I am bound by confidentiality not to discuss the details of the schools or the discussions, but can share some general observations that may be of interest to colleagues in education and some personal thoughts as a professional. I visited the main school over seven days to refine the model with the managers of the schools and deliver training to a selection of teachers from the six schools. I was working with a consultant for the design and delivery of examinations, who was also training managers and teachers in these skills.
Speaking about Lesson Objectives via Russian Translation.
Through my studies and experiences I have come to realise that there is a big different between the ideologies of formative assessment and realities in schools and classrooms. There is research that suggests (actually shows significant effects) that comments alone yield better outcomes than comments and grades or grades alone (1). However, in the UK we work within a strongly summative system that demands regular grades from teachers. I argue in my doctorate (2) that if we can have a shared meaning of the characteristics of grades that teachers and learners understand, it moves away from the purely 'I have a B grade' which moves towards, 'You have a B grade that means you can do x, y and z. To get an A grade you need to do p, q and r.' These ideas were central to my decisions and advice.
In Astana, the formative and summative tensions of assessment were as pertinent as those in the UK. The teachers were very well versed in the strategies for formative assessment. I had the distinct impression that they suffered the same issues as our teachers, as teachers were trying to use formative assessment in a highly summative culture. I suspected that many teachers went through the motions of using formative assessment strategies rather than the spirit. I had many discussions, sometimes quite fraught, about using statistical techniques to generate grades from teacher assessments. There was an over emphasis on what I termed a system of 'pseudo-accuracy' of teacher assessments that were reported to parents and the Ministry of Education. I found that this was closely linked to professional judgements of teachers being under valued. Teachers lacked confidence in their own judgements and they perceived that managers, parents and the Ministry did not have faith in the teacher assessments.
The Baiterek Tower, Astana
With respect to my personal experiences, this is the first time that I have been considered as an 'international expert'. By the end of the week, I did had renewed value in my knowledge and found that my doctorate was actually useful. I had several situations where I had to make decisions and give advice, all of which I could draw on the evidence base from my doctorate and from my experiences as a school teacher and a teacher educator. I had confidence in my views and at times argued my perspective, despite these being at odds with the clients understanding of what they called 'pedagogical measurement.'
The eclectic architecture in Astana
I had few preconceptions of Kazakhstan and I was quickly caught up in the enthusiasm and vision that the people have for the future of Kazakhstan. A real contrast to people in the UK. Astana has been the capital city since 1997. I thought that it was a city at the teenage stage of life: it is full of optimism for the future, however it has not quite yet decided what that is going to be. There are a lot of new buildings, and many being built. This growth spurt seems to be somewhat erratic and there does not appear to be any big vision, just different architects trying out radical ideas. The teenage city has yet to develop a soul, but it does ooze hope for the future.
When I had time to reflect, there were several times that I had to question who was I to make these decisions and was the advice I was giving was appropriate. I actually feel confident that having worked with the teachers and managers I was able to guide their next steps towards a formative assessment culture. Also, my input is one small cog in a huge machine that is supporting the development of an education system. I certainly challenged ideas and thoughts of the people I met and had my own ideas challenged. This in itself was an important outcome.
I hope to return.
AC-G
References
(1) Butler, R. (1987) Task-involving and ego-involving properties of evaluation: Effects of different feedback conditions on motivational perceptions, interest, and performance.
Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol 79(4), Dec 1987, 474-482. doi: 10.1037/0022-0663.79.4.474
(2) Chandler-Grevatt, Andrew J. (2010) The use of levelled assessment tasks and their impact on teaching and learning in science education. Doctoral thesis, University of Sussex. http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/6276/
Further Reading
The TES wrote a controversial article on educational reform in Kazakhstan, published while I was working in the country. Read the comments as well as the article.
A really enjoyable book that contextualizes Kazakhstan from a travellers perspective:
Christopher Robbins (2008) In Search of Kazakhstan: The Land
that Disappeared. Profile Books.
