Poland

Strategic Means for Achieving Reform Targets (SMART)

SMART is the acronym for a EU-funded project for assisting the Polish Ministry of National Education (MONE) in the implementation of its education reform programme by initiating a national assessment and education system, linked to the development of curriculum standards and focused on the demands of the labour market. Parallel development within teacher education based on quality assurance, including accreditation, and curriculum development, was designed to support this initiative.

The SMART programme linked up with a longer existing Polish initiative, called the Nowa Matura, which aimed at innovation of the upper secondary school leaving exams.

Within the framework of SMART, Cito, together with the AEB, a UK examining board, undertook to support the development of a Polish national assessment system, providing technical assistance to the Nowa Matura executive, training and support for regional examination committees and administrative bodies.

Cito's staff trained subject officers from eight regional examination bodies to write syllabi and produce examination papers for eight subjects (mother tongue, maths, history, geography, biology, chemistry, physics and modern foreign languages). Part of the training was the development of pilot exams for all subjects, to be administered in a sample of schools in each region. Cito's staff assisted in capturing and cleaning student, using dedicated software, analysing them and in interpreting the results.

Consultancy for the executive resulted, among others, in the production of six position papers, covering all policy aspects of establishing a decentralised system for examinations and certification in upper secondary education.

After completion of the project, a Polish National Examination Agency was established, along with eight regional boards, which are now active in producing syllabuses and examination papers.

Project facts

	Name of Client:	Ministry of Education of Poland
	Funding:	EU/PHARE
	Type of activities:	Training Consultancy Introduction new exams
	Project time:	October 1996 - March 1999
	Project scope:	23 staff months