Opinion surrounding Western Australia's provision of compulsory education via an outcomes-based education (OBE) paradigm is severely divided. At the centre of debate is an attempt by authorities to extend OBE into the final years of secondary schooling, Years 11 and 12. In this paper an examination is made of OBE as a curriculum paradigm. Secondly, an overview of how OBE has been interpreted in Western Australia as a model of curriculum design and planning is provided. Finally, and most significantly, the issues surrounding evaluation concerns as they relate to one exemplar course of study—English—are considered.
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