The British International School of Kuala Lumpur was one of the 50 schools to register with us on the first cohort of the Assessment Lead Programme, in October 2017. Here’s how they found it.
With registrations for Cohort 3 of the Assessment Lead Programme now open, and schools beginning to plan their CPD for the next academic year, we wanted to speak to a few of the schools who are on the Programme’s first and second group of participants, to find out more about how they’re getting on, what is proving useful, and how flexible, efficient and affordable assessment training is benefiting them and their teams. First is the British International School of Kuala Lumpur.
“From a subject coordinator’s position, [the Assessment Lead Programme] is gold!”
Keen to set in motion a sea change in their way of thinking, and to develop a common assessment language throughout the school, BSKL signed up 20 participants, including primary and secondary colleagues. The hope was that quality, sustained assessment training and resources would help join up their thinking across the school, aiding particularly in the transition from primary to secondary.
The team of Assessment Leads have thoroughly enjoyed the course so far. It has proved to be a challenge in parts [Ed.: a “desirable difficulty”, you might say], but incredibly useful. The team are already starting to see positive impact on their practice, as well as that of their colleagues. We asked Thomas Kimber, Deputy Head of Primary, to canvass opinions of the group on what it is about the programme which they’ve found most helpful so far.
Some of the key things they cited include:
- The fact that the programme is evidence-based.
“Given the basis of the course in research and expert knowledge, I can convincingly talk about best practice in assessment. In an arena which has been commoditised by so many companies, this is an important skill to have to avoid wasting time and money. I can confidently say that as a team of Assessment Leads we have moved best practice forward in BSKL.”
- The usefulness of the tools included in the Programme.
“The tools that the Assessment Lead Programme has given me have enabled me to critically evaluate the summative maths tests we were using and powerfully interpret the results so they can feed back into learning. From a subject coordinator’s position, it is gold!”
- The whole-school approach.
“The course is designed to have a whole-school impact. This is important because it has started to improve the practice of all staff, in every year group and in every subject.”
- The sustained nature of the programme, and its difference from a ‘typical’ CPD day.
“We already know that sustained and long-term change comes from sustained and long-term CPD. What I have learnt on ALP could not be transmitted, let alone understood, in one day. That is why the independent learning interspersed with regular collaborative meetings is so much more effective than other options.”
Get involved!
If you and your school or college would like to get involved with the Assessment Lead Programme, don’t miss out! We have strictly limited places available on Cohort 3, which is open for registrations now – you can sign up at this link.
If you are part of a group or Academy Trust, do get in touch – we are happy to discuss group rates.
If you’d like to find out a bit more before registering, we are running an informational webinar, where we will also demo the platform, on March 16th at 4pm UK time. Click here to register.
