The Role of Assessment in Education Quality Discussed at NIS
The third round table as part of the project “Education in a new reality” of the Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools was held by the Center for Pedagogical Measurements and brought together almost a thousand teachers from all over the country.
The meeting kicked off with a current survey of teachers about the assessment process. The first results stated the belief of the absolute majority (four out of five) of teachers that the assessment demonstrates the real quality of education. Kulyash Shamshidinova, the CEO of Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools, emphasized that it is a qualitative and real assessment that reflects learners’ development, understanding of their strengths and weaknesses, as well as the choice of profession and determination of the future in general:
- Assessment has an impact on shaping “I – concept”, that is, learners form their opinions about themselves. The teacher's assessment, the reactions of classmates and parents affect the development of self-esteem. Realization of own self. in the assessment creates in the child a sense of personal significance, strength, adequacy, usefulness and necessity in this world, - noted Kulyash Shamshidinova.
The conclusions of Kulyash Shamshidinova have been matched with the results of a study by the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) within the framework of the global project “Education – 2030”, which the national coordinator is NIS. Traditional assessment models are changing, and in the new realities, students more active participate in improving their own learning process.
Director of the Center for Pedagogical Measurements Aidana Shilibekova focused the attention of the participants of the round table on the fact that it is important for teachers to monitor the consistency of the results of internal and external assessment, as this ensures the quality of education:
- A strong external assessment system can generate public confidence. In Kazakhstan today, a comprehensive project “Modernization of secondary education” is being implemented with the support of the World Bank in the direction of “Meeting student assessment systems the updated content of education.” Cooperation between Cambridge Assessment and NIS as part of this project is a combination of international experience and Kazakhstan achievements in the development of the secondary education system. Anna Green, one of the key project experts, shared information about international assessment standards and insights on how to comply with them.
- Good assessment is crucial for good education. When designing exams, the starting point is what we want to develop in students: deep knowledge of the subject, conceptual understanding, and higher-order thinking skills. Our assessment makes it possible to effectively differentiate students by academic performance. We conduct it in such a way that it is fair, valid, reliable and practically feasible, - said Anna Green, an expert of Cambridge Assessment.
The overwhelming majority of the participants who participated in the survey at the beginning of the roundtable agreed that the issue of compliance with standards should be considered alongside with the school assessment level.
This contributes to their development. The address of Olga Mozhayeva, Deputy CEO of the Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools aimed at accreditation as one of the approaches to assess the activities of schools at the international level. The speaker called the internal self-assessment of schools a particularly important stage in the process of international accreditation. Using the example of the NIS, Olga Ivanovna analyzed the importance of self-assessment for secondary education institutions:
- Secondary schools can use the experience of the Intellectual Schools in self-examination and self-assessment to understand their strengths and weaknesses in accordance with existing standards, to plan specific development measures. NIS is ready to provide consulting, methodological and methodological support to each school concerned, - Olga Mozhayeva summed up.
One of the key tasks facing teachers is to make sure that assessment does not interfere with the educational process, but, on the contrary, improves it. Professor of Nazarbayev University Matthew Courtney is convinced of this fact. The Deputy Director of the Center for Pedagogical Measurements Saule Vildanova, continuing the thought of the foreign expert, dwelled on the methodology for assessing the practice of teachers. Saule Vildanova expressed the popular opinion of students that the assessment depends not only on them, but also on the teacher - everyone would like to learn from such a teacher, whose lessons are interesting and understandable, and the assessments are fair, because this will undoubtedly lead to high results.
Using centuries-old customs, traditions and pedagogical heritage of the people in teaching and upbringing of the younger generation was noted by the Kazakh poet and teacher Magzhan Zhumabayev. In his works, he repeatedly expressed the ideas about the correct understanding of assessment, which today are consonant with the implemented criteria approach. The educational aspect is reflected through the teacher's activities in the classroom. A teacher of Mathematics of the NIS of Semey city Anar Baimurzaeva shared her experience to develop interesting tasks that integrate literary works and Mathematics. A teacher of the Kazakh language and literature of Nur-Sultan School-Lyceum No. 48 Gulshat Kapshayeva shared her example of how assessment contributes to a deeper assimilation of educational material via self-assessment and feedback.
The adults' discussion was complemented by children’s honest opinions about school assessment. It should be noted that the point of view of the students was very different - someone is sure that grades help understand what to work on and in which direction to move further, and someone believes that the main thing is how the material is learned, but there is no sense in assessment at all.
Summing up the meeting, Kulyash Shamshidinova emphasized that any assessment system should motivate a person to learn, and a truly high-quality assessment system demonstrates the daily high-quality work of a teacher. Quality is one of the key goals of assessment.
The materials presented during the round table will be posted on the system-methodological complex of the Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools.
“The Role of Assessment in Education Quality” is the third round table held at the NIS as part of the anniversary project “Education in a New Reality”, dedicated to the 180th anniversary of Ybrai Altynsarin.