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Week 32: Capacity building in Tajikistan
International work on capacity building is growing, and that’s no surprise when you consider ACER brings together capabilities in research, evaluation and development, assessment and psychometrics, and professional development.
‘The fact that we’re invited to undertake work in post-conflict countries like Tajikistan attests to ACER’s credibility, capability and sensitivity,’ says Gabrielle Matters. ‘There’s keen interest from many governments in institutional strengthening in education as a result of initiatives by the World Bank.’
Gabrielle, a Principal Research Fellow in ACER’s Assessment and Psychometric Research Division, has been working with the World Bank to support the development in Tajikistan of a new agency, the National Testing Centre (NTC), which will implement a sustainable system of university entrance, expand and improve national testing, and grow an assessment culture that permeates all levels of education.
‘The World Bank has sought our support because ACER possesses the constellation of skills needed not only to undertake an audit and evaluation, but also to find a solution, which is the NTC. So far, we’ve been involved in three phases, the first being to evaluate the current situation,’ Gabrielle explains. ‘The problems in Tajikistan are many and difficult. In university entrance exams, for example, different universities set different exams in the same subject. Students seeking university entrance travel to various centres to register for these exams. We were also informed that some corrupt practices occurred, and so the new system had to be transparent as well as fulfilling technical requirements.
‘In the second phase, we’ve been involved in developing policies and procedures, and getting the political support needed to pass legislation to establish the NTC – and all of this with Russian interpreters.
‘The third phase has involved working with the World Bank in Dushanbe to write a proposal to the Russian Education Aid for Development Trust Fund seeking funds to establish the NTC.
‘The architectural drawings are complete, ready for the first sod to be turned, so the NTC as an entity with the capacity to deliver valid, reliable and credible examinations, tests and assessments at all levels of schooling is about to become a reality.’
The next phase is to support staff development within the NTC, says Gabrielle. ‘Our audit and evaluation has shown that there’s already technical capacity within Tajikistan’s existing assessment organisations, which can be used to seed the growth of further technical capacity. Capacity building is about the immediate future, so we foresee a role for ACER in professional development.’
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Week 52: State of the art psychometric and statistical analysis
Week 51: Assessing civics and citizenship
Week 50: International research into teaching and learning
GOAL 1
Learners and their needs
every learner engaged in challenging learning opportunities appropriate to their readiness and needs
GOAL 2
The Learning Profession
every learning professional highly skilled, knowledgeable and engaged in excellent practice
GOAL 3
Places of learning
every learning community well resourced and passionately committed to improving outcomes for all learners
GOAL 4
A Learning Society
a society in which every learner experiences success and has an opportunity to achieve their potential
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