Welcome To OBE

Outcome-Based Education

CONFERENCE

Outcome-Based Education means clearly focusing and organizing everything in an educational system around what is essential for all students to be able to do successfully at the end of their learning experiences. This means starting with a clear picture of what is important for students to be able to do, then organizing curriculum, instruction, and assessment to make sure this learning ultimately happens.

Outcome-based systems build everything on a clearly defined framework of exit outcomes. Curriculum, instructional strategies, assessments, and performance standards are developed and implemented to facilitate key outcomes. In OBE, curriculum, instruction, and assessment should be viewed as flexible and alterable means for accomplishing clearly defined learning “ends.” In contrast, traditional systems already have a largely pre-defined curriculum structure with an assessment and credential-ling system in place. They usually are not structured around clearly defined outcomesexpected of all students. By large curriculum and assessment systems are treated as ends in themselves.

Let’s assume that any educational organization is made up of two broad parts. One is its operational system – the curricular and instructional elements that relate directly to the teaching and learning process. The other is its support system – the administrative, logistical, and resource components that enable the teaching and learning process to exist and function. From this systems perspective, an outcome-based system in one in which exit outcomes and the four principles influence and “drive” all of the key structural and functional components of the operational system is composed of four key parts of structures:

• A standards and accountability structure that determines how achievement and performance standards are defined and how graduation credit is awarded. (This structure includes assessment, grading, report cards, transcripts, credits, and diplomas.)

• A curriculum content and articulation structure that determines how the system’s formal learning experiences for students are defined, organized, and linked. (This structure includes programs, courses of study, subject areas, and courses.)

• An instructional process and technology structure that determines what tools and techniques the system uses to engage students in learning the curriculum. (This includes the organization of instruction and the technologies for carrying it out.)

• An eligibility, promotion, and assignment structure that determines which students will work with which teachers and students, on what, when, and under which physical arrangements. (This structure contains everything related to student grouping, scheduling, placement, promotion, and advancement through the curriculum.)

Basic Concept of Outcomes Assessment

Outcomes assessment is a process which gauges a student's knowledge and skills and provides for continual teaching and learning improvement. The focus is on providing a meaningful and relevant student learning experience. The process is generally correlated to an institutional mission.

Basic Concept of Outcomes Assessment

Outcomes assessment is a process which gauges a student’s knowledge and skills and provides for continual teaching and learning improvement. The focus is on providing a meaningful and relevant student learning experience. The process is generally correlated to an institutional mission.

About Assessments & Evaluation

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Basic Concept of Outcomes Assessment

Performance Criteria

To assess student outcomes meaningfully, we must have performance criteria to guide us. Performance Criteria are specific measurable statements identifying the performances required to meet the outcomes with confirmable, thorough evidence.

Educational Practices

Educational practices and strategies may mean how you would implement various combinations of assessment methods and the frequency and interval of those assessment methods.

Assessment

Assessments are the processes that identify, collect, analyze, and report data that can be used to evaluate student achievement. In this case, achievement is the student outcomes or course outcomes. Assessment is generally a time-consuming data collection process and an analysis of evidence for meaningful evaluation, the next logical step.

Evaluation

Evaluation is a process of reviewing the results of data collection and analysis and making a determination of the value of findings and actions to be taken. In view of this definition of evaluation, evaluation is a critical step to ensure the quality improvement process. Without proper evaluation, the assessment of data collection is rendered meaningless and eventually leads to failure and frustration for the parties involved.

Action Items

With evaluation come action items. Perhaps the most meaningful step in the overall flow cycle of assessment is the action items that allow closing the loop for real quality assurance. With action items as the feedback loop to change or improve student outcomes, performance criteria, and educational practices, the cycle of outcomes assessment is repetitive or a work-in-progress.