Challenge

The Canadian International School of Thailand (CIST) is located in Bangkok, Thailand, and has been operating since 2015. The school founder, Dr. Nahathai Thewphaingarm, comes from a family of educators who have owned and operated educational institutions in Thailand for the last 50 years. After graduating in the United States, Dr. Thewphaingarm was inspired by her Canadian husband to bring Canadian educational standards to Thailand by opening CIST.

Students at CIST follow the Ontario curriculum within the IB framework. The school is International Baccalaureate or IB accreditated and is currently undergoing Western Association of Schools and Colleges or WASC accreditation which requires an external assessment, thus creating the need to incorporate an external assessment program into the school.

Assessment Lead Jess Edwards explained, “With most assessment providers that I explored, the data that you got back was a grade. Our assessment needs to be
differentiated, authentic, and very usable.”

Not only did CIST need a provider that incorporated the IB philosophies of engaging and motivating students, they also needed one that could provide robust and useful data. After much research and testing, CIST was able to begin a partnership with Edmentum that exceeded expectations and provided students with the tools they needed to succeed.

Solution

The Canadian International School of Thailand began with a one month trial of Exact Path in one class that then expanded over the school year. Because the school was still new to and learning the program, it was important that the staff received proper and timely training right from the start. As a matter of fact, the Edmentum team provided thorough and passionate training prior to the start of the trial, filling Jess and the team with confidence that they would be supported and encouraged each step of the way.

Ms. Jess commented, “I found the customer service so much more personable, so much more timely. They were interested in getting to know our school.”

Result

This trial process lasted eight weeks, beginning in grade one and moving quickly to the secondary students. The diagnostic assessments and individualized learning paths rolled out to students with ease. The students were excited to engage with the program and loved knowing their learning path was tailored to them and their current strengths and challenges. From the beginning of the trial period to the middle of the 2023-24 school year, students have mastered over 1,500 skills.

Many students noted how much they loved reading the stories and learning about the different characters. A few of the students even commented that Exact Path helps them to learn by making them think hard and learn from their mistakes.

“The students really love Exact Path; it isn’t a fad,” Ms. Jess added. “Canadian International School of Thailand has now been using Edmentum Exact Path for elementary and secondary students for a year; teachers, parents and students regularly sing its praises. As the Assessment Lead for an IB international school, it fills my heart with joy to see our learning community so excited about assessment!”