Wicked Problems and Proficiency (Part 2)

And now, the final five characteristics of "wicked" problems (Rittel & Webber, 1973):

Characteristic 6: Wicked problems do not have an enumerable (or exhaustively describable) set of potential solutions, nor is there a well-described set of permissible operations that may be incorporated into the plan.
It is important here to distinguish between what has been done and what could be done. Imagine a placement situation in which one wants to improve course placement: one could tweak the test itself, the cut scores, the curriculum, etc., any one of which might influence the results. There is no a priori way to determine which course of action would lead to the best result.

Characteristic 7: Every wicked problem is essentially unique
This is not to say that there are no similarities between problems, but rather that it is hard to judge how much the differences will affect the final outcome. This is evident in the tension between language-specific and generic proficiency descriptors -- how great a role do language-specific features play? Or, in another context, can one really generalize across language tasks or is each task-learner interaction unique?

Characteristic 8: Every wicked problem can be considered a symptom of another problem
This refers to the level at which one is conceptualizing a problem. Most people tend to see problems at their level or below -- administrators blame teachers, teachers blame textbooks -- and don't consider potential solutions at higher levels, such as institutional changes (which, of course, are more general and therefore more wicked). In addition, in the classic If all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail tradition, people tend to view problems through the lens of their own expertise.

Characteristic 9: The existence of a discrepancy representing a wicked problem can be explained in numerous ways. The choice of explanation determines the nature of the problem's resolution
People tend to analyze things in ways consistent with their beliefs. If a new placement test fails to achieve desired results, the person who pushed for "alternative assessments" will claim that it was the format of the test that is at fault whereas the traditionalist will claim that the tests emphasis on "proficiency" rather than grammar is to blame. And so on.

Characteristic 10: The planner has no right to be wrong
Here "planner" refers to the person in charge of providing the solution to the problem. Since solutions to wicked problems are judged on whether they improve conditions rather than whether they are "true" or "false", there is no forgiveness for poor results. Unlike hard sciences where hypotheses later refuted are seen as moving the field forward, no quarter exists for those involved in testing and failed testing programs aren't usually seen as "progress".