The Problem with Credentials
Using First Principles Thinking to Change Them
Exams have 3 functions:
- Record actions
- Measure actions
- Prove who performed those actions
The result of these 3 functions is a credential that can be trusted at scale.
Proving who performed actions is the most important, without 3. you don’t have a credential. The problem with no.3 is it still only happens within the walls of physical trusted third parties like schools and colleges. This heavily affects 1. recording actions and 2. measuring actions.
Because proving who performed actions can only happen within the walls of physical trusted third parties, the amount of actions that can be recorded is very small, the result: standardised testing and rote learning.
Because only a narrow group of actions can be recorded, only linear measurements can be applied to them, the result: A to F grades, percentage scores and other vague proxies of ability that are of little use to employers.
Because Credential-issuing third parties also have high overheads, these costs are passed on to those being issued credentials. This results in not just a debt load but also limited access to attaining those credentials.
No 3. proving who performed actions, seems to be the root of all the problems with the education system: cost, availability and focus on rote learning. How the world pursues and accredits knowledge can only change if a new trusted third party emerges that removes the trade offs of old physical trusted third parties like schools and colleges.
Exams don’t make sense in a world where most actions can be captured and examined. A digital proctor would allow broad sets of organic actions, not narrow sets of contrived, synthetic ones to translate into credentials. It would lower costs enormously and give all access to credentials.
