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Certification-Based Education is the cornerstone of the One Person Schoolhouse. You’ll build your One Person Schoolhouse on Certification-Based Education.
The Certification-Based Education system is based upon earning certifications for passing examinations covering a relatively small set of knowledge on a specific topic. An example of a specific topic might be Algebra I. But should Algebra I be too broad for a single examination, Algebra I could be split into three certifications, Algebra I Part 1, Algebra I Part 2, and Algebra I Part 3.
You’ll earn certifications for all the subjects typically taught in secondary and post-secondary schools. Certifications serve as your irrefutable proof of knowledge in the Certification-Based Education system.
Certification-Based Education is simple. You choose the certification you want to obtain. You study the material. You take a test offered by Company A. You pass the test, so Company A awards you a certificate. You present to Employer E the certificate and any others you’ve earned. Employer E inquires as to the integrity of your certifications with Company A. Company A verifies the integrity of your certifications. Employer E hires you with the confidence you know your stuff.
Certifications in the Certification-Based Education system replace diplomas and degrees in the Grade-Based Education system.
For general education, the Grade-Based Education system dominates the “proof of education” world. To earn a diploma you take seven years of courses in secondary school and to earn a degree you take another four years of courses post-secondary at a university.
For the era for which it was designed, the Grade-Based Education system served America well. Millions of students got their education and prospered. But, for a variety of reasons, diplomas and degrees have fallen out of favor with the American people. Certifications offer an alternative to the rigid format and schedule often associated with Grade-Based Education. The Certification-Based Education system enables you to attend the One Person Schoolhouse, where you’ll get an education tailored to you alone.
The two fundamental distinguishing characteristics of a voucher of knowledge is the scope of the work to earn the voucher and the issuer of the voucher. A diploma is a physical voucher issued by a high school stating you possess a standard knowledge set. A degree is a physical voucher issued by a college or university stating you possess a standard knowledge set. A certification is a physical voucher issued by a corporation or organization stating you possess a standard knowledge set. A certification holds equal legitimacy as a voucher of knowledge as a diploma or degree.
So why switch to certifications? A certification differs from the diploma and degree in that a certification covers a narrow range of subject matter, you can earn each certification with weeks or months of study, and the issuer is not the educator. And these distinctions make all the difference in the world.
Getting an education costs time, effort, and money. The Certification-Based Education system doesn’t promise quick, easy, or free. You’ll spend much time studying, it will be difficult at times, and some materials may cost money. But the Certification-Based Education system is unique in that it requires only one mandatory cost. All other costs are voluntary. That one mandatory cost is the sitting fee for the certification examination.
Let’s say you need your Algebra I certification. Algebra I involves a great deal of learning, so let’s suppose the certification-issuing organization has broken Algebra I into three examinations. You will sit for three certification examinations, Algebra I Parts 1, 2, and 3. You’ll pay a sitting fee for all three examinations. Let’s say the sitting fee is $100 per examination, so you’ll pay $300 total. The $300 is the only fixed cost.
The voluntary costs you incur might be some Algebra books bought off Amazon. You watch videos on YouTube to help you understand complex concepts. That’s free. You visit the Khan Academy website. Also free. You find an online forum. Free. Maybe you pay some company for access to an unlimited number of practice questions as you check your readiness for the certification examination.
By now, you should see the potential for a low-cost, high-velocity education. You can educate yourself on a shoe-string budget or go all-out on personal tutors for every subject. The point is, you choose. You can even attend a semester of classes on Algebra I and take the certification examinations as you go. At the conclusion of your semester course, you’ll have three certifications and a grade for the course. Which carries the greater weight with an employer?
If you are sitting for an examination for Algebra I Part 2, the certificate-issuing organization does not care who you are or how you learned the material. The certificate-issuing organization cares about exactly two things:
Therefore, you are under no obligation to learn the material for your Algebra I Part 2 certification examination by attending a semester-long lecture-based course in a school building across town.
You are free to study for every certification examination where you want, when you want, how you want, with whom you want, and from whom you want. This is the One Person Schoolhouse.
If you want to study for the examination 5 days a week, taking Tuesdays and Wednesdays as your weekend, do it. If you sleep in until noon every day, start your school day at 2 PM and go until 9 PM. It’s your education, after all! Pick your own religious holidays. Study year-round but take two weeks for that family vacation in the middle of January and another one in September without having to miss class.
Your state legislature mandates the courses you must take to qualify for a high school diploma. In the Certification-Based Education system, your state legislature will certainly mandate you earn certifications that equate to a high school diploma. You decide the order in which you take the courses.
You can find the certification strategy that best fits you. You could mimic traditional school, and take all your certifications in grade-level fashion. You can rocket through the certifications in areas in which you are gifted and spend more time preparing for certifications in areas in which you struggle. Or, get all the certifications you struggle with out of the way first then concentrate on the “fun” ones. Or, maybe you pair up with another student your age and take your certifications together, helping each other succeed.
You own your education in the Certification-Based Education system. Discover what works for you and go for it!
You, an employer, and the organization issuing certifications are the three core actors in the Certification-Based Education system. But the stage is vast, and the roles are many in Certification-Based Education.
Businesses will proctor examinations for multiple certification-issuing entities. School buildings will become educational facilitation centers, where you study on a come-and-go basis. Teachers will become facilitators, assisting motivated learners in finding the best resources for their studies. Society and the marketplace will realign to encourage independent study.
Those roles may be somewhat obvious but many roles might surprise you. What if independent lecturers rented auditoriums in movie theaters to speak on subjects related to specific certifications? The lecturer plays a role, but so does the movie theater.
Click here to discover the amazing cast of actors in the Certification-Based Education system. You’ll probably see yourself in more than one role, and you’ll better understand how the overall Certification-Based Education system operates.
No major issuer of certifications has stepped up to issue certifications for middle and high school course material. Certification-Based Education needs this first corporation or organization to get the ball rolling.
People are leaving the Grade-Based Education system in droves. The growing popularity of homeschooling, microschools, unschooling, and a plethora of other educational systems attests to the need for an alternative means for proving knowledge. And while private schools still follow the grade-level paradigm, their expanding enrollment exposes a general disapproval of public education.
Certifications are coming. No other means of proving knowledge offer the simplicity, universality, and acceptability of certifications. Certifications will grow in efficiency, scope, and quality even as the existing educational system withers away in popularity.
Why the high degree of confidence? Consider this comparison.
Little more than a century ago the horse-drawn carriage was the standard form of personal transportation. The technology associated with horse-drawn carriages reached its zenith by about the year 1900. The overall load capacity, distance, and fuel economy of a horse-drawn carriage has risen very little in the century and a quarter since.
Automobiles showed up on America’s roads around this time. Whether automobiles of that era were superior to horse-drawn carriages could be debated. However—and this is the critical part—automobiles circa 1900 were at the beginning of their technological arc. Within a few years, automobiles had supplanted horses as the standard means of personal transportation and continue to evolve. Automobiles of today are engineering marvels of power, efficiency, and purpose.
You’ve surely surmised that the horse-drawn carriage represents the Grade-Level Education system. It’s peaked. There’s little room for innovation or improvement. But the Certification-Based Education system of today is like the early automobile. It’s only going to get better.
People are leaving the public education system now. It’s a vote of no-confidence in public education, but people lack a viable universal alternative. If the Certification-Based Education system is that universal alternative, how do we implement it?
Certification-Based Education needs a corporation or organization to be the first to issue certifications for content today taught in middle school, high school, and university.
This first issuer of certifications must grow the market by creating demand for its products. As for clients willing to be certified, the home-school market is a good market to explore. Certifications offer small, achievable goals for students and evidence of quality to the parent-teachers. Private alternative schools provide another potential market for certifications, as they too may have a drive to prove their effectiveness. Finally, the students themselves may desire an alternative to Grade-Based Education for a variety of reasons, and will make the switch given the opportunity.
As the market grows, businesses will be convinced to accept certifications as proof of education as more people present these credentials when applying for jobs. When the first state government regulates the certification field as an equal alternative to the high school diploma, the certification world will have the universal acceptance it needs to just take off.
From a business perspective, certifications for middle and high school content is a “blue ocean” market. Competition is minimal and demand could be stratospheric. And more customers keep coming along every year.
A business could begin offering certifications associated with middle school courses and increase the portfolio of certifications each year. As people begin earning certifications after graduating fifth grade, the business will stay ahead of them by releasing certifications that build on existing certifications.
An alternative business plan would be to offer certifications in a narrower area of study like mathematics. If the business offered certifications for all the mathematics courses beginning at the sixth grade level and going at least up to the twelfth grade. There is no reason to stop there, of course, as people will need university level certifications, too.
As other businesses recognize the success being enjoyed by the initial corporation in the certification market, competitors will enter the market. Multiple issuers of certifications increase the legitimacy of the Certification-Based Education system.
Eventually, issuers will form an industry association to standardize their products. Standardized products allow customers to switch between certification providers as they follow universal paths such as mathematics. An industry association can work with state governments to standardize regulations for earning the certification equivalent of a high school diploma.
Not everybody will welcome the Certification-Based Education system. Many people are deeply invested in the current education system. The company first to market with a viable certifications system must be prepared to defend their products against the guardians of the Grade-Level Education system. The Certification-Based Education paradigm threatens their sources of income, identity, and influence.
People joining the Certification-Based Education ecosystem will experiment, make mistakes, and abandon ideas. And some people will device novel new ways to learn. Students will leave the old ways of education and pick up the new ways. And the system of certifications in education will evolve just as automobiles evolved.
Could the people of 1900 envision the vehicles of today? The article from the Saturday Evening Post, Get A Horse! America’s Skepticism Toward the First Automobiles, reminisces over the hectic first few years of the automobile industry and the attitudes of people who knew nothing but transportation by horse. It serves as a wonderful reminder that times of change are hectic and messy and exciting.
The first automobiles resembled horse carriages because horse buggies were all people of the time could envision. Automobiles lurched down dirt roads scarred with ruts from thin wooden buggy wheels. Vehicles evolved beyond their “horse buggy” legacy, and we’ve replaced those rut-filled dirt trails with hyper-efficient interstate highways. We have a stunning variety of vehicles capable of doing so many jobs and thousands of businesses manufacturing products to support the automobile industry. It is truly amazing.
The first few years of the Certification-Based Education system will be no less hectic than the first years of the automobile industry. And the final outcome will be no less spectacular. Education in America is about to enter its greatest era ever.
Copyright © 2022 Ken Judkins
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