Rankings or ratings of schools in Thailand

[hyperdimension]

Is there any ranking or rating system of schools in Thailand, quantitatively determined based on a wide variety of factors?

I've found some lists of "top schools" on sataban.com but at the bottom it says they are based on popularity, which is not very scientific and therefore not reputable.

There are plenty of university rankings around such as the The Times Higher Education World University Rankings or QS University Rankings: Asia, and others listed on the College and university rankings Wikipedia page. So it would be good to see something similar for schools.

[Beachdude]

Are you referring to private- international schools, wat schools, government schools, all schools, etc, etc? 

[MikeyIdea]

There are rankings, both the scientific type based on the standard ONET nation wide tests and popularity - ONET apply for all schools that use the Thai curriculum = Thai and bilingual schools and the test scores are consolidated nation wide. Ministry of Education MoE should have ONET ranking per khet/amphur

 

Both rankings are unfortunately mis-leading because the whole Thai educational system is "knowledge centered". One may think "of course, the nation wide tests are the same in the west" but it's more than that. The Thai tests benefit those who remember the words the MoE book used, not those who understand what the book meant. Some things are confusing if you bother to bring in understanding

 

University sample: I tutored my ex wife for some of her exams. She got zero for some things that I really know she understood and asked why: Probably because the person grading the exams didn't even bother to check the meaning, a quick glance and it was different from the book

 

Primary school sample: My daughter came home confused sometimes and asked me why the teacher said she was wrong and passed on the question to others and explained. It was clear that she had answered correctly, she really said the same thing in a different way and the teacher didn't even bother to think if the meaning was the same, she didn't say what the book said so automatically Next

 

Popularity is the same. Thai parents think knowledge and the more knowledge the school push, the more popular it is. I wanted a bilingual school with less home work but that's difficult, it's opposite to what Thai parents are looking for. A school with only 30 home work assignments per month in Bangkok isn't popular. The school my daughter goes to gives 40 or so homework assignments per month. I asked the principal if she thought that really benefited the children and she didn't answer my question. She answered: The Thai parents request more home work

 

I don't value neither the scientific ranking nor the popularity contest, both come with negative side effects. Decently close to home because of the traffic is important in Bangkok and most of all:

 

I do firmly believe that an active western parent really can help to bridge the gap and the child will thereby benefit from both worlds. This: Cannot send my kids to a Thai school because then she would not be good enough to perform in Europe and America is total rubbish. It's a lot of effort but also very rewarding

 

Edited December 30, 2016 by MikeyIdea

[Rhys]

Paid and bought...influencers of money makers, accreditation, and ranking...buyers beware...

[hyperdimension]

Are you referring to private- international schools, wat schools, government schools, all schools, etc, etc?

Any information that you could provide.

[hyperdimension]

Ministry of Education MoE should have ONET ranking per khet/amphur

That would be interesting to see. Would you have an internet link?

I don't value neither the scientific ranking nor the popularity contest, both come with negative side effects. Decently close to home because of the traffic is important in Bangkok

I know what you mean. But I would use a ranking or rating (that has been determined from many relevant factors related to teaching quality, student results and satisfaction by students and parents) as just one of many other factors (including distance from home) in deciding on a school for a child.

On a related note, is there anything like a Thai school review web site where students (and parents) can rate the school that had been (or is being) attended and write feedback?

There must be some other ways to differentiate between different schools apart from reading through a few instances of anecdotal feedback on a discussion forum.

[IntEdSource]

There are certain factors that can be used to loosely classify schools according to quality, but even collectively these will still be largely subjective, just as the university ranking systems differ based on the factors included and weighting taken into consideration. I do not have very much experience with government schools, but in respect to international schools, the following could play a part into a rating of some sort:

 

• Financial status (for-profit or not-for-profit)
• Accreditation status (solely through ONESQA, ONESQA and at least one international body, or ONESQA and multiple international bodies)
• Affiliates (membership in ISAT and EARCOS for professional networking; SEASAC, BISAC, TISAC and/or ISAA for sports - loosely in order of prestige)
• Diversity (overall composition of student body, and specifically the percentages of Thais, Asian expatriates and Western expatriates)
• Tuition fees (higher fees generally indicate greater investment in school resources, though this must be contextualized by the financial status, particularly for schools owned by families or a small number of individual investors)
• Standardized test scores (ISA, SAT, ACT, AP, IB exams, etc.)
• University acceptances (not only the universities that have accepted students, but also those that they attend, scholarships offered, the nature and quality of the counseling program, etc.)
• Teacher diversity and qualifications (composition of faculty, average experience, prior employment and qualifications - including both degrees and licensure)
• Professional development (strong PD program in place for faculty, participation in PD events in Thailand and abroad, contributions to the field of education)
• Community engagement (connections with other notable organizations, service, philanthropy, etc.)
• Transparency (willingness to publish and/or share accreditation reports, key school information, etc.)

 

Gathering all of this information for each school is obviously a challenge, and publishing it would be even more difficult. Most international schools do seek out membership in ISAT, which is highly resistant to ranking schools, as their interest lies in advancing international education as a whole (with good reason).

 

However, taking these factors into account, I would argue that very few schools in Thailand would achieve near-perfect ratings, at least 10 to 15 would be above average, and a very large number would be average or subpar.

[ozmeldo]

As someone who has taught in one of top five, one of top twenty and one of top twenty five - no idea what the criteria was used:

 

https://www.sataban.com/top-100-best-private-public-thai-schools-thailand-2014-2015/

 

Old list allegedly from MOE

http://www.thai-blogs.com/2013/06/26/thailands-top-50-high-schools/

 

Only lists...

 

 

[Rhys]

Wherever the new construction the higher the ranking link?

[Big Guns]

An independent UK body called CFBT inspects the British international schools and gives them a rating.

https://www.educationdevelopmenttrust.com/

 

[DavisH]

Be aware that the top Thai schools are good because they set a very high standard and only admit the best into grade 10 to 12. TRIAM Udom Suksa being an example. So it's hard to judge the quality of such schools because they have already recruited the best students country wide. There must be plenty of good schools here to allow students to get to that qualifying level..