Rethinking the Future of Transcripts

Sal Khan once again challenges us to rethink our current system. This time the focus is on how we assess applicants for college and the workplace. He clearly makes note of the following challenges:

1. Given there are limited resources available for extensive postgraduate training, how do we decide who is most worthy of these opportunities?
2. As school applications arrive from around the world, how do we compare students from diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds?
3. How do we keep a fair playing field when some students benefit from the wealth and connections into which they were born?
4. Do a GPA and standardized test score give us any insights into a student’s creativity, perseverance and unique character?

 

Khan acknowledges that certain testing can provide objective data in regard to a student’s preparedness. He clearly distinguishes the difference between a student’s preparedness and potential. So how do colleges and businesses decide whom to accept and hire? Many colleges and employers will attempt to gather more information about an applicant by inquiring about extracurricular activities and/or requesting third-party recommendations. Many students must submit written essays as part of the college application process. Do all these elements truly provide us the insights we need to make the best-informed decision about a particular applicant?

 

Khan’s vision of future transcripts involve these key  components:

1. Do away with letter grades. Mastery of concepts is the goal and students should only progress when they can demonstrate mastery in a content area.
2. Standardized testing would involve content that changes from year to year, incorporate an open-ended design component, and involve more meaningful tasks. Tests could be retaken as students become more skilled in an area.

 

Perhaps the most meaningful and thought provoking change to future transcripts would involve “a running, multiyear narrative not only of what a student has learned but how she learned it; and a portfolio of a student’s creative work.” (page 217) Today’s technology and that of the future will give us the ability to record a student’s academic journey. We will be able to observe problem solving skills, work habits, creativity, perseverance and other personal characteristics. Khan acknowledges the importance of each student’s “ability and willingness to help others.” (page 218) He believes software could be developed to easily track this type of data over time noting “a generous student will grow into a generous colleague. Someone who communicates well in school will likely communicate well in life.” (page 218)

 

As I reflect on this reading I am excited about the idea of a “creative portfolio” as Khan describes it in this chapter. I believe our students possess many wonderful “hidden” qualities that a typical transcript might not convey. Having the ability to gain insights into a student’s intellectual journey over a K-12 year period sounds like a game changer! Could our Seesaw adventure be the beginning of something much bigger?