jeromedelisle.org

Here is a draft of the 2012 "benchmarking" examination question.

The reality is that teachers and schools often operate in the dark, and in the darkness, all students, schools and education systems look the same. When we know little about the strengths and weaknesses of schools and education systems, it is difficult to improve quality and equity in educational outcomes. Comparisons can help to bring some light into this darkness, and they reveal major differences in the quality, equity and efficiency of education systems.

Evaluation and assessment is first and foremost a national assessment. But an international perspective in comparisons can provide a broader frame of reference within which to interpret national results. I am sure you are well familiar with the dilemma: If the percentage of students achieving high grades in national examinations increases, some will claim that the education system has improved; others will claim that standards must have been lowered. And behind the suspicion that better results reflect lowered standards there is often a belief that overall performance in education cannot be raised (p. 1)

Andreas Schleicher

Please review video and powerpoint on international benchmarking in education from Asis Today website HERE

1. Explain the metaphor that in the dark all schools look the same and comment on the role of national and international assessments in such a situation (10 marks).
2. Discuss and illustrate the possible role of education benchmarking in policy formulation for Trinidad and Tobago (10 marks).





Readings

Benchmarking the Quality of Education

CENTRE ON NTERNATIONAL EDUCATION BENCHMARKING (WEB PAGE)

A Seminar for SOE Staff on Using International Assessments to Evaluate the Education System by Jerome De Lisle & Harrilal Seecharan

Benchmarking for the TTMoE

PowerPoint HERE