OUTCOME BASED EDUCATION

INTRODUCTION:
Outcome Based Education is the paradigm shift resulting from the failure of Traditional
Education (TE). TE narrowly focused on the content and produced students with varying
degrees of achievement levels (stratification of achievers). Thus this model did not
produce learners, which could perform effectively in the work place Outcome Based
Education has changed
the focus of learning institutions from the content to the learner. According to William
Spady, a major proponent of Outcome Based Education, three goals drive this approach
to creating academic
curricula.
1) All students can learn and succeed, but may be not on the same day or in the
same way.
2) Each success by a student breeds more success.
3) Academic institutions control the conditions of success.
TERMINOLOGY:
• outcome-based education: An integrated system of educational programs that
aligns specific student outcomes, instructional methods, and assessment.

• performance assessment: Systematic and direct observation of a student

performance or examples of student performances and ranking according to
preestablished performance criteria. Students are assessed on the result as well as
the process engaged in a complex task or creation of a product.

• scientific knowledge: Knowledge that provides people with the conceptual and
technological tools to explain and describe how the world works.

• technology: In education, a branch of knowledge based on the development and

implementation of computers, software, and other technical tools, and the
assessment and evaluation of students' educational outcomes resulting from their
use of technology tools.

• curriculum (plural curricula): A plan of instruction that details what students are
to know, how they are to learn it, what the teacher's role is, and the context in
which learning and teaching will take place.

Defition:
Outcome Based Education is a method of curriculum design and teaching that focuses on
what students can actually do after they are taught.
Outcome-based education (OBE) is a recurring education reform model. It is a student-
centered learning philosophy that focuses on empirically measuring student performance,
which are called outcomes.
Important points :
• Your main focus should be on LEARNING rather than teaching.
• Students cannot learn if they do not THINK.
• Thinking is facilitated and encouraged by the PROCESSES that you use to engage
students with the content, as well as by the CONTENT itself.
• Your subject does not exist in isolation—you have to help students make LINKS to
other
subjects.
• You have a responsibility to help students LEARN HOW TO LEARN.

Steps for curriculum design Under Outcome Based

Education :
Discern future conditions
Derive exit outcomes
Develop performance indicators
Design learning experiences
Determine instructional strategies
Deliver instruction
Document results
Determine advancement

Outcome Based Education Principles:

An Outcome Based Education curriculum means starting with a clear picture of what
is important for students to be able to do, then organizing the curriculum, instruction
and assessment to make sure this learning ultimately happens. The four basic
principles are (Spady, 1994):

• Clarity of focus

This means that everything teachers do must be clearly focused on what they
want students to know, understand and be able to do. In other words,
teachers should focus on helping students to develop the knowledge, skills
and personalities that will enable them to achieve the intended outcomes that
have been clearly articulated.

• Designing down
It means that the curriculum design must start with a clear definition of the
intended outcomes that students are to achieve by the end of the program.
Once this has been done, all instructional decisions are then made to ensure
achieve this desired end result.

• High expectations

It means that teachers should establish high, challenging standards of

performance in order to encourage students to engage deeply in what they
are learning. Helping students to achieve high standards is linked very closely
with the idea that successful learning promotes more successful learning.

• Expanded opportunities

Teachers must strive to provide expanded opportunities for all students. This
principle is based on the idea that not all learners can learn the same thing in
the same way and in the same time. However, most students can achieve
high standards if they are given appropriate opportunities.

Outcome Based Education Processes:

'Constructive alignment’ is the process that we usuallyfollow when we build up

an OBE syllabus. It is a term coined by Professor John Biggs in 1999, which
refers to the process to create a learning environment that supports the
learning activities appropriate to achieving the desired learning outcomes.
The word ‘constructive’ refers to what the learner does to construct meaning
through relevant learning activities. The 'alignment' aspect refers to what the
teacher [Link] key to the alignment is that the components in the teaching
system, especially the teaching methods used and the assessment tasks are
aligned to the learning activities assumed in the intended outcomes. Here is
the constructive alignment process:

Defining Curriculum Objective and Intended Learning

Outcomes(ILO):
A learning outcome is what a student CAN DO as a result of a learning
experience. It describes a specific task that he/she is able to perform at a
given level of competence under a certain situation. The three broad types of
learning outcomes are:

• Disciplinary knowledge and skills

• Generic skills

• Attitudes and values

Guidelines for Producing Effective Intended Learning

Outcomes (ILO) Statements:
Outcomes are about performance, and this implies:

• There must be a performer – the student, not the teacher

• There must be something performable (thus demonstrable or assessable) to

perform

• The focus is on the performance, not the activity or task to be performed

Selecting Teaching and Learning Activities (TLAs):

Selecting teaching and learning activities aims to help students to attain the intended
learning outcomes and engage them in these learning activities through the teaching
process.

A student-centered approach is the emphasis in OBE as its success is largely

dependent on the extent to which students take responsibility for their own learning
and whether or not co-operative learning is used; this is because one of the long-
term outcomes of OBE is usually related to generic skills and attitudes such as
teamwork and co-operation. Therefore, programs and courses should also provide
experiences that students are going to encounter in the real world. These activities
can be teacher-managed, peer-managed or self-managed.

Biggs (1999) suggested the following points of guidance for planning teaching
strategies:

• Sound knowledge is based on interconnections – connecting new learning

with old. Encourage students to create conceptual structures which integrate
their new and old learning.

• Develop meta-cognitive skills by being explicit about learning and maximising

students’ awareness of their own knowledge construction through structured
reflection

• Plan learning activities that actively involve students. Activity heightens

arousal and makes performance more efficient

• Incorporate explicitly stated study skills into learning, and if necessary,

provide support for developing skills, for example in teamwork

• Consider how information technology can support learning and teaching.

Designing Assessment Tasks:

Outcome-based assessment (OBA) asks us to first identify what it is we expect
students to be able to do once they have completed a course or program. It then
asks us to provide evidence that they are able to do so. In other words, how will
each learning outcome be assessed? What evidence of student learning is most
relevant for each learning outcome and what standard or criteria will be used to
evaluate that evidence? Assessment is therefore a key part of outcome-based
education and used to determine whether or not a qualification has been
achieved.

Steps for Assessment Design:

Types of Assessment Tools and Methods:

• Formative assessment

The collection of information about student learning during the progression of

a course or program in order to improve students learning. Example: reading
the first lab reports of a class to assess whether some or all students in the
group need a lesson on how to make them succinct and informative.

• Summative assessment
The gathering of information at the conclusion of a course, program, or
undergraduate career to improve learning or to meet accountability demands.
When used for improvement, impacts the next cohort of students taking the
course or program. Examples: examining student final exams in a course to
see if certain specific areas of the curriculum were understood less well than
others; analyzing senior projects for the ability to integrate across disciplines.

• Criterion-referenced assessment

A score that compares a student's performance to specific standards. The

student is assessed in reference to some student outcome that can be
expected as a result of an education experience (i.e., a degree of mastery of
identified criteria. Criteria are qualities that can provide evidence of
achievement of goals or outcomes, such as comprehension of concepts
introduced or reinforced, a kind of inquiry behavior encouraged, or a
technique practiced for its potential contribution to the skill of the
artist/student or the meaning/communication of the art work. It makes sense
to assess in terms of what a teacher believes was taught.

• Alternative assessments

A catch all term for assessments that depart from the traditional multiple
choice, norm-referenced tests such as coding live art criticism discussions ,
portfolio reviews, rating performances or art products on criteria established
by teachers and students, journals, authentic task assessment and direct
observation of student performance.

• Authentic assessments

Assessment that fits meaningful, real-life learning experiences. It includes

recording evidence of the learning process, applications in products and
performances, perception of visual and audio relationships, integrations of
new knowledge, reflecting profitably on one's own progress, and interpreting
meaning in consideration of contextual facts.

• Performance assessments

An observation of the process of creating an answer or product that

demonstrates a student's knowledge and/or skills. Directly observable,
student- generated evidence of learning .

Developing Marking Schemes:

Once an assessment tool has been settled on, specific decisions may have to be
made about the criteria by which student work will be assessed, depending on the
learning outcome being assessed and the tool for assessment. Choosing criteria is
where rubrics come in.

A rubric is a set of criteria for assessing student work or performance. Rubrics are
particularly suited to learning outcomes that are complex or not easily quantifiable,
for which there are no clear “right” or “wrong” answers, or which are not evaluated
with standardized tests or surveys. Assessment of writing, oral communication,
critical thinking, or information literacy often requires rubrics.

Rubrics have two dimensions: they identify the various characteristics of the
outcome, and they specify various levels of achievement in each characteristic. Thus,
a well-designed rubric consists of:

clear definitions of each characteristic to be assessed for a given learning

outcome, and

clear descriptions of the different levels of achievement for each characteristic.

Because rubrics establish criteria, they can help make assessment more
transparent, consistent, and objective. Faculty members and evaluators can
use rubrics to communicate to students and each other what they see as
excellent work, while students gain an understanding of what is expected and
how their performance will be assessed.

Rubrics are also useful when there is more than one evaluator; rubrics can serve as
standardized scoring guides that assist different evaluators to determine the quality
of student work in a consistent manner.

Giving Feedback :

Feedback tells students how they are doing towards achieving intended learning
outcomes. This information can help them to improve their learning and so help
them to enhance their performance in assessment. There is also considerable
research evidence that the most important part of the assessment process, with
regard to supporting learning, is feedback.

Each unit in a programme should normally include not only summative assessment
but also formative assessment for which suitable feedback is provided in time for
students to learn from it before major summative assessment. Coursework often
serves a formative purpose through feedback while also contributing to summative
assessment through the marks awarded; in such cases, feedback should be returned
in time to inform the next piece of coursework.

Implementing Outcome Based Education Reform

• Reformers advocating an outcome-based approach to curriculum development
point to the logical simplicity of its technique.

• First, a list of desired outcomes in the form of student behaviors, skills, attitudes,
and abilities is created. Second, learning experiences are designed that will allow
teachers to coach the students to a mastery level in each outcome.

• Third, students are tested. Those who fail to achieve mastery receive remediation
or retraining until mastery is achieved.

• Fourth, upon completion of learner outcomes a student graduates.

THEORIES:
Outcome-based Education (OBE): A New Paradigm for Learning
- Article which gives an overview of outcome-based education, why it should be
used, and how schools are using it.
Common Arguments in Favor Common Arguments Against
Outcome-Based
of Outcome-Based Education Education
* Promotes high expectations and * Conflicts with admission
requirements and
greater learning for all students. practices of most colleges and
universities,
which rely on credit hours and
standardized test scores

* Prepares students for life and work * Some outcomes focus too much on
feelings,
in the 21st Century. values, attitudes and beliefs, and not
enough
on the attainment of factual knowledge.

* Fosters more authentic forms of

assessment (i.e., students write to * Relies on subjective evaluation,
rather than
show they know how to use English objective tests and measurements.
well, or complete math problems to
demonstrate their ability to solve
problems.

* Encourages decision making regarding * Undermines local control.

curriculum, teaching methods, school
structure and management at each
school or district level.

The Nazi Model For Outcome-Based Education -Article critical of

outcome-based education. Argues that the method robs students of the ability to think
independently.
TRANSFORM THE WORLD BY CHANGING THE CHILDREN
Change the children first: "The Nazi leadership appreciated the difficulty of indoctrinating the older
generation.... They were all the more determined to mold the new generation along Nazi lines. As
the leader of the Nazi Teacher's League, Hans Schemm, put it: 'Those who have the youth on
their side control the future.'"

TEACH POLITICALLY CORRECT BELIEFS AND VALUES

Condition students for the new social and economic order: "German youth must no longer... be
confronted with the choice of whether it wishes to grow up in a spirit of materialism or idealism, of
racism or internationalism, of religious or godlessness, but it must be consciously shaped
according to principles which are recognized as correct...according to the principles of the
ideology of National Socialism."

Censorship of contrary models: "The teaching... aimed to encourage a 'consciousness of being

German.... In the selection of teaching materials they should eschew those works which
'contradict German feelings or paralyze energies necessary for self-assertion' and only those
modern works would be selected which 'have an affinity with the spirit of the new Germany'."

ESTABLISH AN OUTCOME-BASED EDUCATION SYSTEM

Restructure schools and nationalize tests and standards: "the regime endeavored to assert its
control over the education system through reorganization and centralization..."

Affective (feeling-centered, attitudinal), not cognitive, learning earns the graduation certificate:
"Many pupils believe they can simply drift through for eight years and secure their school-leaving
certificate even with minimal intellectual performance... [T]hose pupils who are in positions of
leadership... often display unmannerly behavior and laziness at school. in general, it must be said
that school discipline has declined to an alarming extent..."

School-to-Work link: "The new movement offered prospects of future employment at a time of
massive graduate unemployment."

IMPLEMENT MASTERY LEARNING

Condition students to become social servants, not individuals--but tell the public the opposite:
"'...the principal task of the school is the education of youth in the service of ... the State in the
National Socialist spirit.' This made clear the Nazi's determination to shift the focus of education
away from the needs of the individual and the development of his potential as a human being to
the requirements of the community of nation and State, of which the individual was a member and
to which he must subordinate himself."

Politically correct standards for right and wrong: "Munich professors [were warned]: 'From now on
it is not up to you to decide whether or not something is true, but whether it is in the interest of the
national Socialist Revolution."

Set affective, not cognitive, goals (outcomes): "The more enthusiastic they get, the easier are the
exams and the sooner they will get a position .... The new generation has never had much use for
education and reading. Now nothing is demanded of them; on the contrary, knowledge is publicly
condemned."

Forget facts. Teach "right" attitudes or "character" through feel-good experiences: An important
aspect of Nazi education was the cult of 'Experience' as being more crucial to the development of
the individual than the academic process of learning with its stress on 'knowledge'. Unlike
knowledge which involves the intellect, experience involved 'feeling' which alone provided access
to the deep truths of Nazism which were essentially based on [ideological unity]. Such an
'experience'... was regarded as essential to character-building.

Reject old authority figures through critical thinking and values clarification: "It appealed to the
desire of youth to be independent of the adult world and exploited the conflict of generations and
the typical tendency for young people to challenge authority figures, whether parents or
teachers."

Confuse students' values through shocking stimuli and values clarification exercises (including
sex and AIDS education): "...particularly teachers in secondary schools, were alienated by the
crudity of its indoctrination."

INFUSE NEW VALUES THROUGH "REAL LIFE" LEARNING

Create new beliefs and values through multicultural and global education: "New courses were
introduced in such fields as racial studies, eugenics, and defense studies and there was a new
emphasis on pre-history... Law and political science courses were adapted to fit in with the
changes introduced by the regime."

Arts, crafts, and multicultural experience: "People told stories, danced and practiced
handicrafts..."

Teach math through integrated curriculum: "Other subjects such as math and foreign language
were less subject to ideological contamination. Even here however, Nazi ideology could enter by
the back door, as is clear from the following tests...: 'Question 95: The construction of a lunatic
asylum costs 6 million RM. How many houses at 15,000 RM each could have been built for that
amount?'"

Peer Counseling: "The slogan 'youth must be led by youth'... was ritually echoed and to some
extent followed in practice. But the spirit in which it was applied was very different These young
leaders were not representing an autonomous youth culture but were functionaries of an official
bureaucracy regimented by rules and regulations and following set patterns of training."

Condition students to compliance: "It was preferred that people should not have a will of their own
and should totally subordinate themselves."

Lifelong Learning requires training, testing, remediation, more test and training: "If they have still
not become real National Socialists, then they go into the Labor Service and are polished there...
And if after six or seven months, there are still remnants of class consciousness or pride in status,
then the Wehrmacht will take over the further treatment... and when they return after two or four
years then, to prevent them from slipping back into old habits once again, we take them
immediately into the SA, SS, etc., and they will not be free again for the rest of their lives."

REQUIRE COMMUNITY SERVICE

"Service learning": "The purpose of labor service was partly practical--to... provide a source of
cheap labor--but mainly ideological. It was a part of the cult of community current in the youth
movement now manipulated by the Nazis for their own end. Students would be confronted with
Real Life and, by being forced to mix with the less privileged sections of the community, would be
reminded that they were all [national comrades] together."

Mandatory service: "Service in the Hitler Youth is honorary service to the German people. All
young people are obliged from the age of 10 to their 19th birthday to serve in the Hitler youth."

Character Education and Cooperative Learning: "We cannot fight our way out of this deep crisis
through intellectualism... The school for character... which is a practical test of true comradeship
in work and living is irreplaceable.... the true, great, practical school is... in the labor camp, for
here instruction and words cease and action begins."

REVISE HISTORY
New content: "...in addition to controlling and indoctrinating the teaching profession, reorganizing
the education system and establishing new elite schools, the regime sought to influence youth
through the content of what was taught in schools." "Relevance" and historical revision: "The
course of history must not appear to our young people as a chronicle which strings events
together indiscriminately, but, as in a play, only the important events, those which have a major
impact on life, should be portrayed."

RETRAIN TEACHERS
First indoctrinate teachers: "The real task of the NSLB is to create the new German educator in
the spirit of National Socialism. It is being carried out with the same methods with which the
movement has conquered the whole nation: indoctrination and propaganda."

Certify compliant teachers. "The Nazi party... realized they could do little with the existing
professors if they outwardly conformed. They concentrated, therefore, on trying to transform the
profession by controlling entry and promotion within it throgh process of political indoctrination...."

The oppressive tactics of the NEA: "Teachers were, however, also subject to control from their
professional association, the National Socialist Teachers' League (NSLB)... it expanded through a
mixture of propaganda and intimidation... The main functions of the NSLB were, first, the
provision of reports on the political reliability of teachers for appointments and promotions and,
secondly, the ideological indoctrination of teachers..."

Conform or resign. "Most academics were either apolitical or approved of at least some aspects
of the regime.... Those who did not, were either forced out or intimidated into silence."

SILENCE THE OPPOSITION

Block the negative influence of parents and traditional culture: "...these boys join our organization
at the age of ten...four years later, they move from the Jungvolk to Hitler Youth and there we keep
them for another four years. And then we are even less prepared to give them back into the
hands of those who create our class and status barriers..." (A legal guardian will be liable to a fine
up to 150 RM or to imprisonment, if he deliberately contravenes the stipulation #9 of this decree
(registration for Hitler Youth)."

Vouchers and Christian schools: "Private schools and denominational schools gradually
succumbed to various pressures: the loss of government subsidies or tax concessions...."

FACE THE CONSEQUENCES

Some resist the crude, immoral, and anti-intellectual climate and the pressures to conform: "By
the end of the 1930s, a growing number of students were coming to resent the regimentation, the
pressures to conform, the anti-intellectual climate, the crudity of the regime's style and its moral
duplicity."

Arrogant students: "Teachers, in particular, were also concerned at the contempt for intellect
cultivated by the HJ and at the arrogance displayed toward them by pupils who were leaders in
the HJ."

From Theory to Practice: Classroom Application of Outcome-Based

Education - Provides full-text access to the ERIC Digest of this name which
discusses ways to use outcome-based education in the classroom.
Any teacher involved with OBE must be able to evaluate the effectiveness of his/her
classroom experience implementing OBE. The following list delineates some of the
tenets of OBE, and this digest will demonstrate how some of these tenets are utilized in
the language arts/reading classroom:
*Both staff and students take responsibility for successful learning.
*Objectives are clearly defined.
*Students have choices and options, thus they usually perform at higher levels of
competency.
*Instructional levels are determined after complete assessment of student mastery.
*Students are given the opportunity to gain from others and to build a hierarchy of
learning skills.
*Evaluation by both peers and instructors is ongoing.
*Time is varied for learning according to the needs of each student and the complexity of
the task.
*Students are given the opportunity to work with core and alternative curriculum.
*All students are ensured the opportunity for personal success.
SECRETS OF SUCCESS OF AN OUTCOME-BASED EDUCATION PROGRAM
*Attempt to have your total staff in concert with the tenets of your program. Teachers
need updated education and are usually open to new ideas and will implement them if
they feel significant support from administration and other staff members. Plan a day-
long program at the outset for introducing and educating the staff with the objectives of
your resolve. Speakers for our staff development programs have included both outside
presenters and our own personnel. Sometimes outside presenters have a wide appeal and
bring a fresh approach to a given subject. Our program has been effective for many
reasons, but one is the direct input of the staff in deciding what they want in terms of staff
development.
*Continue to conference with content area teachers. Because language arts is the basis for
all other disciplines, continue to make yourself available to other staff members for
support and assistance with specific areas of Outcome-Based Education. Some staff
members will need more direction as new concepts are introduced and implemented.
Become familiar with the texts used by other departments, and you will be able to offer
assistance as new ideas are implemented.
*Success is contagious, and others will see the benefits of the program and be more eager
to share their concerns and ideas with you. Sometimes it is beneficial to begin with just a
few new ideas, and then as a comfort zone is established, the more dramatic steps can be
taken.

GENERAL STUDY TIPS BY JOSIE QUIAMBAO-

UDAN:
• Make a timetable

• Set the best time for studying.

• Write and post your schedule.

• Choose a place conducive for studying.

• Make flashcards and other visual aids.

• Device Mnemonics.

• Stick your schedule.

• REWARD YOURSELF.

JOSIE QUIAMBAO-UDAN TIPS AND TRICKS:

1. Your answers must be the "IDEAL" practice of nursing based on textbooks and
theories not on experiences.

2. For beside nursing, imagine that you are actually taking care of the patient as you go
about answering each question.

3. Utilize the nursing process when determining the correct response to the situation.

4. Care of the patient is always priority over equipment.

5. Avoid passing the buck. Consider all other options before making any referral .

6. Be familiar with normal laboratory values.

7. When dealing with questions regarding Therapeutic Communication:

• ELIMINATE choices that evoke authoritarian response

• questions answerable by "yes" or "no"

• "why questions"

• questions that probe

• don't worry response

• nurse- centered responses.

8. With questions regarding positioning, ask yourself the question' "is this prevention or
promotion?" Consider anatomy and physiology next.

9. In prioritization questions, use Maslow's Hierachy first. Then consider the use of
ABC's.

10. Do not delegate assessment, teaching, judgment, or evaluation.

11. Learn to recognize expected outcome.

12. Pay close attention to words such as "first," "initial," "best"

distress of students who prefer high, but meaningless, grades.

Criticism:
Criticism of OBE falls into a few major groups:

• Opposition to standardized testing

• Criticism of inappropriate outcomes

• Some critics have objected to additional resources being spent on struggling

students.

• Some teachers find their marking workload significantly increases.

Opposition to testing:
Critics claim that existing tests do not adequately measure student mastery of the stated
objectives
Some parents also object to the use of standardized tests (all students take the same test
under the same conditions) because they think it unfair for schools to require the same
level of work or to use the achievement tests for impoverished or disadvantaged students
as they do for more advantaged students.
The OBE philosophy insists that assessment models be carefully matched to the stated
objectives. High-stakes tests are not required in an OBE system; norm-referenced tests
are prohibited. Portfolios, daily assessments, teacher opinions, and other methods of
assessment are perfectly compatible with OBE models. Furthermore, the OBE approach
does not permit special, lower standards for students who have been badly served by
public education in the past.

Inappropriate outcomes:
Many people oppose OBE reforms because they dislike the proposed outcomes. They
may think that the standards are too easy, too hard, or wrongly conceived. Finally, some
so-called OBE critics oppose non-OBE reforms that were presented as a part of a wide-
ranging reform "package", rather than opposing OBE itself.
Standards can be set too low: Most fear that the focus on achievement by all students
will result in "dumbing down" the definition of academic competence to a level that is
achievable by even the weakest students. Critics are unhappy with having all students
meet a minimum standard, instead of most students meeting a somewhat higher standard.
Some critics also question whether even such low goals are realistic or attainable, and
whether success can only be framed in terms of high test scores and high incomes. The
emphasis on higher reading standards and algebra for all appears to devalue vocational
training and the achievement of those who do not get high test scores, but who are likely
to become competent blue-collar workers.
Standards can be set too high: Others object that the standards are too high. OBE
models do not approve of social promotion, so non-disabled students who perform
significantly below the stated standard may be held back or required to take additional
instruction. Especially when the standards are relatively new, and the schools are just
beginning to adjust to the new standards, a majority of students struggle with at least
some of the requirements. Parents are understandably unhappy to learn that their children
have not acquired the necessary skills, and occasionally respond by demanding that the
standards be lowered until their children are declared to be passing.
Sometimes this demand that the standards be lowered is justified, because standards can
be found developmentally inappropriate for all but the brightest students. The State of
Washington found that some fourth grade WASL math problems were much more
difficult than what is typically expected of nine-year-old students. A 2008 draft
mathematics standard proposed that Kindergartners multiply to 30 by skip counting (also
known as counting by twos: 2, 4, 6, 8...), and that second graders solve simple algebra
story problems.
Committees often set standards without considering how many students are currently
achieving at that level. For example, in the 1998 North Carolina Writing Assessment, less
than 1 percent of fourth graders received the highest possible score for writing
[Link] a majority of students passed easily, parents were upset that so few were
rated as being best.
Dislike of specific outcomes: Finally, many complaints are directed against the nature of
certain standards. For example, a politician might propose that standards be included for
education about sex or creationism. Opponents say that many educational agencies have
adopted outcomes which focus too much on attitudes (e.g., "Students will enjoy physical
education class") rather than academic content. Similarly, the "Who Controls Our
Children" campaign in Pennsylvania claimed that an OBE reform effort was part of a
federal program that was "stressing values over academic content, and holding students
accountable for goals that are so vague and fuzzy they can't be assessed at all." The
Western Australian outcomes were criticised for being too vague.
Controversial standards are opposed because of their content, not simply because they are
standards. OBE models always leave the choice of the exact standards to the educational
authority, so that families can influence the choice of standards according to their
community's preferences.

Identification of struggling students:

Many OBE-based systems invest resources in identifying and helping struggling students.
If students with mild learning disabilities were previously ignored by a school, schools
may find that their costs (and student achievement) substantially increase.

Extra paperwork for teachers:

Teachers sometimes oppose OBE because of the amount of paperwork that often
accompanies it. Rather than issuing a single letter or number to summarize an entire
term's achievements, an OBE system may require that the teacher track and report dozens
of separate outcomes. It takes longer to report that a student can add, subtract, multiply,
divide, solve story problems, and draw graphs than to report "passed mathematics class."

Dislike of something that is not Outcome Based Education:

Many criticisms of OBE are actually criticisms of other things that are introduced with an
OBE system. Many people oppose OBE reforms because the OBE reforms are packaged
with other reforms.
OBE reform is often packaged as part of a comprehensive school reform model which
promotes constructivism, inquiry-based science, tax reform, teacher training, and more.
Other educational reforms, including changes to the school calendar, the age of students
that attend school in a certain building, or the way tax revenues are divided, may all be
inappropriately labeled "OBE" reforms simply because they were proposed on the same
day as an OBE program.
School to work may also be a component of these multi-faceted reform programs.
School-to-work programs require students to spend time in an internship or other form of
career training or experience

SUMMARY:
Outcome-based education, a performance-based approach at the cutting edge of
curriculum development, offers a powerful and appealing way of reforming and
managing medical [Link] emphasis is on the product-what sort of doctor will be
produced-rather than on the educational process. In outcome-based education the
educational outcomes are clearly and unambiguously specified. These determine the
curriculum content and its organisation, the teaching methods and strategies, the courses
offered, the assessment process, the educational environment and the curriculum
[Link] also provide a framework for curriculum evaluation. A doctor is a unique
combination of different kinds of abilities. A three-circle model can be used to present
the learning outcomes in medical education, with the tasks to be performed by the doctor
in the inner core, the approaches to the performance of the tasks in the middle area, and
the growth of the individual and his or her role in the practice of medicine in the outer
area.

Conclusion:
The paper has provided to the reader the philosophical framework of Outcome Based
Education and thus has established the rational and justification for Outcome Based
Assessment. Outcome Based Assessment has become commonplace and is in hot pursuit
simply due to the enforcement of Accreditation agencies like ABET. The paper’s
contention is that: Outcome Based Assessment is only possible and meaningful and
would bear fruits of Continuous Improvement of the Learning Process only if
implemented after the understanding, appreciation and implementation of Outcome
Based Education.

NET REFERENCE:
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