How is this school improving its teachers using assessments?

This is the case study of one of the best CBSE schools in India: Lakshmipat Singhania Academy, Kolkata.

If you have only 2 minutes, you can watch this video:

If you like to read a detailed Case Study, then read on:

Lakshmipat Singhania Academy is constantly ranked among the top schools. Education World ranked it as the #3 Co-ed school in Kolkata in 2020-21. Elets Digital Learning ranked it #5 in best schools ranking in Kolkata in 2018.

However, this is a school that does not rest on its laurels. The school believes in innovation and led by Mrs. Meena Kak, this school is constantly thinking of improving itself.

Before choosing Open Door's Thinking Assessments, the school met a lot of vendors but nothing seemed very innovative. But, when the school evaluated Open Door's questions, it was amazed that someone is using questions.

The school loved the questions and thought it was a perfect vehicle to drive innovation in the school. The school started implementing Open Door in grades 6 to 9 in the first year of partnership. Slowly, the school kept adding grades and now uses the assessments from grade 3-10.

The school has been using Open Door’s assessments since 4 years now. Open Door’s questions have had many benefits. They have:

- raised teaching levels,

- improved parent perception

- made children appreciate Science and Math concepts more

What makes Lakshmipat Singhania Academy a unique school?

The culture of innovation at the school is to constantly implement innovative practices. The school believes in having teachers speak less and making students think on their own. Most of the lesson plans begin with an activity. Only after the students are done thinking, do teachers teach a topic. This aligns perfectly with Open Door's philosophy and makes Lakshmipat Singhania Academy an ideal partner school.

Challenge: The struggle of online learning

At the beginning of the pandemic in 2019, shifting to technology was difficult. It took 3 months to make the shift properly. The teachers made a lot of teaching videos and adapted themselves to the new normal.

How did the school implement Open Door's Thinking Assessments program along with their curriculum?

It took teachers some time to be fully convinced about the usefulness of Open Door. At first, some of them said, ‘We have to do another Open Door assessment!’. But the school director insisted that ‘Open Door must be a part of your system!’. Teachers have adapted themselves and the change is for everyone to see.

‍How did Open Door help in the following?

There have been three key benefits of implementing Open Door in the school:

a.         Student improvement. Open Door's Mastery Assessments comprise two assessments: Learning and Re-learning assessment. While we have observed improved improvement happening across subjects and grades, we observed an interesting insight: We noticed a huge improvement in Physics in Grade 8 and 9. This is encouraging because it also means that children are becoming a better thinker.

b.            Teacher improvement: The success of Open Door's assessments is largely due to the drivers of the program: the teachers. In the process of using Open Door's assessments in the class and driving a change, the teachers have also used the feedback to improve their lesson plans. Teachers have used the questions to reflect and improve their teaching.

c.             Parent perception: When we spoke to the parents, they mentioned that they were very happy that the school chose to implement Open Door in the school. One instance was when Khushi’s mom mentioned that she is happy to know that her child is eager to learn and answer questions from chapters she isn't thorough with. Some parents mentioned that they sit with their students and solvethe questions. It also makes them think!
 

d.    Students have started to think differently: While most textbooks contain question that require limited thinking, Open Door's questions put children into spot. This has forced many children to think very differently about Science and Math.

Final summary

Open Door's Mastery Assessments is designed to improve thinking in classrooms. Our team is glad that the school has benefited from the use of these assessments.

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