26 April 2019 – GL Education has signed a 10-year partnership agreement with the Shanghai-based General Plan Menco Education Group (GP Menco), which will see the Mandarin edition of GL Education’s Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT4) being used to fuel GP Menco’s teacher training and consultancy to Chinese state schools. The partnership will benefit teaching and learning in Chinese schools on a large scale.
GP Menco has a 20-year record of working at district and provincial levels across 23 provinces and municipalities, providing school consultancy, Principal guidance and teacher training. This year will see GP Menco open China’s largest teacher training centre in Shanghai, with CAT4 an integral component.
GL Education’s formative and diagnostic assessments are used by over half of UK state schools, and in over 100 countries worldwide. The company has overcome the barriers to working with state schools internationally, with localisations of its digital assessments not only for China, but also for the US, Canada, the Arab world, and Sweden. Its digital platform has been geared up for the large-scale provision required in China.
The partnership brings CAT4 to a market that is looking to innovate and improve its education provision, and enables GP Menco to use CAT4 data for evidence-based teacher training. CAT4 is used to provide an understanding of student potential by identifying their strengths and areas for development, providing accurate and reliable information for teaching and learning. Results also help schools to identify gifted and talented students and those who may be under-achieving, as well as those who may have unidentified special educational needs.
CAT4 first attracted the attention of the Chinese Ministry of Education in 2016. With the collaboration of the National Institute of Educational Sciences in Beijing, GL Education trialled its Mandarin version of CAT4 with 15,000 children across 19 provinces. CAT4 has since gained ministry-level endorsement for use in Chinese state schools.
GP Menco’s CEO, Yang Da Ping, said:
“I want to borrow a Chinese saying: ‘Do the right thing, in the right place, at the right time, with the right people’. In the context of the country’s rapid economic development, China is carrying out national curriculum reform. Driven by cultivating innovative talents for the 21st century, we are working with GL Education to introduce CAT4 to schools in China to help Chinese students understand themselves more, discover their potential, and forge a career that suits them. I would like to thank GL Education for choosing GP Menco as its strategic partner. I believe that we can work hand-in-hand and make our humble contribution to China’s education.”
Dean of School of Management at Fudan University, Professor Lu Xiongwen, said:
“Formative assessment has blossomed in Europe and North America, yet is still finding its roots in China. CAT4 is a great place to start. I believe that excellent assessments like CAT4 can drive the reform of primary and secondary education in China, opening a new chapter for education in the 21st century.”
GL Education’s Chief Executive, Greg Watson, said:
“The Chinese and British education systems are each admired around the world for their particular strengths, and we are delighted to be working with such a highly regarded partner as GP Menco to bring some of the best of both systems together. GL Education is respected for assessments which help to improve teaching and learning in the classroom, and with GP Menco’s expertise in school improvement and teacher training, we are looking forward to identifying the right uses for our assessments in a Chinese context. Over time, this combination can make a real difference to the lives of children, teachers and parents.”
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About GL Education
GL Education (known in the UK as GL Assessment) has a growing presence in schools in over 100 countries worldwide. The company is now leading the way for digital assessments adapted for local curriculum schools in the Middle East, China and Europe.
About GP Menco
Founded in Shanghai in 1998, General Plan Menco Education and Training Co., Ltd. is a leading professional training consulting institution in the field of K12 education in China. Since its establishment 20 years ago, GP Menco has been devoted to building systematic consulting, design, training and evaluation services with both international vision and local wisdom. By summing up advanced educational experience of first-tier cities headed by Shanghai, introducing high-quality educational resources, promoting international frontier concepts and innovative products, GP Menco has been able to provide comprehensive services for educational administrative departments, schools, principals, teachers and teaching/research departments throughout the country. Looking ahead, GP Menco will continue to uphold its professional knowledge and pragmatic spirit, integrate global resources, create unique services, open up new territory of assessment and evaluation, and provide more high-value solutions for basic education in China.
http://www.generalplan.com.cn/
For more information or photography, please contact:
Danielle Morgan, Head of Marketing and Communications, GL Education
Tel: +44 (0) 20 8996 3632 / +44 (0)7740 393448
Email: danielle.morgan@gl-education.com
or
Jacky Zhou Jia, Marketing Manager, GP Menco
Tel: +86 (0) 21 50802999-298
Email: zhou_jia@generalplan.com.cn
