Using Cambridge CEM assessments to get insight into students’ minds

Understanding student potential

Nahar International School had a clear purpose in seeking externally validated assessments.

‘We already had a lot of assessment data in the school, for example from in-class observations, internal assessments, prior attainment and so on. But we felt that we didn’t know enough about the full range of students’ ability, or how we might help them reach their maximum potential.

‘We looked at many assessments until we found CEM. We liked the fact that CEM is part of Cambridge, so it fits well with all of our programmes, and that the assessments were research-based and used extensively in the UK and around the world.

‘We also liked CEM assessments because they aren’t knowledge-based, you don’t have to prepare the students for it, and when we examined the reports, we saw how they could help us understand our students’ true potential.

Insight for teachers and parents

CEM assessments have helped Nahar International School gain a deeper understanding of student needs, as well as identifying patterns and trends, Vandana explains.

‘CEM assessments give us externally validated, objective predictions and indications for the reasons behind students’ performance levels, which has really helped teachers validate their own opinions. It has also helped them to ask questions about how they can help the students reach where they should be and get parents involved in supporting the whole child.’

Whole school improvement

‘With this kind of data, we can see trends and patterns and start identifying where the gaps are, why the gaps are there, what are the barriers and constraints which are there and which areas do we need to improve, so it all feeds into the whole school improvement plan.

‘The CEM assessment data and reports have given us insight for both teachers and parents alike. CEM has given us authentic data which helped us understand more about each student and the factors that play a part in their achievement.’