The National Program for Educational 
Excellence and the Araratian Baccalaureate

are one of the most talked about topics 
in our country today.

However, not many people 
are well aware of the

peculiarities of what the 
Araratian Baccalaureate offers.

To sum up briefly, presently 
there are two state-approved

educational programs in our country – 
the first is the one

we had before and we have today, and

the second is the 
Araratian Baccalaureate.

What makes the Araratian Baccalaureate 
stand out and what we should expect

after it's rolled out to schools? These 
are topics we will talk about

with Dan Bray, 
Deputy Director of Assessment at

Cambridge University’s 
Cambridge International Examinations.

Hello.

Dan Bray is the Deputy Director of

Cambridge International Examinations of 
Cambridge University

one of top educational institutions
in the world.

He has been with Cambridge International 
Examinations for 10 years.

Dan Bray and his team deal with various 
international education reform projects.

that relate to assessment.

The Cambridge International Examinations

implements major projects in 160 countries
among which Armenia has its unique place.

The Cambridge International Examinations 
has found the Araratian Baccalaureate

high school program comparable to 
international standards and qualifications

Mr. Bray is in Armenia to participate in

the grading of the Araratian Baccalaureate
graduation exams

as well as to discuss
future cooperation programs.

Hello, Mr. Bray.

Hello.

As I am informed this is your 
second visit to Armenia,

your first visit lasted only six hours.

That’s right.

Which was the reason of your first visit? 
And how cooperation with Armenia started?

Well, we’ve been working with the 
Ayb Foundation for three years now,

at first, we helped do some reviews 
of the curriculum they developed

for the Baccalaureate so that it meets
international standards,

and then for the last 18 months 
we have been working directly

with the Araratian Baccalaureate 
Examination Center

to help them make sure that the 
qualification, the assessments,

the examinations for the Baccalaureate 
meet international standards.

But last time I came, I came for a visit,

unfortunately, the airplane was delayed,

so by the time I arrived in Armenia 
it was almost time to leave

so this is my first time actually 
to spend any time in Armenia.

Your Center cooperates with 160 countries.

Certainly, each of them has its own 
national, economic, and other features.

Which are the Armenian features, and 
what kind of work do you do with them?

What’s really important about the 
Araratian Baccalaureate

is that this is a solution that’s been 
designed for Armenia, in Armenia

by the Ayb Foundation and by Araratian
Baccalaureate Examination Center.

This is not something that’s designed 
in Cambridge. We act as support,

we act as consultancy, we make sure that 
the qualification will be recognized

internationally, we make sure that in 
every step as they develop the new

processes, they are always done 
to the highest standard,

but this is not a process done 
in Cambridge,

this is a solution designed in Armenia.

One thing that we know from working 
with so many countries is

that if you take a solution 
from one country

and move it to somewhere else,

even if it was a good solution 
for the first country

it’s unlikely to have the same 
positive effect in the new country.

So, one of the really positive things 
about working with Ayb is

that they are designing something 
specifically for the Armenian market.

You think it works?

Yes, definitely, it’s essential.

It couldn’t work any other way, 
what our job is to make sure that

those specialists in Armenia, have the

technical skills and the technical 
experience that we can bring to that.

But it’s essential that the qualification 
is created by Armenians, in Armenia,

because it’s only people locally 
that understand

how the questions will be interpreted, 
how the learning will play in Armenia,

we can’t know that from Cambridge.

Which will be the differences between our 
old program graduates and

Araratian Baccalaureate graduates? 
What we hope to see? Anything new,

anything good? What will it be?

The Baccalaureate has been designed

to provide opportunities for students,
so it works on a number of principles,

first of all it’s very carefully thought 
about the skills, talents and aspirations

that students have, and that will be 
recognized by universities and employers

both in Armenia and internationally, so 
we’re thinking about high thinking

skills, creative skills, analytical 
skills, evaluation, those kind of

internationally recognized skills.
Those are things that are present in the

very best, world class international 
curricula and they are present

in the Araratian Baccalaureate. And by 
encouraging those skills in students

those students will be valued in the 
workplace and internationally by

universities. The second part is that we 
are operating to standards that

are equivalent to qualifications 
internationally, so we benchmark the

standards to international qualifications,

and we have designed the 
qualification specifically to do that,

we have also had that recognized 
by extra or third party agencies

to make sure we have that 
recognition by universities.

So, we can tell a very powerful story
about the skills and talents

of students taking the Baccalaureate. 
And those are recognized by universities

and that provides opportunities for the

students taking the qualification.

Our President announced about creating

new school network offering the Araratian 
Baccalaureate.

What will it change in our country?

One of the key things in the very best 
education systems is a concept that we

refer to as “coherence.” And what I mean
by coherence is that there is a

vision of what’s trying to be achieved and
then all aspects of the education system

are aligned to that vision –

so the curriculum, the teacher training,

pedagogy in the classroom, the school 
facilities, the assessments, the funding –

everything is aligned to the vision,
that’s true of the Araratian Baccalaureate

and that’s what we’re hoping, that not 
only the people taking the qualification

directly but also the other schools can 
benefit from that vision.

Examinations in Armenia are conducted by 
Araratian Baccalaureate Examination Center

but you sign up for it.
What do you think about quality of

examinations, and the education of the 
pupils?

When it comes to the Araratian 
Baccalaureate Examination Center it’s

my job and my team's job to make sure that
the standards that they operate

are the same standards that are operated 
on Cambridge’s own international

qualifications. And we wouldn’t sign to 
put our support behind unless

we believed that was true. 
And they were working really hard and

to a very high standard, to a very high
quality and I am very happy

to support that.

The Araratian Baccalaureate is an 
internationally-recognized

Armenian-language educational program 
intended for high school students.

Thus, after completing basic school 
students can opt for one of the two

state-approved programs: if students 
opt for the current educational program

they automatically move to high school, 
while in case of the

Araratian Baccalaureate, all students are 
expected to take admission exams.

Upon successfully completing the

Araratian Baccalaureate high school 
program, students receive a certificate

bearing the logo of the Cambridge 
University, by which the latter confirms

the quality of the program. 
The certificate enables and

facilitates admission to local 
and international universities,

in this case, if necessary, students 
will be expected to take only

the exams which they did not take 
when completing the program.

Presently only Ayb School offers 
the Araratian Baccalaureate,

however, by 2018, 20 schools in 
Armenian regions and one school in Artsakh

are projected to be certified as
Araratian Baccalaureate schools.

You shouldn’t confuse the Araratian 
Baccalaureate with Ayb School.

Education in Araratian Baccalaureate 
schools will be free of charge.

The Araratian Baccalaureate is the 
only internationally-recognized program

which is delivered in Armenian.

And the last question, non-professional.

What you hope to see in Armenia? 
What is interesting for you in Armenia?

After I finish working, 
I have invited my wife

to join me for the next three days,
so we’re spending the time touring round.

We’re going to head up the mountains,
we’re going to do some wine tasting and

spend some time in Yerevan. It’s a 
beautiful country and I am hoping that

in the next three-four days 
I will have a chance

to really get to know some 
more of the country.

Thank you for the interesting 
conversation.

I would like to remind you that our 
today’s guest was Dan Bray,

Deputy Director at Cambridge University's 
Cambridge International Examinations,

who is in Armenia to support

the grading of the Araratian Baccalaureate
graduation exams.

Goodbye.