Home schooling is a reminder of the best kind of self-improvement

We’re all used to the phrase ‘marking your own homework’, and not in a good way. It comes with the implication that, when it comes to rating ourselves, our competitive instincts overcome our sense of honesty and the opportunity to bend the rules in our own favour is just too tempting. If you’ve ever attended a parents’ school quiz, you’ll be sympathetic to this argument. Additionally, being allowed to score yourself implies a certain laziness on the part of the work-setter – it’s just easier than independent marking. These were the thoughts that entered my head as I watched my teenage daughter in the act of marking her own homework during our latest bout of home-schooling.  

‘Scores’ are an intrinsic part of our need for self-assessment.

By putting a number on things we can easily make comparisons that have a ring of objectivity. The numbers mightn’t lie, but nor do they necessarily tell the whole truth. For one thing, they only offer a momentary snapshot, and always need context. To re-purpose the Wayne Gretsky quote, it’s where the numbers are going, not where they are. 

Secondly, what can be measured has its own limitations – in many cases we are employing calculable numbers, such as average problem resolution time, as a marker for less measurable ones, such as system reliability. Thought about that way, self-marking has a number of distinct advantages. Not only is the inherent trust placed in the student a motivating factor, understanding and correcting a shortcoming is easier and more durable when you discover it for yourself. From self-validation the exercise moves more smoothly to self-improvement.  

My daughter is enjoying ‘marking her own homework’.  It’s making her pretty savvy about where her knowledge gaps are and what she needs to work harder at.  For an operation focused on metrics as a means of driving improvement, as we are at Bedroq, these are important principles to remember. While we can and do provide assessments based on benchmarks, the only useful measures are the ones that our clients embrace for themselves.  

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