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How data is used to inform and drive up academic standards

24 Sep 2019

2018-2019 was a very successful first year for Huili School Shanghai and we are all incredibly pleased with the high standards achieved.




As a school, we take great pride in focussing on a holistic approach to education, which is perhaps most clearly visible in the educational philosophy that we instil in our learners.We are confident that by ensuring our learners demonstrate characteristics of all-round development, excellent academic outcomes will come as a matter of course.Besides, we make great efforts to monitor the progress of our students in the classroom and one of the main ways we do this is the regular collection of performance data.



The Huili Data Collection Cycle
Data collection at Huili is not a one-off event, but rather part of a continuous data collection cycle that runs throughout the school year.In the first instance, learner performance data is collected and once sufficient data has been gathered, it is analysed. This allows us to identify trends in learner performance. We can also clearly see academic areas in which our learners have excelled and those upon more focus should be placed.

With the analysis complete, the next step is the creation of action points. To do this, each department meets to analyse and discuss their respective data and to agree on specific action points which will address any issue in the subsequent period of study. After these action points have been agreed and implemented, the cycle then repeats with more data collected and analysed. For example, following data analysis, we found that English (as a discrete subject) in junior high school highly correlates with science and English social studies. Accordingly, we adjusted our approaches to teaching English lessons.



English teachers and other subject’ teachers’ worked closely to co-plan, aiming to provide better support for pupils in order to overcome any language barriers. Thus enhancing their English skills in core subjects as well as ensuring a thorough understanding of learning. The on-going nature of our data collection cycle informs our future learning by ensuring our pedagogic approaches and methods are always under review and that academic standards at Huili are continually pushed up. Ultimately, we want to ensure that the children not only learn but are encouraged to extend their learning.  
International Standards
During the first weeks of this new academic year at Huili, all students completed a range of initial baseline assessments across their core subjects.In addition to our own in-house assessments, students were also assessed using internationally-recognised systems that allows us to identify how best we can support students as they continue through their education. This will ensure our ongoing focus of delivering the highest standards in education.

 

Take English learning as an example, we conducted a comprehensive assessment of pupils’ English abilities, such as listening, speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary and grammar, by using international standards to ensure our judgements were correct and appropriate.
Based on the results of this evaluation, we have put  greater emphasis on encouraging pupils to read after class and embedded more grammar knowledge in our lessons. 
Moreover, analysis of our own internal data together with such external assessments, enables us to be confident that we have the most accurate picture possible of our students’ progress. 
We are then best placed to support and develop our Huili students’ future learning.