Moscow teacher certification system will be taken into consideration in the new Education Act in Bulgaria

On September 25, a delegation of Bulgarian teachers visited the Moscow Center for Quality of Education. The specialists of the Center told their foreign colleagues about the Moscow certification system, which is annually held by about 25 thousand teachers to assess the results of their professional activities.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to visit the Moscow Center for Quality of Education and discuss the topic of teacher certification. In Bulgaria, two years ago a new education act was adopted. According to this document, the certification of Bulgarian teachers is to have been introduced by 2021. It is important for us to learn how the certification process is carried out in Moscow. One of the components of your model is an electronic procedure, so it can be called all-encompassing. Thanks to the system, you can see teachers’ qualification, the quality of the educational process and the ways to increase teachers’ motivation", said Yanka Takeeva, the Chairman of the Bulgarian Teachers’ Union.

According to the head of the Department of support of certification of teachers Juliana Tarasova, the Moscow model of certification works as a tool that objectively measures the dynamics of each particular teacher’s students’ progress in an automated mode: "To go through the electronic certification, the teacher just presses two buttons: “select the category” and “apply”. The application form and the results of teachers’ work are assessed by the City certification board without their participation. This system has been operating in the capital for more than 4 years."

Colleagues specifically noted the fact that the result of a teacher’s work is the dynamics of his or her students’ progress. The data on the dynamics of students’ learning achievements are extracted from information systems, without distracting the teacher from actual teaching.

The Moscow certification model can provide a simplified mode without extracting the complete data set on a teacher.

Several groups of educators have a right to a simplified certification mode. These are the teachers of schools, included in the TOP ranking for the contribution to the high-quality education for Moscow students; State Examination experts without reprimand; winners and awardees of professional competitions; teachers holding the title of "Honored teacher of the city of Moscow" in the inter-certification period; teachers whose students demonstrate consistently high academic achievements", said Juliana Tarasova.

The representatives of the delegation also visited the pre-professional laboratory of the Moscow Center for the Quality of Education. They were introduced to modern facilities of the educational infrastructure and knowledge assessment of Moscow students. Foreign colleagues were given an opportunity to take an interactive test in astronomy, using 3D eyewear.

"Now Moscow holds one of the leading positions in terms of the quality of education, which is proved by the results of international studies. Naturally, it arouses a lot of interest in the world, so foreign colleagues often request visits and information on various Moscow mega-projects such as MES and pre-professional education. We are happy to organize such events. We are in a position to show a lot and our experts are always ready to tell the guests about anything they are interested in”, said Evgeny Noskov, the head of the Department of the Center for coordination of international educational projects.

Source: Mayor and Government of Moscow Official website

September 27, 2018