In a bid to improve the education system of Pakistan, the Inter Board Committee of Chairmen (IBCC) and Aga Khan University Examination Board (AKU-EB) have joined forces to conduct a teacher training workshop on assessment. The workshop aimed to help assessors and paper setters of different examination boards in Sindh, including Karachi, Mirpurkhas, Hyderabad, Shaheed Benazirabad, and Sukkur, develop good test tools that accurately measure the true ability of students. This is a critical step towards improving teaching and learning in the classroom.
The training focused on the characteristics of good assessment, such as validity, reliability, standardization, feasibility, and educational impact. Participants were provided with an opportunity to develop and review a test tool – One Best MCQ – and learn about accurate construction and implementation of MCQs. The training was attended by teachers, head teachers, and principals nominated by the examination boards of secondary and intermediate education, and the participants were highly engaged and excited to learn.
The participants gained insights on how to make application-based questions that accurately simulate real-life scenarios, which requires a high level of thought and creativity. They appreciated the importance of such initiatives and training sessions in bringing about a positive change in the education sector of Pakistan. One of the participants representing Karachi Board shared that assessing students on higher-order MCQs is not as daunting or difficult a task as they believed it to be, and in the coming years, they would definitely start incorporating higher-order thinking questions as part of their high stake examinations.
The Secretary IBCC, Dr Ghulam Ali Mallah was very pleased to see the enthusiasm and positive attitude of the participant to learn and implement the international best practices by the boards. The CEO of AKU-EB, Dr Shehzad Jeeva, applauded the commitment of the Controller Examinations and encouraged the participants to work with them to overcome the challenges with regards to policy and bridge the gap between the performance of students in the examination and third-party evaluation. Trainers from AKU-EB appreciated the engagement level of teachers and expressed that the participants are highly interested in enhancing the education system of the region and are profoundly dedicated to applying the learning that they have acquired during this session. They look forward to attending more such sessions in the future.
Overall, this workshop emphasizes the critical importance of capacity development for teachers and the need to continuously train them to develop good test tools that accurately measure the true ability of students. This is a crucial step towards improving teaching and learning in the classrooms of Pakistan and ensuring that students receive the quality education they deserve.
