-based education policy with the idea that children should demonstrate that they have mastered skills before they advance to learn new ones. 

They selected the Re-Inventing Schools Coalition (RISC) model because it replaces grade levels with skill levels.  Designer Richard DeLorezo describes it best with “We give kids the road map; they figure out how they learn best”. (p.17) They wanted to empower kids to take responsibility for their education.  If students were struggling, the teachers helped them.  Students determined and controlled the pace that they learned, and it proved successful.  Achievement soared with 95 percent of students going onto postsecondary education.

The system searched for teachers with a “constructive critical eye” and they attended training by DeLorenzo’s group. Board members, principals, and central office staff also attended.  Stipends were paid out, and in return for this money and training, teachers signed a contract to stay within the district for three years.  It took a superintendent with vision to convince parents and community members.  Together they formed an alliance to bring reform to the classroom. Ten levels were identified that would replace the current grade system.  Robert Marzono agreed to work with teachers to determine what skills would be included in each level and how they would be measured. (p.18) 

Students were placed in their level groups in literacy and math.  The reform started in the 2008-2009 school year and early signs of progress are encouraging, with fifth-grade reading and math scores rising  and discipline problems decreasing by 40 percent, “because kids were at their own level, not bored or frustrated.”(p.18)  Students will graduate from high school when they have mastered Level 10 learning targets in the four core classes of reading, math, science, and social studies.    Some students finish early and then continue to take AP classes for college credit. “Our dream is to have kids walk across the stage with 18 college credits” says Principal Shannon Willy. (p.19)

This article raised numerous questions in my mind.  It is obvious for a reform as dramatic as this, to get everybody on board.  What would happen to traditionalist teachers, principals, school board members and parents who were unwilling to change?  Would teachers quit?  School board members change every two to four years and our current administrators and educators being trained in this methodology?

It seems to make sense that this would help slow lowest-performing students by giving them more time and not holding back high-performing students who could move at their own pace.  In my school corporation we have students in middle school who cannot read, or do so at a third grade level.  Indiana schools have passed that promotion will not continue past the third grade if a student does not meet the competency level in reading. This is a small step towards competency based learning, but perhaps it is the beginning of reform as a State.

This model would also take a lot of new learning and training to be successful.  Reading about it is one thing, but witnessing its proof is another.  It would take a substantial amount of money for visitations, to train, promote, and implement this new methodology.  Colorado is depending on Race to the Top monies, but Indiana is already out of the running.  Where would this money come from?  Professional development money has been suspended in Indiana.  Perhaps corporation sponsorship could be one source or a tuition requirement placed on participating students.

Graduation is based on the RISC model, but how would different colleges look at a nontraditional transcript?  Most colleges require SAT scores and credit hours in a college prep curriculum. I feel that this reform would need to be nation-wide or at least state wide to be understood and accepted by state schools.  Everyone would need to be on the same page of understanding.  

This is a radical change on a model that has been in place for centuries, so I can see why pilot schools are necessary to test the water. Competence is not trained behavior but thoughtful capabilities and a developmental process (Barrie and Pace 1997; Chappell 1996).  Studies of the development of expertise as well as the constructivist view of learning suggest that people make judgments and review, reflect on, and change behavior, continually reconstructing relevant and useful knowledge as they interact with a situation (Hodkinson and Issitt 1995; Hyland 1994). This brings assessment to mind.  How would each level of competency be assessed?  Would it be a checklist approach, a pass/fail/ or performance of a skill?  Would students only seek to achieve a minimum level of competency or would they strive for the highest standard?  Would it be a one- time assessment or one of an on-going application? The nature of these competency standards will obviously determine how they should best be assessed. Since they are based on the idea that competence is a construct that is not directly observable but rather is inferred from successful performance, it is clear that performance will be vital for assessment (Education Commission of the States. (1995, January).

I believe that this would foster more authentic forms of assessment.  I know that Physical Education is rather subjective in assessment.  Heart rate monitors would provide data to prove a performance level of competency.  In Language Arts the written word could be a form of assessment as well as solving math problems.  In Indiana it is projected that in three years graduated students could be assessed in the fulfillment of their job performance and their college progression. Competence-based assessment needs t o be relevant for students. Competence, being largely work-based, introduces us to the idea that assessment can be made to be relevant, and to be based on 'real' and lived experience, whether in the workplace, or through hobbies, leisure activities or in wellness practices.  I could see where competency-based education could be more conducive to 21^st Century learning and prepare students for their life’s work.

There are no set rules for how learning takes place.  In theory the RISC model means that students can take as much time as they need to learn and develop. An open-ended commitment to an individual education would prove to be most difficult with the implementation of individual learning plans and assessment.  There would have to be some form of a time constraint.  I think that going from a time-based system to a competency-based system will be most difficult.  It would certainly require year-round school and a complete revamp of our thinking.  It will be interesting to watch trends, check achievement, and to see if this reform will take hold all over the country.

Armstrong, P. Raising standards: a creative look at competence and assessment and implications for mainstreaming in university adult education. Retrieved from: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/00002988.htm 10/17/2010

Education Commission of the States. (1995, January). "Outcome-based" education: An overview. Denver, CO: Author. Retrieved from: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/envrnmnt/go/go4outcm.htm

Vail, K. ( 2010, March) American School. Leveling the Field. Volume 197, No.3 pages 14-19