Dear Editor:

In 1892 our present approach to educating students was developed to prepare the workforce to join the many assembly lines across our great nation. Today’s industries are requiring employees to communicate effectively, work with others in a team setting, continue to learn to deal with the rapid pace of technology change, be innovative in how to carry out tasks and be willing to initiate change.

Today’s graduate can expect to have 8 to 15 career changes in their lifetime. With LD 1422, our legislators have joined over 35 other states to bring the classroom from that education approach designed in 1892 (grade by age) to the 20th century of individualized education pathways (Proficiency Based Learning). The Glossary of Education Reform defines Proficiency Based Learning as “Systems of instruction, assessment, grading, and academic reporting that are based on students demonstrating mastery of the knowledge and skills they are expected to learn as they progress through their education. In most cases, proficiency-based systems use state learning standards to determine academic expectations and define “proficiency” in a given course, subject area, or grade level.”

The Great Schools Partnership goes on to state “The great irony is that proficiency-based learning—while an unfamiliar concept to many people—is relatively simple and easy to understand; it’s the existing systems of traditional report cards and letter grades that are nearly impossible to comprehend. Why? Because only the teacher awarding a letter grade knows precisely what it stands for and why it was awarded. In most cases, the student, the student’s parents, the other teachers in the school, the principal, and the college admissions officers who read a student’s transcript simply don’t know what the letter grades actually mean.”

One source for more information is www.ed.gov or another is www.greatschoolspartnership.org where there are many other sources available.

The process of educating your student is improving — be informed about the upcoming changes.

Richard DeVries
Westport Island