By Louie Barnett, Senior Lead, Learning and Innovation, Amala Education
First published by Louie via LinkedIn on 29 October 2025

In this article, I share some key personal takeaways from the New Metrics for International Schools Launch Seminar, representing Amala Education.

At Amala, we’re involved in the New Metrics for International Schools (NMIS) program, a collaboration between Melbourne Metrics at the University of Melbourne and the Council of International Schools (CIS). The program supports international schools in using the Melbourne Metrics suite of assessment tools and instruments to assess complex competencies which help young people thrive in learning, work, and life.

We were recently invited to the launch seminar for the project, held in Melbourne, and I wanted to share three key takeaways (many more things are percolating!):

• Trusting teacher judgment drives positive change to learning design. The Melbourne Metrics approach puts trust in teacher judgements. This means teachers need to know their students well and have seen them develop and demonstrate competence over time. At Amala, we’ve already been testing this, with one teacher recording “no evidence” for one of the assessment questions. That single moment sparked rich reflection on how to think even more deeply about learning and facilitation.
   
• A strength-based approach to assessment. The Melbourne Metrics framework takes a truly asset-based view. There’s no negative language in the competencies or learning progressions; everything is framed around what a young person can do and has demonstrated, not what they haven’t. This simple shift changes the conversation from measuring deficits to recognising growth and potential.
   
• Universities and employers need to be in the room. CIS is helping ensure this happens. For this work to have a lasting impact, higher education and industry need to be part of the conversation. The goal is for young people to choose pathways that align with their interests and competencies, and for pathway providers to recognise these strengths to offer better matches. Everyone should check out the Matching for Success research project for more on this.
   
• Designing learning for human and planetary flourishing. The Melbourne Metrics approach informs learning design but doesn’t dictate it. Schools have the freedom to create myriad pathways for students to develop and demonstrate competence. For me, one essential focus is contribution to regenerating the systems that support life on this planet. If flourishing people and planet are our purpose, then opportunities to develop and demonstrate competency can and should be designed around such meaningful contributions.

At Amala, we already use a competency-based approach and award the Global Secondary Diploma based on evidence of proficiency in the Amala competencies. So we have a hunch that our existing learning design already supports the development and demonstration of many of the Melbourne Metrics competencies being trialled. Through this project, we’ll test the tools and processes with our educators and students to see the extent to which this is the case.

We are excited to be part of this global collaboration that hopes to transform how young people are assessed and, therefore, the learning design they experience.

Louie's author note: Special thanks to everyone who made the experience possible and so incredibly rich. Ellen Heyting, PhD and the Melbourne Metrics team. Jane Larsson and the Council of International Schools team. And of course, wonderful education colleagues like Nancy Fairburn, Erin Witthoft, Benjamin Clapp, Stephen Taylor (he/him), Will Kirkwood and many others!

Related content:

• Emerging Competency Based Frameworks: The CIS Summit Broadening Assessment & Skills Recognition working group is exploring alternative assessments for students as they leave secondary schools and apply to universities. Our focus is on student learning: how to evidence and apply what they have learned, and can do, as they approach higher education and work beyond secondary education.
• New Metrics for International School Program
• Melbourne Metrics