1. Uptown School, Dubai How we used international standardised assessment data to drive improvement

2. Uptown School, Dubai IB World School IB Primary Years Programme – 9 years IB Middle Years Programme – second year Broadly Open entry policy – international student body with wide range of abilities Transient student population (10-15% per year) Major expansion - 300 new students this year!

3. Using international norm- referenced assessment data to drive improvement Improvement in our curriculum programme Improvement in planning and teaching Leading to: Improvement in Student Learning & Enhanced Student Attainment

4. Norm Referenced Assessments National SystemCAT Cognitive Abilities Test PiM Progress in Mathematics PiPS Performance Indicators in Primary Schools MAP Measures of Academic Progress GAT General Achievement Test International ASSET Assessment of Scholastic Skills through Ed Testing TIMSS Trends in Mathematics & Science PIRLS Progress in International Reading & Literacy PISA Programme for International School Assessment ISA International Schools Assessment IBT International Benchmark Tests

5. Which Assessments? ACER IBT (International Benchmark Tests) ACER ISA (International Schools’ Assessment) Why? ISA is designed for students in international schools ISA bears research-founded reliability & validity ISA is used by many IB Programme schools world- wide ISA Provides and allows for easy disaggregation of data

6. Norm Referenced Assessment - Why? The prime purpose in most schools Internal and external Quality Assurance and Accountability

11. Norm Referenced Assessment - Why? If we use Norm Referenced Assessments solely for accountability we are missing a massive opportunity Using the data… as a means of driving and supporting continuous school improvement Data informed decision-making Improvement in successful schools as well as those with lower attainment

12. IBT and ISA, 2012-2013 Uptown Students were solid in English but were markedly below Norms in Mathematics – across all grades ‘Yes, but……..’

13. Addressing and responding to the ‘Yes, but……..’ phenomena Building personal and collegial understanding that: (1)the assessments are reliable and valid (2)the data is valid and painting a clear picture = Ownership & Responsibility

15. Yes, but………….. IB PYP is different; it doesn’t lend itself to external standardised assessments Multiple-choice questions/answers are alien to our students and our approach to assessment Our many new students each year and SEN students impact negatively on our overall attainment The IBT/ISA doesn’t assess conceptual understanding The IBT/ISA doesn’t assess what our students are learning at each of our grade levels

16. Action A comparative analysis of Uptown School’s scope and sequence against expected skills and understandings within the ISA assessment and against worldwide national system curricular Clear Gaps Curriculum modification - adoption and adaption of New South Wales (AUS) Scope and Sequence Raising expectations Absolute clarity about what students need to learn during each year.

17. Action Mandated The discrete teaching of mathematical literacy - Mathematical literacy units created spanning the school year Separate from the IB PYP trans - disciplinary Units of Inquiry Unit plans clearly defining instructional practices – direct instruction as well as guided inquiry The introduction of a home-based on online daily mathematics practice programme, G1-G9

18. Action An explicit leadership focus on classroom practice Good teaching is not enough; students need and deserve excellent teaching Closing the achievement gap requires excellent teaching It is the leader’s prime and over-riding responsibility to ensure that classroom practice is excellent

19. Ineffective v Excellent Teaching US state-wide studies of elementary and middle school students The effect on the student of one year of ineffective teaching lasts up to three years The effect on the student of one year of excellent teaching lasts up to three years One year of excellent teaching cannot make up for one year of ineffective teaching Three years of ineffective teaching is irrecoverable

20. Action Mandated SMART Goal-Setting based on external standardised and baseline assessment data, at both the grade level and individual class level Weekly collaborative planning and collaborative discussion of student products Differentiation by need, within the classroom Formative assessment and quality feedback Excellent Teaching

21. Supervision Teacher Supervision and Feedback Classroom teaching and differentiation Teacher short-term planning Regular review of student workbooks and products, Dialogue with students about their learning An explicit focus on outputs – student progress and attainment is the measure of teacher success

22. Even if your standardised assessments are:

23. We need to look beyond the scores Data informed decision-making is a must! Using reliable and objective data drives school improvement and enhanced student attainment This applies to the ‘outstanding’ as well as the ‘good’ – good to great; but great to greater! Excellent, data-informed, teaching is what students need and for what we are all accountable Employ external standardised assessments that support disaggregation and interpretation of data