Using Contextual Data for Education Quality Assessment: The Experience of Tools Development and Testing

Abstract

The paper suggests an approach to assessing performance of educational institutions with regard to their social specifics. To develop this approach, the authors relied upon 1) results of numerous studies proving correlations between student performance and contextual factors (both in Russia and abroad); 2) foreign colleagues’ experience of solving similar problems; and 3) the idea of providing minimum required information to enable such assessments in contemporary Russia. The fundamental idea lying behind the proposed assessment tool is that, having necessary data at hand, one can identify empirically stable correlations between student performance and contextual factors (e. g. different social composition of students). In research practice, these correlations were revealed through multiple regression analysis. Results of such analysis—established empirical correlations—may then be used to “discount” formal progress, i. e. to have justifiably higher expectations about institutions in more favorable contexts and lower expectations about those in less favorable situations. The authors think over two ways of using this information: based either on a formula or on a specific index (the  ndex of school social well-being) they have elaborated. They also draw attention towards possible constraints associated with using these tools and touch upon a more global problem of considering contextual factors in assessing the quality of education in Russia.