Patrick Griffin presented a paper in Melbourne on July 31st 1996. It was entitled: OBE: Interpreting Evidence of Learning. It was a summary of Outcomes-Based Education (OBE) implementation around the world and in Australia. In it, he states:

Persistence with the assessment of intact teaching subjects or modules, for which a student gains credit for an overall assessment for a ‘package’ of outcomes, translated into a single rating or score, cannot effectively deliver an outcomes-based education. Likewise, fixed amounts of time to acquire a fixed set of outcomes denies that different learners take varying amounts of time to achieve the same outcomes. Norm referenced interpretation of assessment is antithetical to outcomes-based teaching and learning. So too are other approaches that emphasise relative differences among students or distributions of scores rather than the specific outcomes achieved by the students.

In 2000, the Curriculum Council released its paper, The Post-Compulsory Education Review Position Paper, which it claimed was “informed by… extensive research into educational systems in Australia and overseas.” Obviously the Council must have missed Mr Griffin’s extensive paper because it then proceeded to implement changes to Post Compulsory Education which were the complete opposite of his findings.

This is just one example of how OBE was implemented in WA in Years 11 and 12. There was no real consultation. Professor Lesley Parker, and her successors Mr Paul Albert and Ms Norma Jeffrey, had a vision, and no amount of contradictory research could convince them it was flawed.

OBE had been gradually creeping up through the years. Teachers were confused. Some grasped the concept and ran win it. Others could see problems and worked diligently to overcome them. Others simply ignored it and did what they had always done.

As OBE neared Years 11 and 12 and it became obvious there was no intention of changing key aspects of OBE which did not work, like levels and a lack of a proper syllabus, teachers became agitated. They listened in disbelief to the presenters at PD days and seminars who insisted the new way was superior. All concerns would vanish as soon as teachers embraced the new system. The problem was, the more teachers embraced it, the more convinced they became that it was complete rubbish and they were dealing with some sort of cult where the disciples couldn’t see the blatant inadequacies and contradictions.

Frustration grew. Teachers stormed out of seminars in disgust. Staff meetings became heated, experienced teachers resigned or retired early, but nobody seemed to care. All the subject associations, tertiary institutions, education bureaucracies and teacher unions were nodding approvingly in unison. Somebody was going to have to stand up and tell the Emperor he was naked.

And thus PLATO was born.

Teachers now had a voice. They celebrated. Finally somebody was saying the things they had been shouting for years. PLATO instantaneously drew attention from the media and the powers that be went into damage control. They attacked PLATO mercilessly. They had no answers to our questions so they attempted to discredit us using dirty tricks. They intimidated us with threats of disciplinary action for simply asking if the courses were ready. Vocal teachers were singled out for special attention. Some succumbed to the pressure and withdrew, but a critical mass maintained momentum. They were greatly assisted by The West Australian which, contrary to stereotype, backed the teachers against the education machine.

It was then that several key things occurred.

A volunteer came forward to run our website which had become a huge burden on the critical mass. The demand from readers was growing exponentially and we needed to offer more. This volunteer transformed the PLATO website into possibly the most widely read education website in Australia. Education news from across Australia and around the world was provided daily and then added to a searchable archive. More than 10,000 articles have been compiled over a 3-year period.

Academics and commentators began to show an interest. Tertiary institutions started to get cold feet and there wasn’t a media commentator in the state game enough to support OBE. High ranking bureaucrats and politicians, on both sides of the fence and who also saw the folly being inflicted, came forward and offered information and advice.

The politicians and OBEphiles in the bureaucracies stood their ground and publicly humiliated anyone brave enough to tell the truth. Reputations were ruined. Last minute deals were done, but to no avail. The argument had been well and truly lost but nothing, as yet, was changing. The pressure was intense. The politicians felt betrayed and turned on each other and their advisers. It is rumoured that Ljiljanna Ravlich had a screaming match with Norma Jeffrey which rivaled an Ali v Foreman title fight.

And then the Andrich Report was released. In it was the meticulous and undisputable confirmation that levelling is an invalid method of student assessment. PLATO had been right all along. The end game had begun.

The Premier dismissed his disgraced education minister and installed a fixer with specific instructions to “sort it out.” There were significant staff movements in the Curriculum Council and the Department of Education and Training. Teacher Juries were set up. A new set of instructions was issued about the courses. The ill-conceived and unworkable Outcome 4 was abandoned. Specific content was reintroduced. Scaling between subjects was reinstated. Marks, percentages and grades were dusted off and reclaimed their rightful place in marks books all over the state.

It took some time before the last pockets of resistance were quelled. Some of the original visionaries still hold positions of power and it is unsure whether or not their exorcism has been completely successful. Others saw the writing on the wall early in the piece and are now trying in vain to infect the proposed National Curriculum.

PLATO continued to act as a watchdog as the OBE infrastructure was slowly dismantled. The issue that had united teachers across sectors and institutions was beginning to fade. Differences between staunch allies appeared. It was time to call it a day.

And then PLATO was wound up: for now.

The spirit of PLATO will never die. It has empowered teachers to stand up and defend their profession against quackery and faddism. It sleeps now but any sign of untried ideology being foisted upon education by social engineers and PLATO will awaken hungry from its sleep and continue to

FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT

PLATO’s comprehensive 3-year education news and Hansard archives are simply too valuable a resource to lose. We have therefore created this new website with the archives intact. Please feel free to use it as you see fit. And thank you all for your support over the years: your commitment to education in WA is appreciated beyond measure.