D.

RECENT TRENDS AND FOCUS

Objectives:
At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:
 understand the principles of accountability and fairness in education
 learn the core concepts of standards-based education and outcome-based education
 apply Item Response Theory (IRT) in assessing test results

PRE – TEST
Before going on to the discussion, answer this few practice exercise first to test your knowledge.

1. What does accountability in education refer to?

a. Allowing students to choose their own curriculum
b. Holding everyone with responsibilities to high standards of performance
c. Providing free access to online materials
d. Monitoring student progress only at the end of the term
2. In the National Competency-Based Teacher Standards (NCBTS), what does the domain "The
Learning Environment" emphasizes?
a. How to create a physical and emotional space where all students can succeed
b. Curriculum design
c. Developing strategies for lesson planning
d. Personal development of teachers
3. What does Item Response Theory (IRT) aim to improve?
a. The physical environment of the classroom
b. The accuracy and reliability of test measurements
c. The emotional well-being of students
d. The curriculum design only
4. Which principle of OBE encourages providing diverse opportunities for all students?
a. High Expectations
b. Clarity of Focus
c. Designing Down
d. Expanded Opportunities
5. The principle of "Designing Down" in Outcome-Based Education means:
a. Teaching strategies are created without focusing on the end goal
b. Assessments are designed before setting learning goals
c. The curriculum starts with a clear definition of the goals students need to reach
d. Teachers set vague goals and hope students will meet them
ACCOUNTABILITY AND FAIRNESS
Accountability means holding everyone with responsibilities to high standards of performance.
 We rely on school districts and states to provide classroom materials and help teachers.
 We depend on principals to create a safe, friendly, and challenging school environment with a
clear and inspiring plan for learning and growth.
 We expect teachers to show a love for learning, find new ways to involve students, improve
their knowledge, ask for guidance, take feedback positively, and keep improving their skills
each year.
 We rely on parents to work together in their child's education, make learning important at
home, support their child, and find ways to help improve their child's classroom and school.
Fairness is often understood as the same as equity. In educational testing, equity means giving
students a fair chance to learn and show what they’ve learned. This idea is usually considered when
making tests, even if evidence sometimes shows it’s not always applied. On a more detailed level,
equity means that a test works the same way for different groups of students, ensuring the scores are
not unfairly in favor of or against any group.
We do not expect all students to have the same test scores. If everyone scored the same, there
would be no need for tests, as their purpose is to measure how much each student has learned. It’s
normal for students to perform differently. However, it becomes a concern when differences in scores
are seen among groups based on traits like gender, race, ethnicity, disability, or socio-economic
background. These gaps can lead to serious negative effects.

STANDARDS-BASED EDUCATION
According to Barbacena and Calayag (2013), the National Competency-Based Teacher
Standards (NCBTS) provides a clear guide to help teachers, students, and parents understand the
different behaviors, attitudes, and skills that teachers need to perform their roles well. Knowing
NCBTS is important for evaluating student learning because it focuses on the key areas that show
what effective teaching and learning should look like.
a. Statement of Principle
Teachers in Philippine schools are responsible for delivering lessons that lead to strong student
learning results. They are committed to the well-being of their students and the communities they
work with, considering their cultural differences, shared goals, and what matters most in education.
b. Educational Domains
1. Social Regard for Learning.
This domain emphasizes that teachers should be positive and strong role models for a love of learning
in many forms. The way teachers act, speak, and interact with students should reflect this goal.
2. The Learning Environment
This domain highlights the need to create a social, emotional, and physical environment where all
students, despite their differences in learning, can take part in various activities and aim for high
learning standards.

3. The Diversity of Learners.

This domain focuses on the idea that teachers can help all types of learners by first understanding and
respecting their individual differences, then using that knowledge to create different learning activities
that allow every student to reach their learning goals.
4. The Curriculum.
This domain covers all the parts of teaching and learning that come together to help students
understand the goals and objectives of the curriculum and achieve high learning standards. These
parts include the teacher’s knowledge of the subject, teaching methods and activities, materials, and
resources for learning.
5. Planning, Assessing, and Reporting
This domain focuses on aligning assessments with planning activities. Specifically, it looks at (1)
using assessment data to plan and adjust lessons, (2) including assessments in the planning and
execution of lessons, and (3) reporting on students' real achievements and behavior.
6. Community Linkages.
This domain emphasizes that classroom activities should be connected to students' experiences and
goals in their homes and communities. It focuses on teachers' efforts to strengthen the relationship
between schools and communities, especially as it helps achieve the goals of the curriculum.
7. Personal Growth and Professional Development.
This domain highlights that teachers should have a strong respect for the teaching profession, care
about their professional growth, and always strive to improve as educators.

The domains in the NCBTS are also used as a basis for evaluating teachers. For example, the table
below shows the strands of expected teaching performance and their related performance indicators
for the planning, assessing, and reporting domain.
Each of these strands and performance indicators is used as a standard for evaluating a teacher’s
performance in assessing learning. For example, if a teacher is being assessed on how well she
communicates students' progress to them, parents, and superiors, she needs to: provide evidence of
lesson planning, follow through with the planned lessons, and show the ability to adapt to different
teaching situations.

OUTCOME-BASED EDUCATION
OBE Principles (Center for Education Innovation, n.d.). There are various definitions of
outcome-based education. The most common one is the four principles proposed
by Spady (1994).
An OBE curriculum begins with a clear idea of what students need to be able to do, then organizes the
lessons, teaching, and assessments to ensure this learning takes place. The four main principles are
(Spady, 1994).
 Clarity of Focus

This means that everything teachers do should be centered around what they want students to
learn, understand, and be able to do. In other words, teachers should focus on helping
students develop the knowledge, skills, and qualities that will help them achieve the clear
goals set for them.
 Designing Down

It means that the curriculum should begin with a clear definition of the goals students need to
reach by the end of the program. After this, all teaching decisions are made to ensure those
goals are met.

 High Expectations

It means that teachers should set high, challenging goals to motivate students to get deeply
involved in their learning. Helping students reach these high goals is closely connected to the
idea that successful learning leads to even more success.

 Expanded Opportunities

Teachers should aim to offer more opportunities for all students. This idea is based on the
fact that not all learners can learn the same things in the same way or at the same pace.
However, most students can reach high standards if given the right opportunities.

Outcome-based education (OBE) is an educational approach that focuses on what students need
to be able to do successfully by the end of their learning experiences. Every part of the education
system is designed around these goals.
 For the educational system to work well, the OBE framework is put in place. It ensures that the
curriculum, teaching methods, and assessment tools are regularly improved through an evaluation
process. The P-D-C-A (plan-do-check-act) cycle is used to achieve the best results and efficiency.
The framework uses the OBTL approach, which focuses on three key elements: a) describing
the intended learning outcomes (ILOs) using a verb (learning activity), the content (object), and
setting a standard for students to reach; b) creating a learning environment with teaching activities
(TLAs) that focus on the verb to help achieve the desired outcome; and c) using assessment tasks
(ATs) that include the same verb, allowing the teacher to assess how well students meet the criteria
using rubrics.
The implementation of outcomes-based education, which encourages aligning outcomes,
learning activities, and assessment tools, requires an environment where all stakeholders (teachers,
students, and institutions) are involved in continuous reflection and action. Each participant reflects
through their interactions with others in three areas: teacher and student, teacher and institution, and
student and institution. This process should include quality improvement systems that not only ensure
quality but also help enhance it (Biggs, 2007).
Creating a learning community that encourages faculty involvement in curriculum planning and
reflective practice will open up new chances for meaningful discussions among colleagues. It will also
help the institution work together to meet the demands for accountability from accreditation bodies
and the public’s questions about the quality of teaching and learning in higher education.

ITEM RESPONSE THEORY

Item Response Theory (IRT) is a method used to analyze answers to tests or surveys in order to
improve the accuracy and reliability of measurements. If you want your test to truly measure what it’s
intended to (like math skills, reading ability, or knowledge of history), IRT is one way to help create
your tests.
The first step in IRT is the development of a two-dimensional matrix, which lists examinees and
correctresponses. In this matrix, 1 represents a correct answer and 0 an incorrect answer:

A quick look at this table shows that person 1 answered all 5 questions correctly (100%
proficient), while person 4 only answered 2 questions correctly (40% proficiency). However,
proficiency alone isn’t enough in IRT theory; question difficulty also matters. For example, if two test
takers both score 2 out of 5, one might have answered two easy questions, while the other answered
two difficult ones. So, even though they both scored 40%, their proficiency levels are different. Item
response theory considers both the number of correct answers and the difficulty of the questions.
POST – TEST
1. Which of the following best defines fairness in educational testing?
a. Ensuring that all students receive the same test and instructions.
b. Giving every student the same test score.
c. Ensuring that a test works the same way for all student groups, avoiding biases.
d. Only testing students based on their strengths.
2. Which principle of OBE emphasizes the need for designing the curriculum with a clear end goal in
mind?
a. Clarity of Focus
b. Designing Down
c. High Expectations
d. Expanded Opportunities
3. Which of the following statements is true about Item Response Theory (IRT)?
a. IRT focuses only on how many questions students answer correctly.
b. IRT analyzes test responses based on question difficulty and the student's ability.
c. IRT is used to calculate how much time students spend on each question.
d. IRT does not consider the type of test or survey being used.
4. Which of the following is NOT a core principle of Outcome-Based Education (OBE)?
a. Clarity of Focus
b. High Expectations
c. Standardization of learning methods for all students
d. Expanded Opportunities
5. What role do parents play in ensuring fairness and accountability in education?
a. Parents are responsible for creating curriculum standards.
b. Parents should support their child’s education and work with teachers to improve learning.
c. Parents need to conduct assessments of student progress.
d. Parents only need to provide classroom materials.
 SUMMARY

This lesson introduces several important concepts in education, focusing on Accountability,

Fairness, Standards-Based Education, Outcome-Based Education (OBE), and Item Response Theory
(IRT). Accountability refers to ensuring that everyone in the education system—school districts,
principals, teachers, and parents—meets high standards of performance. School districts are expected
to provide resources, principals create safe and inspiring learning environments, teachers are
committed to improving their skills and actively engaging students, and parents work alongside
teachers to support their child’s education. Fairness, often equated with equity, means giving students
equal chances to succeed and ensuring that assessments are not biased based on gender, race, or socio-
economic background.
Standards-Based Education emphasizes the importance of teachers aligning their practices
with clear standards, like the National Competency-Based Teacher Standards (NCBTS). These
standards guide teachers in areas such as fostering a love for learning, creating inclusive learning
environments, understanding student diversity, and continuously improving their professional skills.
Teachers are expected to use a variety of methods to ensure all students, regardless of their
background or abilities, can succeed.
Outcome-Based Education (OBE) revolves around setting clear learning goals for students
and designing lessons, teaching methods, and assessments around those goals. Teachers should set
high expectations and offer opportunities for all students to succeed, tailoring the learning process to
individual needs. The OBE framework ensures that teaching and assessment are aligned with student
outcomes, using reflection and feedback to improve teaching practices.
Lastly, Item Response Theory (IRT) is a method used to assess students’ performance more
accurately by considering both the number of correct answers and the difficulty of questions. This
helps provide a more detailed understanding of a student’s ability and ensures more reliable
assessment results. Together, these concepts aim to create a fairer, more effective education system.
 ANSWER KEY

PRE-TEST
1. B
2. A
3. B
4. D
5. C

POST-TEST
1. C
2. B
3. B
4. C
5. B