OIS ACADEMIC REPORT 2016

Janecke Aarnæs

Head of School September 2016

By

OIS ACADEMIC REPORT 2016

Dear members of the OIS Community,

The academic year 2015-2016, which was our 53rd year of providing a

rigorous international education proved to be another successful academic

year for OIS students. You can read about the results in this report. As we

said goodbye to 603 students going on holiday or moving on to new and

exciting educational opportunities around the globe we started the

preparations for the next academic year. When opening the doors in

August our cohort has grown to 653 students of which 163 are completely

new to OIS. We are proud to acknowledge that our school is highly sought

after both by international and local residents.

Throughout the academic year 2016-2017 we shall continue to support the

individual student in becoming an engaged global citizen and a lifelong

learner. Independent students are more questioning and the more a

student inquires the more he/she learns, understands and retains.

Teaching mastery in certain skills will lead students to apply their skills into

more exciting and critical inquiry. We believe that encouraging each

student to discover the intrinsic joy of learning and purposeful effort will

help each one to set and achieve high academic standards.

This report gives our stakeholders a brief insight into some of the achievements

of our diverse and inspired student population.

I hope that you will find this information interesting as your relationship with OIS

continues to grow.

Sincerely,

Janecke Aarnæs

Head of School

OIS MISSION & VISION STATEMENTS

Our Mission Oslo International School offers a challenging international education, in English, to children of all nationalities who are in the Oslo area for a specific period, or who are interested in an international education.

Our Vision & Core Values

Through our core values of respect, cooperation, caring and

challenge we will develop the unique potential of every student.

THE 2016 IB DIPLOMA RESULTS

A key indicator of the success of the school and its students are the results of the

IB Diploma graduates. The final examinations take place every May and are the

culmination of their academic progress as the students sit challenging exams in

all their subject areas. The Class of 2016 exceeded our expectations as their

final results were higher than the predicted grades they had been forecasted.

2016 IB DIPLOMA RESULTS

OIS WORLD

Average points obtained by candidates passing the Diploma

36 30.07

Percentage of candidates passing the Diploma 97% TBA

Average grade obtained at OIS by candidates passing the Diploma (max = 7)

5.75 TBA

Highest Diploma points awarded to a candidate (max = 45)

44 45

2016 INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS’ ASSESSMENT (ISA)

Since 2005, OIS has participated in the International Schools Assessment (ISA)

programme created by the Australian Council for Education Research (ACER).

Each year, our students in years 4, 6, 8 and 10 are tested in four disciplines:

mathematical literacy, reading comprehension, narrative writing and written

exposition. In February 2016, over 40.000 students from 199 international

schools in 55 countries and economies participated in the ISA. This standardised

test affords us the opportunity to compare ourselves to international schools

around the globe and ensure our academic programmes both in Primary and in

Secondary are providing students with excellent opportunities to learn.

OIS

Average Score ISA tested schools’

Average Score

Year 4

Mathematics 413 327

Reading

351 257

Narrative Writing

414 363

Written Exposition

429 391

Year 6

Mathematics 500 427

Reading

476 361

Narrative Writing

484 455

Written Exposition

491 467

Year 8

Mathematics 544 507

Reading

520 457

Narrative Writing

548 517

Written Exposition

547 525

Year 10

Mathematics 628 555

Reading

539 524

Narrative Writing

590 565

Written Exposition

602 576

In most categories, OIS student performance has maintained a healthy distance

ahead of the mean standardised scores of all other schools. However, in a few

categories, the trend between OIS mean standardised scores and that of all

other schools is towards a rapid convergence in attainment. The following

categories show this pattern:

year 8, mathematical literacy

year 6, reading comprehension

year 10, exposition writing

While this is not a cause for panic – the performance of our year 10 students

remains excellent when compared with 15 year-olds as measured using PISA

data – it may be wise to ask what is happening internationally in the teaching of

maths or reading or writing that we could apply at OIS. We address this in our

first strategic objective.

ATTAINMENT IN 15-YEAR-OLDS AT OIS COMPARED WITH 2012 PISA NORMS

The OECD PISA project assesses the extent to which 15-year olds are acquiring

the skills required for participation in modern societies. The results for the best-

performing individual countries and territories in mathematical literacy and

reading are shown on the following graphs alongside the performance of the year

10 students at OIS who are of comparable age.

The performance of OIS students in maths is world beating. The document ‘PISA

2012 Results in Focus: What 15-year-olds know and what they can do with what

they know’ (OECD, 2014) states ‘Shanghai-China has the highest scores in

mathematics, with a mean score of 613 points – 119 points, or the equivalent of

nearly three years of schooling, above the OECD average.’ OIS’s mean score

was 633 points.

In reading, OIS’ 15-year olds scored 539 points, just ahead of Japan (538 points)

but behind, Shanghai-China, Hong-Kong China and Singapore. This reflects the

decline in reading comprehension score since 2013. However, 539 points is well

above the OECD average of 500.

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Mathematical Literacy: Mean Standardised Scores of 15-year-olds

ATTAINMENT IN THE NOWEGIAN NATIONAL TESTS

Each fall our Norwegian A student participate in the Norwegian National Tests in

the three disciplines; reading, writing and mathematics. The overall OIS scores

are considerably higher than the national average and both our Year 5 and our

Year 8 students were once again ranked first in the country (November 2015).

Norwegian National Tests Y8 (2015) (Source: Nettavisen Nov. 2015)

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Reading Comprehension: Mean Standardised Scores of 15-year-olds

Norwegian National Tests Y5 (2015) (Source: Nettavisen November 2015)

Our Primary students scored comparatively higher in English than in Norwegian

reading and Mathematics. To further improve our level of Norwegian instruction

throughout Primary the school has worked on re-writing the entire Norwegian

curriculum, the implementation of which has started this year. A similar

Norwegian curriculum review was completed for Lower Secondary in 2015. While

quality enhancement is important across the board, OIS stands to gain most from

an even greater focus in its programmes in the areas of mathematics and

science and technology. As can be seen in our strategic initiative 1.2, this will

involve the review and development of curriculum, materials and delivery models

particularly for mathematics in the Primary Division. This initiative will be targeted

in the academic year 2016-2017.

UNIVERSITY OFFERS FOR OIS GRADUATES (2015 AND 2016)

Approximately 98% of our students go to University, with some taking a gap year

first. Our University and Careers Advisor provides our students with invaluable

support in the challenging admissions processes. In 2016 out of 33 Diploma

Candidates, 32 received the Diploma, including 25% with results over 40 points.

The average score was 36 points (world average 29.88 points) and the average

subject grade was 5.75. In 2015, 26 out of 27 candidates received the IB

Diploma with an average score of 32 points, with one candidate receiving 45

points and two candidates over 40 points.

CANADA University of Calgary

McGill University

Alberta University

DENMARK Copenhagen Business School

ITALY

Bocconi University

Politecnico Milan (Technical University)

NORWAY NTNU (Norwegian Technical and

Engineering University)

University of Oslo (Medicine)

University of Stavanger

BI Norwegian Business School

SCOTLAND

University of Aberdeen

University Edinburgh

University of Dundee

Heriot-Watt University

Edinburgh Napier University

St Andrews University

SWEDEN Lund University

Stockholm School of Economics

SWITZERLAND

EHL, Switzerland

THE NETHERLANDS

University of Leiden

University of Rotterdam, Erasmus Program

TU Delft

POLAND Poznan University (Medicine)

UNITED KINGDOM

University of Bath

University of Birmingham

University of Brighton

University of Bristol

Brunel University

Cambridge University (Churchill College)

Durham University

University of East Anglia

University of Exeter

Goldsmiths University London

University of Kent

Kingston University

Kings College London

Lancaster University

Manchester University

Newcastle University

University of Nottingham

Queen Mary University

Oxford Brookes University

Regents University London

Royal Holloway University

University of Warwick

University of Westminster

University of York

USA

Arizona StateUniversity

Babson University

Boston College

Boston University

University of California Davis

University of California Irvine

University of California Dan Diego

Clark University

University of Colorado at Boulder

Duke University

Embry Riddle University

Florida Tech University

Gustavos Adolphus College

Harvard College

University of Illinois, Urbana Champagne

Macalester College

Manhattanville College

University of Michigan

Middlebury College

Ohio Wesleyan University

Purdue University

Rochester Institute of Technology

University of San Diego

University of San Francisco

Stanford University

Tufts University

University of Vermont

Virginia Tech University

Virginia Commonwealth University

University of Washington

College of William and Mary

Williams College

OIS provides students with the knowledge, skills and attributes, which will

prepare them for the challenges of a rapidly changing international society.

OIS has no intention of standing still. We have a passion for learning and are

constantly looking for ways to improve the quality of the programmes and

services we offer our students.

THE OIS COMMUNITY – WHERE OUR STUDENTS COME FROM

OIS caters to a great student and staff diversity, with 654 students from 45

countries and 131 staff members representing 21 nationalities in the 2016-2017

academic year.

AFRICA & THE MIDDLE EAST

Angola 2

Iran 1

Nigeria 2

South Africa 7

Sudan 1

NORTH & SOUTH AMERICA

Canada 2

Brazil 5

United States 72

ASIA

China 13

India 66

Japan 18

Korea 18

Malaysia 11

Pakistan 1

Singapore 1

Thailand 1

AUSTRALASIA

Australia 4

EUROPE

Belgium 3

Croatia 3

Czech Republic 4

Denmark 15

Estonia 5

Finland 6

France 10

Germany 9

Greece 2

Iceland 2

Ireland 3

Israel 3

Italy 7

Latvia 3

Lithuania 8

Montenegro 2

Netherlands 24

Norway (local residents) 209

Poland 8

Portugal 3

Russia 1

Slovakia 1

Spain 24

Sweden 26

Switzerland 2

Turkey 6

Ukraine 3

United Kingdom 36

Of the total number of students 61% are on standard rate, 38% are on reduced

rate and 1% are employee children.

NEW LEARNING SPACE FOR OUR UPPER SECONDARY STUDENTS

Our new purpose built learning facility is progressing according to plans, both on

the operational and financial levels. Our new IB building is designed to enhance

the connection between learning

and teaching. The Norwegian

architect company, Div.A, won

the competition of designing

an aesthetically pleasing, Nordic

inspired, sustainable, cost-

effective, creative and flexible

educational facility that will help

support the innovative work of

teachers. Movable walls will

allow for easy change, and

accommodations for large and

small group work, peer-to-peer

learning and individual

exploration.

The building is running according to plans and will be finished in spring 2017.

The first cohort of IB students will fill the new learning spaces in the academic

year 2017-2018. The 2000m2 building can host up to approximately 180

students, which can represent an increase of 45 students in the Upper

Secondary programme compared to the 2016-2017 student numbers.

OIS STRATEGY 2020 – DESIRED STRATEGIC OUTCOMES

In addition to acknowledging the changes in the educational landscape in the

region and the emerging competition from state funded international schools and

English speaking streams within the public school system we have worked on

identifying our strengths and development areas. As the result of a one-and-a-

half year process, we established our next five-year strategy, the OIS Strategy

2020. As we look to the future, we have established goals and aspirations for

OIS that allow our institution to reach new heights. In everything we do, we shall

support the individual student in becoming an engaged global citizen and a

lifelong learner. Through high academic standards, we inspire students to

become global citizens with the capacity and heart to make a positive impact on

the world we live in.

Furthermore, we aim to make participation in an international arena easier for the

whole family all the while creating invaluable connections with our host country’s

culture.

Early in the academic year 2016-2017, the OIS Extended Leadership Team

identified our priorities within the strategic plan and agreed upon concrete action

items at both division level and whole-school level.

DESIRED STRATEGIC OUTCOMES

1. To be the preferred challenging and balanced international academic

programme in the greater Oslo region for our target groups.

2. To be competitive in a dynamic labour and school market by having

highly motivated and qualified employees that collaborate and

communicate in a constructive and professional manner.

3. To be recognised as the preferred community for all international families

in the greater Oslo region.

4. To protect the sound financial situation and thereby secure continued

competitive quality learning.

The action plan, deriving from the desired strategic outcomes, will be presented

to the OIS board at the September 2016 board meeting and subsequently shared

with the OIS Community and will be available on the school’s website in the

autumn of 2016.

NEW PEDAGOGIC LEADERSHIP AT OIS

2015-2016 was in many ways a challenging year for OIS, particularly in the

Primary Division as the school operated without a Principal. The HoS chose a

highly inclusive, transparent and democratic recruitment approach and put

together an interview committee consisting of seven individuals, of whom four

teachers.

A global human capital management company was furthermore involved in the

recruitment process. Dedicated to recruiting a strong, experienced and

motivating leader the school was very pleased to present Mrs Susan McKinney

(US) as the successful candidate.

In the pursuit of an international career our Pre-School leader over the past three

years decided to move on to explore a new professional opportunity in New York

and we

have been fortunate to employ Mrs Lena Hammerø

as our new Pre-School Leader.

With two new pedagogic leaders, both starting August 2016, the school is well

prepared to set the course for further development of our visionary strategy.

Oslo International School, Gamle Ringeriksvei 53, 1357 Bekkestua, Norway

Tel: +47 67818290, www.oslointernationalschool.no