TRANSCRIPT: The Fall of Letter Grades & the Rise of Comprehensive Learner Records (feat. Bruce Umpstead from IMS Global Learning Consortium)
KKristen CrainSep 29, 2021 at 2:45 pm34min
BBruce
00:00It's really kind of exciting to see the shift that we're about to experience in the next three to five years, where our student information systems, which are really our bedrock, record keeping system, are going to be able to record competencies and reflect those in ways that are meaningful to the community, right? The community understands A's, B's, C's, and D's, but they don't really understand the idea of measuring experience and ability because they didn't get it when they were in school. And so we really do need our record keeping systems to be reflecting that. And then higher ed and the workforce need to be consuming those comprehensive learner records those competencies and asking for them. That's what we found when we did a test project here in Michigan. That most employers weren't even asking for the high school transcript. So, we spend 13 years and you build an excellent record, or in my case, maybe a mediocre record, and you give them the transcript, and it didn't mean anything to any of the employers that we talked to.
NNikki
01:02I'm Nikki Herta and this is BRIGHT: Stories of Hope and Innovation in Michigan Classrooms, a podcast where we celebrate our state's educators and explore the future of learning.
NNikki
01:16Many leaders in education believe there are better ways to represent a student's journey through their K-12 education than the traditional transcript, which typically depicts achievement to letter grades such as A's, B's, C's, etc. What might a richer representation of a student's learning look like? What would it take for us to get there? In today's episode, I chat with Bruce Umpstead, director of statewide programs for IMS Global Learning Consortium, who explains what comprehensive learner records are, a concept that's gaining traction and state education programs across the nation, and why these digital transcripts might be crucial to building a competency-based future.
NNikki
01:58Alright, well to kick off, the question that I usually start with is, what is it that drew you to education in the first place? And how did that journey lead you to where you are today?
BBruce
02:09Yeah. So surprisingly, I've had my entire career in education technology, but formerly being in K-12, started in 2004, when I worked, went to work for Michigan State University, as a project director for math science partnership with the College of Education, College of Natural Science, and so on. So that was my first foray into formal public education in Michigan. That job was excellent. I enjoyed it. Yeah, there's some challenges working between higher education and K-12. The second year, I was there, second full year, I picked up online course at Lansing Community College and actually took Michigan Virtual's online instructor training the certification program. Then, I taught managerial finance, which is my background actually. I'm a recovering cost accountant. But that surprisingly qualified me of when the first and only posting of the Michigan State Education Technology Director position came up with the Michigan Department of Education. So, I was the Dark Horse candidate. I guess it got down to two people, and they were either going to have somebody retire in from Iowa or me, this brash, 36 or 37 year-old. And Mike Flanagan was a superintendent at the time, and he had gotten his first real administrator job at 37. So, he gave me a shot. And so yeah, in 2007, January, I joined the Michigan Department of Education, and that was really my big entry into K-12 public education.
NNikki
03:50So, what was it that really drew you to education technology? In the sense of like, what do you love about it? What is the promise and the potential that you saw there that you wanted to pursue?
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