Outcome-Based Education: Miracle Cure or Plague?

This report explains why there is so much conflict over outcome-based education (OBE). When states began to institute OBE programs, they turned the crucial task of defining outcomes over to the very education establishment threatened by the process. Having adopted in principle the laudable focus on education results, the educrats then went on to propose a list of outcomes that emphasizes not academic achievement but rather, attitudes and behavior that often reflect quasi-political or ideologically correct positions. 24 pages.

Contents

• Executive Summary
• Introduction
• Debate Over Definition
• Widespread Attention
• New Momentum, National Goals
• A Good Idea Gone Wrong
• Political Havoc
• With What Are We Left... Or Is It Right?
• Judging Educational Quality
• Confusion Over What Outcomes Define
• The Aquarian Fallacy
• The Nostalgist Fallacy
• Unholy Alliance
• A Two-Fold Policy Strategy
• Standards and Tests
• Diversity and Choice
• Conclusion
• About the Author
• Acknowledgments
• Endnotes