Gr ay Matter s C ap it al FO UND AT ION
School Ratings System For all of its potential, there is a dearth of information about the Affordable Private School (APS) sector. Due to the highly competitive environment, schools operate in silos and it is difficult for stakeholders to assess their offering. As a result, the market has no industry standards, comparison is difficult and aggregate industry information is scarce. GMC is working with Micro‐Credit Ratings International Limited (M‐Cril) to develop a broadly applicable, cost effective, sustainable rating system to help stakeholders better assess schools and the quality of education they are providing. The rating system is simple enough to be applied to any school, but effective in terms of accurately representing the school’s offering.
Rating Process Schools participating in a rating are expected to share details regarding the board, management, and operational strategy. Meetings with parents and teachers are also organized to get qualitative feedback on the school’s performance. Students are issued a variety of approved testing tools to access their learning level. Additionally, a random sample of teachers are observed during their regular classes. The average duration of the rating visit is 1‐2 days. Some of the information collected from schools includes: •
A brief note on history, background, vision, mission and objectives of the school
•
List of Board members of the Trust/Society including brief profile and period of association with the school
•
List of Principal and teachers with their qualification, years of experience (with and outside the school), subjects and classes in which they teach and their present salary
•
Number of staff for the last three academic years
Rating Output The rating report provides a detailed analysis, justification of grades assigned and comments on strengths and weaknesses. The preliminary report is shared with the school operator for clarifications and comments. The final draft is then presented to an external rating committee comprising of specialists in finance, education and development.
© 2009 Gray Matters Capital Foundation. All Rights Reserved
Gr ay Matter s C ap it al FO UND AT ION
Ratings Framework M‐CRIL uses a comprehensive rating tool consisting of six categories of indicators: 1. Governance & strategy: focuses on the experience, involvement and overall performance of the board and management in terms of strategic decision making, growth and development. 2. Learning environment: deals with the teaching skills and experience avail‐ able in the school, infrastructure and facilities provided for curricular and extra‐curricular activities, and other amenities essential for overall devel‐ opment of the children. 3. Student academic achievement: assesses student results across classes and the Class 10 board exams. Testing tools are administered by the rating team to assess whether a basic level of learning in English and Maths has been achieved. 4. Parent engagement: measures the level of engagement with the school through formal interaction and includes the parents’ feedback. 5. Financial systems: analyzes the record keeping, accounting and tracking of fee collection, and determines whether these systems are robust for the size and nature of the institution. 6. Financial performance: analyzes the school’s viability and represents its financial performance in ratios.
Long Term Goals We envision the rating system becoming an industry standard so all APSs will seek a rating, continually strive to earn a top rating score, and freely share their data for benchmarking purposes. Under a new accreditation system such as this, stakeholders, including parents, regulators, school managers and investors, will have a better understanding of each school and the services they provide to drive student
School Rating Benefits 1. Gives a completely objective perspective on the functioning of the school, its achievement and areas for improvement 2. Involves basic conceptual testing of a sample of students 3. Incorporates feedback from all the stakeholders in the school, including management, parents and teachers 4. Assesses the school in a ho‐ listic manner, from the point of view of academic achievements and the overall environment, infrastructure, management systems and financial viability 5. Helps the school to bench‐ mark its performance against its previous level and its com‐ petitors 6. Enables the school to show‐ case its achievements to the community, potential funders and even the government.
achievement. The six‐month pilot is taking place in Hyderabad, India. After pilot results have been assessed by the Ratings Steering Committee and their Rating Advisors, a business model will be developed to rollout the rating to 1000 schools in India by 2011 and then look to expand globally.
WWW.GRAYMATTERSCAP.COM
Fax: 678.365.4752
© 2009 Gray Matters Capital Foundation. All Rights Reserved
Please address all inquiries about the School Ratings Project to Molly McMahon at mmcmahon@graymatterscap.com
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR PROGRAMS PLEASE VISIT
Phone: 678.365.4700 |