Epistemic Institutions, Empowering Exceptional People
Most certification processes (e.g schools & universities) require going through their teaching process in order to be certified. Due to either bad incentives or central planning, their tests are also often very bad at accurately assessing the skills of the assessed. This creates a situation where most certifications (e.g high school diplomas & degrees) aren’t as credible and reliable as they should be, and yet people have to go through years of studying to get them because there aren’t any other certifications processes they can go through to make their skills legible. Assessment companies fill this gap by separating teaching and assessment. They design their own tests and provide their own certifications, which they offer directly to people who want to take them to make their skills legible to other people (e.g employers). By competing on designing good tests and offering credible and reliable certifications, these companies allow people to study however they like and then take the test, they give teaching institutions more freedom as they no longer have to worry about certifying their students, and they help employers hire the right people (especially those they would currently miss).
(note: I’ve seen this idea mentioned by some people on LW, but I haven’t seen anyone expand on it. I’m currently working on essay that expands on this idea.)
Assessment companies
Epistemic Institutions, Empowering Exceptional People
(note: I’ve seen this idea mentioned by some people on LW, but I haven’t seen anyone expand on it. I’m currently working on essay that expands on this idea.)