Oxford University Press (OUP) on May 3 announced the launch of Oxford STAR – an assessment solution designed to help students, teachers, parents and the school administration profile student personality, scholastic ability and 21st century competencies and skills. The solution empowers teachers and school administration to evolve and enhance the teaching-learning processes.
Oxford STAR was launched at an event in Chennai in the presence of several distinguished guests and dignitaries, and representatives from nearly 50 schools from Chennai and adjoining areas. Key attendees included T. Udhayachandran, Secretary School Education Department, Tamil Naidu; Nigel Portwood, Chief Executive, Oxford University Press; Adrian Mellor, Managing Director – Asia Education; and Sivaramakrishnan V, Managing Director, Oxford University Press India.
Speaking on the ocassion, Nigel Portwood said: “ Oxford STAR will provide educators with a better understanding of each student’s progress, so they can adapt and enhance their teaching methods, and improve learning outcomes.”
Oxford STAR was piloted in 12 schools across the country and received encouraging feedback. Sapna Sankhla, Senior Principal, Narayana E-Techno School, Poonamalee Branch, Chennai, who was involved in a content validation exercise for Oxford STAR, says: “The assessment is multifaceted in such a way that it provides a complete insight into a child’s strengths and improvement areas. The reports are comprehensive and exhaustive and provide a forward-looking approach towards a child’s academic progress.”
Oxford STAR is based on a holistic competency framework, mapped to key skills and behavioral competencies that are vital in the 21st century. Unlike routine classroom assessments that are dominated by content and mainly evaluate knowledge and recall, Oxford STAR assesses learning competencies. It then provides rich analytical information on the students’ performance to educators, to help to monitor students’ progress each year, and identify any learning gaps.
Oxford STAR’s reporting structure has been rigorously benchmarked and the tests are designed by industry experts with decades of experience in teaching and mentoring students. The solution can be delivered both online and offline, and will be available for classes 5, 6, 7, 8 for subjects – English, Mathematics, Science and Personal and Social Competence.
