Lessons from the Field: Developing and Implementing the Qatar Student Assessment System, 2002-2006

✍ Scribed by Gabriella Gonzalez, Vi-Nhuan Le, Markus Broer, Louis T. Mariano, J. Enrique Froemel, Charles A. Goldman, Julie DaVanzo

• Year: 2009
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 93
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Central to Qatar1s education reform was the development of internationally benchmarked curriculum standards and standards-based assessments in four subjects: Arabic, English as a foreign language, mathematics, and science. This report recounts the development of Qatar1s standards-based student assessment system, providing important lessons learned for Qatar and other countries that are seeking to implement similar measures on a large scale.

✦ Table of Contents

Preface......Page 4
Contents......Page 6
Figures......Page 8
Tables......Page 10
Summary......Page 12
Acknowledgments......Page 18
Abbreviations......Page 20
Glossary......Page 22
Background on Qatar’s Education System......Page 26
The Context for Reforming Qatar’s K–12 Education System......Page 27
Overview of the Education for a New Era Reform......Page 28
Governance Structure of the Education for a New Era Reform......Page 29
Supporting Accountability Through the Student Assessment System......Page 30
Purpose, Approach, and Limitations of This Report......Page 31
Organization of This Report......Page 32
Purpose and Uses of the QSAS......Page 34
Format and Composition of the QSAS......Page 35
Which Students Would Be Part of the QSAS?......Page 37
How Would QCEA Results Be Used?......Page 39
In Which Language(s) Would the QCEA Be Administered?......Page 40
What Would Be the Delivery Method of the QCEA?......Page 41
Which Grades Would Be Tested by the QCEA?......Page 42
2004 QCEA: First Year of Standardized Testing......Page 44
Item Development......Page 45
Aligning the QCEA to the New Qatar Curriculum Standards......Page 47
Changing the Format of the QCEA......Page 48
Item Development......Page 49
Test Administration in 2004......Page 50
Test Administration in 2005......Page 52
Scoring the Tests and Reporting the Results from the 2004 QCEA......Page 54
Scoring the Tests and Reporting the Results from the 2005 QCEA......Page 56
Scoring the Tests and Reporting the Results from the 2006 QCEA......Page 57
Comparing 2005 and 2006 QCEA Results by School Type......Page 58
Mathematics and Science......Page 60
Separation of Standards Development and Assessment Development HamperedCommunication Around Alignment......Page 62
The Timeline for Developing a Fully Aligned Standards-Based Assessment System WasToo Short......Page 63
Many Policies About Testing Did Not Consider Existing Research or Analysis......Page 64
There Was Insufficient Communication About the Purposes and Uses of Testing......Page 65
Use More Advanced Technologies......Page 66
Concluding Thoughts......Page 67
Appendix A - Assessment Elements Considered for the QSAS......Page 70
Appendix B - Steps to Align Assessments with Curriculum Standards......Page 74
Appendix C - Performance-Level Results of 2005 and 2006 QCEAs for Ministryof Education, Private Arabic, and Independent Schools......Page 80
References......Page 90