Assessment of primary school in Changsha based on AISM method

Abstract

To tackle the challenge of a one-size-fits-all and inconsistent approach to evaluating school development across districts, we have zeroed in on five key urban districts in Changsha City. Fourteen secondary indicators, spanning four critical categories — campus environment, teaching facilities, financial investment, and teacher resources — were selected to comprehensively assess the development of elementary schools in 2021. This assessment was conducted using the Advanced Interpretive Structural Model (AISM). Drawing on the principles of partial order set theory, AISM delves into the partial relationships among these indicators, considering the raw data matrix, optimistic positive and negative distances, and program fit degree. Subsequently, Haas map technology is employed to graphically represent the partial order relationship of elementary school development in each region, providing a clear picture of the hierarchical structure and merit ranking of the evaluation objects. The evaluation results reveal stark differences in the development of elementary schools in Changsha's districts, primary schools in Furong and Kaifu districts stand out for their superior development quality, while Yuhua and Yuelu districts lag behind in terms of elementary school development. Based on these findings, we propose policy recommendations aimed at achieving balanced primary education across districts and ensuring the adequacy of teacher resources.