The following article originally appeared in The Wanderer, June 1, 1995 issue, and is reprinted here in its entirety.
Church Bureaucracy Pushes OBE....
What's Ahead for Catholic Students?
by Paul Likoudis
Imagine a Catholic school honors biology student taking a test at the end of the school year which might well determine his (or her) future career possibilities.
The test has two dozen statements, and the student fills in a blank designating "strongly agree," "agree," "undecided," "disagree," or "strongly disagree."
This Ethical Unit Values Survey probes students about their feelings with such statements as:
"I would endorse scientists using the ability to change human characteristics by adding or removing genes when the technology exists."
"I approve of the practice of sterilizing the 'feebleminded' living in state institutions."
"I would choose to abort a fetus shown to be genetically defective."
"I would be willing to go to a sperm bank and choose a type of sperm that would be likely to give my offspring certain desired characteristics (e.g. high intelligence, brown eyes, musical ability)."
Human life cannot be determined biologically. It comes about gradually and begins in different embyros at different times: Therefore, biologists, politicians, and lawyers cannot define its beginning. The beginning of human life is a matter of personal opinion."
If the student gives the wrong answer, the track for further biology education ends.
In fact, the student could be permanently derailed from the college track.
Sound scary? Though The Wanderer has not been able to determine if this test is used in Catholic schools, the "ethical statements" above are from an actual test used in the Dearborn School District in Indiana. One of the first states in the United States to experiment with outcome-based education, Indiana is also a place where Catholic schools are rapidly coming online with Goals 2000 and OBE, the federal government's "education reform" policy designed to create "ideal" workers for the 21st century labor force.
One of the reasons - seldom, if ever mentioned - for the sudden surge in Catholic school enrollment, up 63,000 in the last three years, is that parents are pulling their children out of the public schools as state educators implement outcome-based education.
Those parents fear the "dumbing down" effect of OBE or its New Age ideology, and think Catholic schools are immune from this latest fad to afflict public education.
A reasonable person might assume, then, that Catholic educators would avoid OBE like the plague.
But that's not the case, as the April/May issue of Momentum, the "official journal of the National Catholic Education Association," shows so clearly, as it emphatically urges Catholic educators to hop aboard the Goals 2000/OBE bandwagon.
This Momentum "theme issue," "A Catholic Education Response to Goals 2000," informs Catholic educators that the NCEA is firmly behind the federal government's "education reform" plan, described in Momentum's lead article by Ken Nelson, the executive director of the National Education Goals Panel, as " an unparalleled accomplishment in the revitalization of American education."
The second article, by Michael Guerra, executive director of the NCEA's secondary school department, appeals to Catholic educators to become involved in the national "discussion" on Goals 2000 so that Catholic schools can receive state funding.
Several articles argue that Catholic schools have long practiced what Goals 2000 attempts to achieve - for example, parental involvement, academic competency, violence prevention, and high graduation rates - while others call for a greater Catholic commitment to Goals 2000.
Matthew Hayes, executive director of the Office of Lifelong Formation and Education for the Archdiocese of Louisville, and Sue Grenough, director of catechesis for the Archdiocese of Louisville, argue that "we must develop national catechetical goals that take into account the paradigms and assumptions underlying [national] reform."
Karen Ristau, associate professor of education at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., presents the virtues of OBE and "what may be its vices," and wonders why anyone would oppose what OBE has to offer.
"OBE accepts the challenge of designing both authentic learning activities and authentic assessment of those activities. When everyone works purposely toward teaching for learning and is clear about what teaching should accomplish, success or improvement cannot help but follow."
Ignore The Opposition
Ristau admits, however, that the number of OBE "detractors" is growing, and that anti-OBE sentiment is especially strong in those communities where it was pioneered, such as Rochester, Minn., where its implementation was accompanied by sharply dropping test scores.
She recommends that Catholic educators not give up on OBE, however, because OBE can help move Catholic schools "toward some of the goals of the National Congress of Catholic Schools for the 21st century."
Thompson Mason Fuller, professor of philosophy at the University of Portland, Ore., chairman of the Archdiocese of Portland School Board, chairman of the National Association of Catholic Boards of Education, and a member of the board of directors of the National Catholic Education Association, argues that Catholic school boards should play a "vital role in implementing Goals 2000."
Goals 2000, he writes, "sets an agenda that boards must embrace for the benefit of the approximately 7.6 million students presently in our schools, as well as the millions who will follow them."
Diane Ravitch's article, "Goals 2000: Catholic Schools Need Not Apply," informs Catholic educators that, even though Catholic schools, "model the effectiveness sought by the Educate America Act," nonpublic schools are specifically prohibited from receiving federal dollars.
Ravitch, a senior research scholar at New York University, observes that Catholic educators should take "satisfaction in realizing that the central purpose of the legislation is to make the curriculum of the public schools more like the curriculum of the Catholic schools."
But there is some help for Catholic schools via Goals 2000, writes Brother John McGovern, C.S.C., assistant provincial/director of education for the Brothers of the Holy Cross, Eastern Province, and the public policy consultant for the NCEA.
In "Goals 2000: Meaningful Opportunities for Catholic Schools," Brother McGovern informs educators that nonpublic schools "may 'request' both from the state education agency (SEA) and the local education agency (LEA), information regarding education goals, state content standards, state student performance standards, curriculum materials, and state assessments," and concludes that "Goals 2000 offers many opportunities for Catholic school teachers and administrators to participate in important systematic education reform efforts, and could result in the formation of valuable coalitions."
Catholics Should Help Public Schools
Dr. Andrew Smith, president of the America Forum for Global Education, promotes "global education," and Mark Makuly, associate director or religious education for the Diocese of Belleville, Ill., suggests that Catholic religious educators and priests try to work with public school officials to reinforce "common values" and work together on such projects as recycling and a Christmas food drive.
"For instance, if the public school designates a week for celebrating African-American culture, the PSR [parish school of religion] program builds on the celebration by stressing the historically strong religious faith of the African-American people.
"Catechists explain to the children that many black leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr., were ministers or had strong ties with church communities. When possible, a liturgical dimension, such as a Gospel choir leading songs for a prayer service or Eucharist, provides added reinforcement to the 'religious' dimension of the public school celebration."
Makuly also suggests that Catholic parishioners might help in fund-raising projects for the public school to build up its video collection, and parish professionals might volunteer their services to the public schools.
The final article, by Sr. Mary Theresa Plante, F.M.M., a non-governmental organization (NGO) representative to the UN for the Franciscans, stressed the need for tolerance education. It should begin in the earliest grades, she says.
What Does This Mean?
The NCEA's enthusiasm for OBE will not surprise many Catholics, who have slowly realized Catholic schools were on the OBE bandwagon even before OBE became the national agenda.
For example, Catholic schools in the Diocese of Wichita were introduced to OBE via the Effective Schools Movement by Dr. Daniel J. Elsener, superintendent of Catholic schools for the diocese, who hailed the innovation as a "revolutionary change for our schools."
Having succeeded in Wichita, Elsener is now bringing the Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis on-line with OBE, and Indianapolis, in turn, is helping the Diocese of Lafayette, Ind., and Fort Wayne come on-line.
As in the Archdiocese of Detroit (see The Wanderer, May 4th, 1995), the plan to impose OBE will necessitate bringing parish schools under the control of the diocesan bureaucracy. (Another reason for bringing parish schools under stricter control is that the professional educators appreciate that parishes now tend to attract specific types of Catholics, e.g., conservative, liberal, and "moderate," and the schools reflect that diversity.)
According to Indianapolis Catholic Vickie Doherty, author of a study, Catholic Schools and Outcome-Based Education, which she is circulating privately, the imposition of OBE in Indiana's Catholic schools is nearly complete.
Slowly, she says, the refugee parents from the public schools are realizing OBE is in the Catholic schools, and might provide a small stumbling block, but most Catholic parents - and many teachers - "don't have a clue" about what is going on.
"When they ask their principal if the school has OBE, the principal says, 'Oh, we just have a new method of teaching,' or ' we only use the good part.'
" That placates them. That's why I wrote my book, so that parents can see how OBE is already in their schools, especially in the family life programs such as Benziger's, which is used in all the Catholic schools in the Diocese of Lafayette."
The basic goal of OBE, according to its promoters, is to ensure a steady stream of qualified workers to businesses. In Indiana, this means, says Doherty, all children must have their career decision made by the ninth grade, but they must be on a "career track" by the sixth grade.
That is, by the sixth grade, their test scores will show what kind of work they will be suitable for, and their "effective education" from that point on will be individually designed to ensure that they are qualified to fill a particular job.
"Business is saying what kinds of workers it needs," Doherty explained to The Wanderer, "and it doesn't particularly need well-educated workers: it just wants people who are ready to work, who will do what is expected of them without asking any questions."
One of the graphs in her manuscript (available for $6.00 per copy, plus $3.00 shipping, by writing: 11149 Crooked Stick Lane, Carmel, Ind., 46032) depicts a "Work Force Development" chart prepared by the Indiana State Board of Education, which shows that "standardized work force development" tests must be administered every Nov. 1st.
All students in grades 1,2,5,6,7, and 9 will take the "local" tests, and students in grades 3,4,8, and 10 will take the "state assessment" test.
In grade 10, they will take their "gateway" examination. If they pass, they will move on to their "student career plan" and, if successful, will receive a "certificate of placement" for continued education or work.
If the student fails, he will be placed in an "alternative education program" ushered through an "adult competency program," and prepared for a career.
