Who monitors the quality of international schools?

[fantasyvn]

I suppose the so-called international schools are the best choice, if you can afford it, for those living in Bangkok.

However, how good these international schools are compared to state schools in the UK? Is there any strong, objective evidence to back up the claims that these schools in Thailand are excellent? For example, test result or an equivalent to Ofsted's report?

Thanks,

[LucidLucifer]

Looking at their exam pass rates compared to other international schools and schools in the home country of the curriculum they use is one obvious, albeit limited, measure.

If a school has membership of CIS (Council of International Schools), then it will give you some idea whether it is a 'real' International School, or one just with 'International' in its name, and there are plenty of those about in Thailand.

However, the greatest measure that a school doing well is if your child is happy and making progress IMHO.

*A note on Ofsted and league tables; they have done plenty to damage the UK system. Schools are under immense pressure for results which often means they teach to the test. This comes at the expense of narrowing the curriculum, and stifling teachers' and pupils' creativity.

Edited January 6, 2014 by LucidLucifer

[samran]

Any international school worth their salt will also be crowingn from the roofs how many of their kids got into international universities. Again, a slightly limiting measure but still useful.

The easiest way is simply to ask for a visit and a chance to speak to the teachers. A good school will always welcome, indeed, encourage it.

In our case, our daughter had an excellent state school in Australia, but her school here, NIST, beats that hands down.

Edited January 23, 2014 by samran

[Ruin]

The Min of Ed monitors and certifies them and most have an outside body such as a WASC accreditation.

[paulfr]

It is hard to know IMO.

Percent of graduates accepted to top schools is one measure.

But talking to students, and if possible teachers is another.

Some highly rated schools are actually quite poor.

I taught for 7 years and the negatives are rarely shared with others.

Even parents often do not know if the school is only interested in money

or actually cares about academic excellence.

Keep asking questions and getting recommendations.

Good luck

[saroq]

I wouldn't go banging on about the quality of state schools in the UK. You would have to pick very carefully to get a good quality state school in the UK just as you should do your own diligent investigation into International Schools. What would you look for as indicators of a quality school in the UK? Apply similar criteria to International Schools.

[MarkGM1957]

Take care.....We had our kids in a British International School in Germany. We realised all too late that the quality of tuition was bad and the exam results poor benchmarked even against state schools in the UK. Rather than being a centre of excellence the school ended up as being a dumping ground for local underachievers or kids with psychological issues. Just take care and look at the exam results. Schools with a high proportion of local students with rich parents may fall into this category.

Edited January 27, 2014 by MarkGM1957

[Nobbie49]

It's quite simple actually. Discard all the "international" schools that advertise: Harrow, Shrewsbury, St Andrews et al. Why do they need to advertise? Because they can't compete with schools like Bangkok Patana and NIST. Their Thai/non-Thai quotas are so skewed towards the Thais that your son/daughter may end up speaking perfect Thai but pidgin English.

[PPEist]

I went to NIST. It's a great school. Every school, every grade and every class has its fair share of underperforming students but on the whole, we did well as a grade and many of us went to the best universities in the world after we graduated; a few went to Ivy Leagues in America or other top ones like Chicago and USC, a few went to the UK and got into LSE and later on Imperial and UCL, and those who went to Australia also got into the best universities there.

If you want more information, send me a PM.

[PPEist]

I would classify the top tier schools as ISB, Patana and NIST. The second tiers are Harrow, Ruamrudee and a few others.

[PPEist]

Ask the school for their average results. NIST offers IB, BPS likewise and ISB also offers it but they also offer another curriculum. If you see a general progression of higher scores then it says good things about the development of the school.

[Naroge]

You need to visit the school administration and counselor to get a feeling for how they handle things. The "good" schools know that responsible parents need a visit to the school before deciding, and are pleased to accommodate this.

Then I would talk to parents of kids in the school you are interested in. They should be in position to give the best balanced view.

From what I know there are many very good International schools here, and in the end it might just be a question of personal preference which one you chose.

Good luck.

[tingtongteesood]

The best way is to find friends who have kids who go there and meet the kids, see for yourself how they have turned out. I have a Thai friend whose 7 year old almost made me drop my drink the first time I met her, she spoke perfect English. She came over to me and said 'Would you like some more water' - I was dumbfounded for a moment. She is totally awesome ! Mind you I know some people who go to public schools who are also awesome. A lot of it is down to the parents being good parents and the kid having motivation to read and do homework and actually study properly and down to the teachers and other kids at the school.

[Chao Lao Beach]

Which ones allow the teachers to teach critical thinking ????

That's the 6,000,000 Dollar question.

[mmushr00m]

I know for the ecoles, the French embassy in Bangkok has someone who is responsible for checking the curriculum and standards are up to par.

[focus27]

I went to NIST. It's a great school. Every school, every grade and every class has its fair share of underperforming students but on the whole, we did well as a grade and many of us went to the best universities in the world after we graduated; a few went to Ivy Leagues in America or other top ones like Chicago and USC, a few went to the UK and got into LSE and later on Imperial and UCL, and those who went to Australia also got into the best universities there.

If you want more information, send me a PM.

And where did you read PPE?

re OP, every school website will have somewhere on their page, often in the homepage footer, the accreditation body. For British schools, this is CfBT. The exam boards are different to the accreditation agencies, and ignore the various international school clubs. However, note that accreditation is as much about paperwork and management as it is education, so it really is necessary to go and see the school. If approaching parents and students cold seems a bit off-putting then find the school's parents association and they should be happy to speak with you.

[Styxing]

Still a great question. Are there standards? Based in/upon what? Are they adhered to or loosened for the sake of being "sensitive" or "progressive" and making certain people feel good? Is money involved that pushes education standards into a secondary position? Being able to teach critical thinking, creative thinking, politics, philosophy, economics, language, communication, math/geometry & above pushes mental development far beyond the mundane. I'm interested.

Edited April 15, 2014 by Styxing

[healthbkkbkk]

I sent my children to a total of 10 different international schools in Bangkok and every one of them was substandard and nothing more than a business.

They have been over-run by interest groups with religious or political ideologies who send their members here as teachers in these schools in order to gain access to children from wealthy families.

I, and many other parents, found that home schooling is the best solution.

We found a good home school who sent us the books and lessons and we hired teachers to administer the lessons in our home.