Boosting quality education for all in Georgia through improved assessments
The government of Georgia is ambitious about the future. They want a curriculum and teachers that can compete globally. Their policies call for Georgia’s students to have equal access to quality education and lifelong learning.
But they started with a challenge: the country scores highly for educational attainment, but only for some students. The Ministry of Education, Science and Youth has made changes to boost equity and quality for students and asked us to support their progress.
In 2022, we began working in a consortium with IBF International Consulting SA, on a project funded by the World Bank. Together, we are supporting the government to develop new national assessments for Grade 10 across all subject groups. Cambridge's role is to support with maths, social sciences (history, civic education and geography) and aesthetics (arts and music).
Georgia has high educational attainment – but only for some students
Georgia has high mountains, coastal areas, and a central corridor where most people live. There are a high number of students with special educational needs. Many students do not have Georgian as their first language. Teaching needs to be accessible to all those communities, which can mean resources are spread thinly.
While more students are going to school across the country, that’s not yet translating into better results. In PISA 2022, fifteen-year-olds in Georgia scored lower for reading, maths and science than Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) country averages.
The government is taking a clear course of action
They have introduced a curriculum known as the New School Model, as well as new textbooks and resources. They have also cancelled the school leaving exam. They are focusing more on teacher development as well as putting learners, and their lived experiences, at the heart of the classroom.
Now, they want to make sure these changes are fully supported by assessment. The Ministry of Education, Science and Youth asked our consortium to provide an independent perspective. Together, we are working to review progress and plan practical next steps for schools, including piloting changes.
We have spoken with teachers, regulators and NGOs to build a clear picture of the education system.
What we have seen, heard and achieved together
We heard that quality is critical and depends on consistency. To create an assessment system that supports quality and consistency, we have:
Designed an international system for exams, which has already been agreed with NAEC (the National Assessment and Examination Centre).
Written a best practice guide for new schools, so that they’re set up for success.
Tested continuous formative assessments (CFA) in 10 schools, building on Georgia’s New School Model.
Teachers will have consistent and quality support to develop further:
We are making sure they have the right resources, wherever they’re teaching. So far, we’ve looked at which textbooks and e-resources are used and available in 200 pilot schools and spoken to over 300 teachers.
We are building a network of teachers in 15 schools, who will share their knowledge and experience with 35 more schools. This helps high-quality learning reach every corner of Georgia.
We are developing school leaders and their careers, as they are role models for others. To begin, we’ve delivered a study on principal recruitment.
Finally, we are helping to expand early childhood education and STEAM opportunities. This helps more students share the benefits of Georgia’s education system, more fairly and from an early age. We’re piloting extracurricular clubs for science, technology, engineering, art and maths in 200 schools.
What we will do next
Together with IBF, we are reviewing all pilot outcomes. Once we have fine-tuned the approach, we will work closely with the government to plan how to implement the changes across all schools in Georgia.
The timings
Stage 1: Inception – from September to October 2022
Stage 2: Pre-pilot – from November 2022 to June 2023
Stage 3: Pilot – from July 2023 to September 2024
Stage 4: Scaling up learning – from October 2024 to November 2025
Stage 5: Finalising our work together – from December 2025 to January 2026
The team
Ministry of Education, Science and Youth of Georgia
National Centre for Education Quality Enhancement (NCEQE)
National Assessment and Examination Centre (NAEC)
IBF International Consulting SA
Funded by the World Bank
