Data for Leadership: How international schools are meeting the challenge of using assessment data effectively

How can assessment data be used more strategically to support international school improvement?

This was the pressing question behind an international school survey we carried out in association with the Council of British International Schools (COBIS) and the Council of International Schools (CIS). The results were then debated by an expert panel at the 2018 COBIS annual conference in May on the theme, ‘Leading Learning’.

International schools have been dealing with some big changes in assessment practices over the last few years, from the escalating wellbeing agenda to more emphasis on the measurement of student progress. There is also a growing realisation that data, when effectively collected, analysed and reported on, can help mitigate these changes and boost school performance. Yet barriers to best practice remain.

The results of our survey with school leaders in 82 international schools from 42 different countries revealed that this is an increasingly important topic for schools all over the world, and that there are a number of recurring challenges.

This report summarises the key survey findings, then details suggestions and ideas from the resulting panel discussion on how schools can leverage better use of data for increased success.