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How to know if we're succeeding?
If we want to improve education, we need to pay close attention to what actually works and what doesn't. Any concept is only as good as the measurable results it yields in practice.
Today, most public schools undergo evaluation on various levels, from internal grade-tracking to large-scale international studies such as PISA. As a result, we can use much of the data accumulated by such studies over the years to inform our choices regarding teaching practices and school organization. Beyond that, however, we want to monitor our own progress and share our results about experimental or insufficiently-researched methods. In addition to being a place of learning, our school will also be a laboratory and testing ground for innovative approaches, generating knowledge that others may be able to use.
In order to optimize education not just for our students, but to help optimize education everywhere, we need to be extremely transparent about our organization, our evaluation process, and the methods we use. In addition to participating in (and explicitly inviting) external studies, we intend to implement at least all of the following evaluation steps:
Today, most public schools undergo evaluation on various levels, from internal grade-tracking to large-scale international studies such as PISA. As a result, we can use much of the data accumulated by such studies over the years to inform our choices regarding teaching practices and school organization. Beyond that, however, we want to monitor our own progress and share our results about experimental or insufficiently-researched methods. In addition to being a place of learning, our school will also be a laboratory and testing ground for innovative approaches, generating knowledge that others may be able to use.
In order to optimize education not just for our students, but to help optimize education everywhere, we need to be extremely transparent about our organization, our evaluation process, and the methods we use. In addition to participating in (and explicitly inviting) external studies, we intend to implement at least all of the following evaluation steps:
- For every individual workshop, a list of testable expected outcomes will have to be submitted beforehand. At the end of the workshop, these will be compared to students' actual progress (the format for this will have to be different depending on the content and method of the workshop). Combined with structured student feedback, this information will be used to improve (or change, or cancel) the workshop for the next round. Where applicable, the results of this process will also be taken into account in the planning process for similar workshops.
- The goals of each phase need to be clearly defined and tested. E.g. at the end of the orientation phase, students should be able to make informed and rational decisions about the career or further education paths they want to pursue. For the more individualized practice phase, students should be required to set their own goals, in collaboration with their coaches, which would then be broken up into sub-goals and regularly tested. If a student performs below expectations on a test, this will be taken as a sign that more work is needed (and the necessary resources will be allocated to that end); and if a student repeatedly underperforms, the goal specification will have to be re-evaluated.
- In order to measure the success of our school on a more general level, applicants for the school would be selected for enrolment at random, while (ideally) the same number of applicants who go on to other schools would be asked to serve as a control group in a long-term outcome study. This would require sufficient marketing to ensure we have enough applicants, as well as including an agreement to participate in the control group early in the application process.
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