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ASER 2014

TOOL/ ASSESSMENT DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK

CONTENTS

1) INTRODUCTION: .................................................................................................................. 2

2) GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF THE MODEL: ......................................................................... 3

3) OBJECTIVES:......................................................................................................................... 3

4) ASER STANDARDS ON ASSESSMENTS/METHODOLOGY: ......................................... 3

5) COMPETENCIES/STANDARDS/BENCHMARKS AS PER NATIONAL CURRICULUM

2006: ............................................................................................................................................... 5

6) ASER TOOLS GUIDELINES/FRAMEWORK FOR ASSESSMENT DEVELOPMENT: .. 7

7) ASER TEST ADMINISTRATION PROCESS: WHAT TO DO WITH CHILDREN

(TESTING): .................................................................................................................................... 9

8) ASER TOOLS REVIEW GUIDELINES: ............................................................................. 14

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1) INTRODUCTION:

ASER - The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) is the largest citizen led; household

based initiative that aims to fill a gap in learning outcomes and provide reliable estimates on the

schooling status of children aged 3-16 years residing in the rural districts of Pakistan. ASER

seeks to improve the status of education nationwide by providing a reliable set of data on an

annual basis about what children learn, how they learn, where they learn, education status of

their mothers etc. By using an innovative citizen driven approach, ASER intends to mobilize

policy makers as well as ordinary citizens- parents, students, local communities and the public at

large – to become aware of actual levels of children’s literacy and numeracy, and build on that

awareness to stimulate practical community and policy change across Pakistan. ASER has the

following key components:

1. A large household based survey covering all i.e. 138 districts and major urban cities1 of the country;

2. The use of an easy tool to assesses minimum levels of literacy and numeracy that can be easily administered;

3. Inspiring a citizen volunteer-driven approach to conduct the assessment; 4. Instant feedback of the assessment results to parents/ guardians, children and local

leaders;

5. Broad communication across the country through the media and other forms to create debate;

6. Facilitating thoughtful learning and monitoring throughout, and feeding back these lessons into the next year’s preparations, and

7. Repeating the survey each year to create and sustain momentum for change. 8. To get reliable data on the status of children schooling and basic learning levels.

Unlike contemporary national assessments, ASER involves ordinary citizens in the process of

data collection; empowering them with an accessible tool for evidence gathering and action. The

idea is to create citizen pressure in a campaign mode for holding the education system

accountable for its dissatisfactory deliverables. ASER helps in identifying gaps that need to be

bridged in order to move forward towards fulfilling the obligations under Article 25-A i.e. “The

State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of five to

sixteen years in such manner as may be determined by law.” Moreover, ASER adheres to

country specific policies and guidelines related to methodology and test development for national

assessment. ASER methodology and process is derived from methodology followed by ASER

India. ASER brings into light the state of education by assessing the learning levels of children in

three basic competencies i.e. Language: Urdu/Sindhi/Pashto, English and Arithmetic. As ASER

1 In 2011: 3 urban centres were surveyed. In 2012: 6 urban centres were surveyed. In 2013: 13 urban centres were

surveyed.

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rests on the theory of change that ordinary educated citizens can be mobilized for extraordinary

actions, the learning instruments are kept simple and easy to administer and are based on grade

two and three level competencies as given in the national curriculum 2006. Moreover, a set of

core questions have been designed which are adapted and expanded each year to explore

different dimensions of schooling and learning at the elementary stage. This ensures that the data

is comparable and easily collected by the surveyors.

1) GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF THE MODEL:

A household-based assessment, so as to include ALL children – those in government

schools, private schools, and not in school.

Assessment of children’s mastery of basic reading and arithmetic, rather than grade level

competencies, using tools that are simple to administer and easy to understand.

Involvement of ‘ordinary people’, rather than experts, in conducting the assessment and

disseminating the results.

The generation of estimates at district, provincial, and national levels, so as to facilitate

local level discussions, planning and action.

2) OBJECTIVES:

Map the status of schooling and learning levels by collecting data at household level in all

districts (almost 158 administrative Units) of Pakistan and measure change over the

previous year.

Build a pool of citizens nationally with capacities to assess learning levels using simple

tools.

Increase citizen pressure on the government and other duty bearers, using ASER findings,

for improving learning levels of school children

3) ASER STANDARDS ON ASSESSMENTS/METHODOLOGY:

The ASER assessment tools access the learning levels of children aged 5-16 years in three basic

competencies i.e. Language: Urdu/Sindh/Pashto, English and Arithmetic. They are based on the

assessment of basic competencies up to classes 2 & 3 defined by the National Curriculum of

Pakistan 2006. ASER Pakistan 2014 tools will be standardized through the following procedures,

meeting the requirements of Test Validity and Test Reliability:

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4.1) STEPS FOR ENSURING TEST VALIDITY:

STEP 1: ASER team will develop an item bank for three competencies based on the following

criteria:

Textbooks of Urdu, English and Arithmetic will be selected of grade 2 and 3 according to

national curriculum of all provinces.

The entire syllabus will be divided in to 3 terms. The specification and subject syllabus

will be based on the academic year of the school and according to the school terms.

All items will be within the scope of the subject syllabus and will not be beyond the

syllabus.

Words will be selected in Alphabetical order (A to Z) using simple to difficult approach.

Words may be selected in a sequence such as 3 character words, 4 character words, 5

character words and six character words.

STEP 2: Based on the item bank, a team of subject specialists will develop atleast 8 samples for

each subject i.e. Urdu/Sindhi/Pashto, English and Arithmetic that aligns with the specifications

and benchmarks stated by National Curriculum of 2006 and also that with the objectives of

ASER. The test materials will be simple, of the same difficulty level, comprehensive and

according to the subject.

STEP 3: Reviewer Subject Panelists compromising two subject specialists for each subject will

review and revise the learning tools for standardization with the help of the defined criteria (see

table 1, 2 and 3). A detailed checklist is developed to determine the structure and emphases,

correspondence with accepted curricula, and the selection, appropriateness and representation of

the items.

4.2) STEPS FOR ENSURING TEST RELIABILITY:

STEP 1: Learning tools (After incorporating suggestions from the experts) will then be pilot

tested in 8-10 districts (two from each province) across Pakistan. The piloting will be conducted

by each district team in one village including 20 households as per ASER Survey Methodology.

STEP 2: Pretesting data analysis will be done on the basis to identify the item difficulty,

discrimination and English test readability of children of Pakistan with international standards. In

pretesting the reliability of each sample will be determined by using KR 20 as coefficient of

alpha.

STEP 3: The framework for tool development will then revised after receiving feedback from

the district teams and analysis of the surveyed results.

STEP 4: At the provincial level, ASER partners will be invited to select 2 final learning tools

from the given samples.

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4) COMPETENCIES2/STANDARDS3/BENCHMARKS4 AS PER NATIONAL

CURRICULUM 2006:

ENGLISH5: GRADE I & II

COMPETENCY 1: Reading and Thinking Skills Standard 1: All students will search for, discover and understand a variety of text types through

tasks which require multiple reading and thinking strategies for comprehension, fluency and

enjoyment.

BENCHMARKS Use reading readiness strategies; recognize words and sentences as meaningful units of expression and paragraphs as graphical units of

expression.

Identify factual information applying reading comprehension and thinking strategies.

Locate information from a visual cue or a graphic organizer and express the information verbally

Locate information for specific purposes using various aids and study skills.

Standard 2: All students will read and analyze literary text to seek information, ideas,

enjoyment; and to relate their own experiences to those of common humanity as depicted in

literature. BENCHMARKS Recall stories and nursery rhymes; express personal reactions to characters

and events in them.

COMPETENCY 2: Writing Skills Standard 1: All students will produce with developing fluency and accuracy, academic,

transactional and creative writing, which is focused, purposeful and shows an insight into the

writing process.

BENCHMARKS Write words and sentences using writing techniques.

Write sentences, answers to simple questions and guided stories about

familiar topics.

Write a variety of simple interpersonal and transactional texts e.g. greeting

cards, postcards, dialogues (speech bubbles, cartoon strips) using

vocabulary, tone, style of expression appropriate to the communicative

purpose and context.

COMPETENCY 3: Oral Communication Standard 1: All students will use appropriate social and academic conventions of spoken

discourse for effective oral communication with individuals and in groups, in both informal and

formal settings.

BENCHMARKS Use some formulaic expressions for basic routine greetings and social

courtesies for oral interaction in predictable environment of class and

2 Competency: A key learning area.

3 Standard: The knowledge skills and attitudes that the students will acquire.

4 Benchmark: Indicates what the students will accomplish at the end of each grade.

5 For English, the curriculum has identified 4 competencies for grade 1 and 2 and a total of 7 Standards for key

learning areas of English Language.

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school.

Demonstrate through introductions, recitation of poems, and show-and-tell

activities, the social and academic conventions and dynamics to

communicate information/ ideas.

COMPETENCY 4: Formal & Legal Aspects of a Language Standard 1: All students will understand and articulate widely acceptable pronunciation, stress

and intonation patterns of the English language for improved communication.

BENCHMARKS Recognize and articulate the basic sounds and sound patterns of English

language at word and sentence level.

Standard 2: All students will enhance vocabulary for effective communication.

BENCHMARKS Recognize and use with correct spellings naming, action and describing

words, cognates, rhymes, common phrases and formulaic expressions from

immediate surroundings and from the subject texts.

Standard 3: All students will understand grammatical functions and use the principles of

grammar, punctuation, and syntax for developing accuracy in their spoken and written

communication.

BENCHMARKS Recognize grammatical functions of some parts of speech and use them in

their speech and writing.

Recognize and use punctuation such as, full stop, question mark,

exclamation mark and capitalization to read and write simple sentences.

Use and respond to simple commands and questions verbally and non-

verbally.

___________________________

ARITHMETIC6: GRADE II & III

COMPETENCY 1: Number & Operations Standard 1: The students will be able to

• Identify numbers, ways of representing numbers and effects of operations in various situations,

• Compute fluently with fractions, decimals and percents,

• Manipulate different types of sequence and apply operations on matrices.

BENCHMARKS Count, read and write numbers up to 99.

Write numbers up to 100 in words and write ordinal numbers up to 20.

Identify the place value of each digit in a 3-digit number.

Add and subtract up to 3-digit numbers.

Multiply and divide up to 6-digit numbers by 2 and 3 digit numbers.

Recognize and represent unit fractions up to 1/12.

COMPETENCY 2: Algebra Standard 1: The students will be able to

• Analyze number patterns and interpret mathematical situations by manipulating algebraic

expressions and relations,

6 For Arithmetic, the curriculum has identified 4 competencies for grade 2 and 3 and a total of 4 Standards for key

learning areas of English Arithmetic.

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• Model and solve contextualized problems,

• Interpret functions, calculate rate of change of functions, integrate analytically and numerically,

determine orthogonal trajectories of a family of curves and solve non-linear equations

numerically.

BENCHMARKS Analyze patterns and relationships with respect to size, number, color/shape

and other properties.

COMPETENCY 3: Measurement & Geometry Standard 1: The students will be able to

• Identify measurable attributes of objects, construct angles and two dimensional figures,

• Analyze characteristics and properties of geometric shapes and develop arguments about their

geometric relationships,

• Recognize trigonometric identities, analyze conic sections, draw and interpret graphs of

functions.

BENCHMARKS Identify and apply measurable attributes of length, weight/ mass, capacity/

volume and time.

Identify square, rectangle, triangle, circle and oval.

COMPETENCY 4: Reasoning & Logical Thinking Standard 1: The students will be able to

• Use patterns, known facts, properties and relationships to analyze mathematical situations,

• Examine real life situations by identifying, mathematically valid arguments and drawing

conclusion to enhance their mathematical thinking.

BENCHMARKS Sort, classify and compare familiar shapes.

BENCHMARKS Apply analytical reasoning to explain features of a shape.

5) ASER TOOLS GUIDELINES/FRAMEWORK FOR ASSESSMENT

DEVELOPMENT:

I. Reading assessment tools will be developed in three basic languages i.e. Urdu, Sindhi

and Pashto used as a language of pedagogy in schools across Pakistan. Children can

choose to be assessed in a language of their own choice.

II. Each learning tool is divided into four levels. In English and Urdu/Sindhi/Pashto each

level questions are based upon Grade II National Curriculum 2006 learning outcomes,

Mathematics questions are based upon Grade II and III National Curriculum 2006.

III. A bonus question that assesses cognitive levels for knowledge, comprehension and

application are included in the assessment booklet. The bonus question will be

derived from the Grade 2 Curriculum. The purpose of the bonus question will be to

assess comprehension skills of the child with respect to the particular subject. The

children reaching the highest competency level will be asked to answer the bonus

question.

IV. The Urdu/Sindhi/Pashto, English and numeracy tests will consist of four levels and

they will be testing a variety of competencies as follows:

URDU/SINDHI/PASHTO :

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i. Basic recognition of language through alphabets (Level 1) and words (Level 2).

ii. Reading Skills through sentence / paragraph (Level 3) and story reading (Level 4).

iii. Cognitive levels of comprehension and application based skills will be assessed by asking

two bonus questions from story.

iv. Listening skills shall be assessed by orally posing the comprehension questions.

v. The levels shall be used for grading and grading instructions shall be contained in each

level.

ENGLISH:

i. Letter recognition (Competency 1 defined by the National Curriculum – English 2006

standards of Reading & Thinking Skills) assessed through capital (Level 1) and small

alphabets (Level 2).

ii. Reading (Competency 1 defined by the National Curriculum – English 2006 standards of

Reading & Thinking Skills) assessed through simple words (Level 3) and sentences

(Level 4).

iii. Understanding of words and sentences (Competency 1 defined by the National

Curriculum – English 2006 standards of Reading & Thinking Skills) assessed by asking

the meaning of the words and sentences chosen by the child in his/her own language.

iv. Cognitive level of comprehension and application based skills (Competency 1 defined by

the National Curriculum – English 2006 standards of Reading & Thinking Skills) will be

assessed by asking two bonus questions i.e. identification of the name of the object by

looking at the picture.

v. The levels shall be used for grading and grading instructions shall be contained in each

level.

NUMERACY:

i. Basic numeracy skills (Competency 1 defined by the National Curriculum – Mathematics

2006 standards of Numbers & Operations) will be assessed through number recognition.

Number recognition from 1-9 will be regarded as (Level 1) while number recognition from

10-99 will be termed as (Level 2).

ii. Advance numeracy skills (Competency 1 defined by the National Curriculum –

Mathematics 2006 standards of Numbers & Operations) will be assessed by posing

subtraction (Level 3) and division questions (Level 4).

iii. Bonus questions asked after the third and fourth level will be based upon Competency 3

and 4 defined by the National Curriculum – Mathematics 2006 standards of Measurement

and Geometry, Reasoning and Logical Thinking skills.

iv. The levels shall be used for grading and grading instructions shall be contained in each

level.

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6) ASER TEST ADMINISTRATION PROCESS: WHAT TO DO WITH

CHILDREN (TESTING):

IT IS IMPORTANT TO BE IN THE RIGHT FRAME OF MIND WHEN ASSESSING

CHILDREN. WE ARE NOT GOING TO THE VILLAGE TO “TEST” CHILDREN OR TO BE

EVALUATORS. WE ARE GOING TO FIND OUT WHAT CHILDREN CAN DO

COMFORTABLY IN TERMS OF READING (Language:Urdu/Sindhi/Pashto & English) AND

ARITHMETIC.

Given this objective, it is essential that children are relaxed and not worried about how they are

going to perform. A friendly chat with the child prior to testing always helps to make friends and

create a more relaxed atmosphere.

Often family members and neighbors gather together to watch how the child is doing. This could

potentially create tension for the child. The ASER team should make sure that the child is not

getting pressured by speaking in a friendly way to children and also to those who are watching.

One member of the team can talk to the others, while the other member of the team works with

the child. Make sure you tell the family and all the elders around that you are trying to find out

about quality of education, it is NOT about examining their child and HOW his/her learning can

be improved through improving schools and pressurizing government to do better.

Encourage the child at whatever he/she is attempting to do in the test.

Give the child ample time to read, to solve and to think. Be patient.

Our attempt in the ASER survey is to establish the HIGHEST level at which the child can do

different tasks (Language:Urdu/Sindhi/Pashto, English and Arithmetic) comfortably. You may

need to take a child through the series of tasks until you can decide where he/she is really at.

Practice and familiarity with a task improves the child’s performance.

For example: The child first starts with trying to read the easy paragraph. You find that he/she is

reading very slowly and haltingly. Ask him/her to read words from the words list. See if he/she

is able to read words easily. If not take him/her to the list of letters. If he/she is able to read

letters with ease, bring him/her back to the words. If he/she can read the words comfortably, then

bring him/her back to the original paragraph. It is very possible that now he/she can read the

paragraph much more easily than he/she was doing before. Familiarity and practice has improved

his/her performance. Allow a child to read or re-read the text 2-3 times. Use a similarly strategy

for arithmetic tasks as well. For English Language test, since you are starting with alphabets, just

give him/her more time and encourage them to try again.

APPRECIATE AND UNDERSTAND THE ATTEMPT THAT THE CHILD IS MAKING. EVEN IF

THE CHILD IS WRONG, DO NOT MARK THE MISTAKES IN FRONT OF HIM/HER. DO IT

IMMEDIATELY AFTER YOU FINISH TESTING.

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7.1) GRADING INSTRUCTION FOR LANGUAGE (Urdu/Sindhi/Pashto):

Tick the Relevant Box, the highest level of learning (e.g. Nothing, Letter, Words, Sentences, Story), the

child achieves during the reading Test. REMEMBER TO USE BOTH SAMPLES OF TOOLS GIVEN to

you.

For Reading Test Process see following Table

STEPS FOR ASSESSING LANGUAGE

Child’s reading

level How to test and what criteria to use for categorizing children

Story reading

These are 8-10 sentences making a story (approx. 60-65 words) with simple

Vocabulary and sentence structure. Words and sentences used in story are

comparable to grade 2 level textbooks of the State.

If the child reads the story fluently, with ease and speed, mark him/her as a “story

level” child.

Easy Sentences

This is a set of 4 sentences with 4-5 words in each sentence: 2 easy paragraphs in

each sample.

Ask the child to read any paragraph.

Listen carefully when the child reads.

The child may read slowly. He/She may stop frequently. But as long as he/she is

reading the text like he/she is reading a sentence rather than a STRING OF

WORDS, categorize him/her as a “Sentence level” child.

Once you have decided that this child is a “sentence” level child, ask the child to

read the story.

If a child is reading very slowly and stops between words for a long time, or if

he/she is reading the text like it is one word after another, and therefore not reading

the text like he/she is reading a sentence, then he/she is not a “Sentence level”

child. Then you should take the child one level lower and ask him/her to read

words.

Start here

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7.2) GRADING INSTRUCTION FOR BASIC ARITHMETIC:

Tick the Relevant Box, the highest level of learning/ numeracy (e.g. Nothing, Number Recognition 1-9,

Number Recognition 10-99, Subtraction, and Division), the child achieves during the arithmetic ability

Test. REMEMBER TO USE BOTH SAMPLES OF TOOLS GIVEN to you. For Arithmetic Test Process

see following Table

STEPS FOR ASSESSING BASIC ARITHMETIC

Child’s maths

level How to test and what criteria to use for categorizing children

Division: 2

digit by 1 digit

Show the child the division problems. He/She can choose one to try. If not, then you can pick one.

Then write the problem on a piece of paper and ask him/her to solve it. Watch what he/she does If he/she is able to follow the right method and come to the right answer, then mark

him/her as a “division child.

If he/she is unable to do one problem, give him/her another problem from the sheet. If she is unable to do either, ask him/her to solve subtraction sums.

Words

(Set of easy

words)

This includes a list of 10 different words (nouns and verbs). All words have 2

consonant and one or two vowels. All the words in word list are checked off against

our grade 1 and 2 text books to make sure that these words are similar to those

words found in textbooks and commonly used.

Ask the child to read any 5 words from the word list. Let the child choose the words

himself/herself. If he/she does not choose, then point out the words to him/her. If

he/she can correctly read at least 4 out of the 5 words with ease, then ask him/her to

try to read the easy paragraph again. He/She will be marked as a “word level” child

if he/she can correctly read words but is still struggling with the easy paragraph.

If he/she cannot correctly read at least 4 out of 5 words he/she chooses, then show

him/her the list of letters.

Don’t let the child read MORE than FIVE words because it will be difficult for you

to select which 4 or 5 words are to be marked correct.

Alphabets

(Set of common

letters)

This includes a set of 10 different commonly used alphabets.

Ask the child to read any 5 letters from the letters list. Let the child choose the

letters himself/herself. If he/she does not choose, then point out letters to him/her. If

he/she can correctly recognize at least 4 out of 5 letters with ease, then show

him/her the list of words again. He/She will be marked as a “letter level” child if

he/she can read 4 out of 5 letters but cannot read words.

ONLY ask the child to READ ANY FIVE. Please remember that choice should be

given to child.

Nothing Child cannot recognize even 4 out of 5 common letters from the letters list.

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Subtraction: 2

digit

borrowing

Show the child the subtraction problems. He/She can choose one. If not, then you can pick one.

Show the child the number on the top row of any problem and ask what that is (e.g. 56). If the child says 5 and 6, ask him/her again to say what the number is when the

numbers are together. Probe to see if he/she can recognize and identify 2 digit

numbers. Show him/her the number on the next line and do the same. Point to the

minus sign and ask “what do you have to do”. It is not necessary that he/she should

use the term MINUS or SUBTRACT, consider it correct if he/she conveys the

meaning in him/her local language (e.g. nikalna hai is used for minus in Urdu)

Once you have established that the child knows the numbers and knows what to do, then write down the sum on a piece of paper yourself or ask the child to copy it on a

piece of paper and ask him/her to solve it. Watch while he/she solves it. See if

he/she correctly moves from the units column to the tens column and solves the

problem.

Give him/her another similar problem from the sums on the page. If he/she correctly does both then show him/her the division problem. If he/she does not want to attempt the division problem or is unable to do it, then

mark the child as a “subtraction” child. If he/she correctly solves two division

problems, then mark him/her on as a child who can do division.

If he/she cannot correctly do the subtraction problems then give him/her the number recognition task described below.

Number

recognition:

10-99

Point one by one to at least 5 numbers. Child can also choose them. Ask him/her to identify the numbers. If he/she can correctly identify at least 4 out of 5 numbers, then mark him/her on

“Number Recognition. 10 - 99” child. If not then give him/her the number

recognition 1 to 9 task.

Number

recognition:

1 to 9

Point one by one to at least 5 numbers. Child can also choose them. Ask him/her to identify the numbers. If he/she can correctly identify at least 4 out of 5 numbers then mark him/her

“Number Recognition. 1 - 9” child.

Beginner

Child cannot even recognize 4 out of 5 numbers from the 1 to 9 number recognition list.

Start here

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7.3) GRADING INSTRUCTION FOR ENGLISH:

Tick the Relevant Box, the highest level of learning (e.g. Nothing, Capital Alphabets, Small Alphabets,

Words, Sentences), the child achieves during the reading Test. REMEMBER TO USE BOTH SAMPLES

OF TOOLS GIVEN to you. For Basic English Competency Assessment Test Process see following

Table

STEPS FOR ASSESSING BASIC ENGLISH

English level How to test and what criteria to use for categorizing children’s ability in English

Capital

alphabets

This includes a set of 10 different commonly used capital alphabets.

Ask the child to read any 5 capital alphabets from the letters list. Let the child choose the letters himself/herself. If the child cannot choose, then point to 5 randomly chosen

alphabets on the sheet. If he/she can correctly recognize at least 4 out of 5 letters with

ease, then show him/her the list of small alphabets.

If the child can read capital alphabets but is struggling with identifying small alphabets, then mark him/her as “capital letter” level child.

Child cannot recognize even 4 out of 5 capital alphabets from the letters list, then mark her as a “nothing” child.

Remember to ask ONLY five alphabets so you are able to assess correctly.

Small

alphabets

This includes a set of 10 different commonly used small alphabets.

Ask the child to read any 5 small alphabets from the letters list. Let the child choose the letters himself/herself. If the child cannot choose, then point to 5 randomly chosen

alphabets on the sheet. If he/she can correctly recognize at least 4 out of 5 letters with

ease, then show him/her the list of words.

If the child can read small alphabets but is struggling with reading words, then mark him/her as “small letter” level child.

Remember to ask ONLY five alphabets so you are able to assess correctly

Simple words

This includes a list of 10 different words (nouns and verbs). All the words in word list are

checked off against our grade 1 and 2 text books to make sure that these words are similar to

those words found in textbooks and commonly used.

From the list of 10 words ask the child to read any 5. If he/she can correctly read at least 4 out of the 5 words, then show the child the list of

sentences.

If the child does not want to read the sentences, or is unable to do so, mark him/her as “Word” child.

Meaning of words: (after the child has been marked at “word” level)

For the same words the child has just read, ask him/her to tell you the meaning of the words in his/her local language.

Meaning of words can either be the literal meaning or can be an associated word. E.g. Instead of saying ‘red’ means ‘laal’ the child may point out to an object around her that

is red in color. Similarly, instead of saying that ‘man’ means ‘aadmi’ the child may

point to his/her father or to a man standing besides him/her. Similarly, for a word like

‘cup’, the child says ‘Piyali’. All these responses are acceptable.

If the child can correctly tell the meaning of at least 4 words, then mark him/her as “can say”; if not, mark “cannot say”.

Start here

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Easy

sentences

This is a set of 4 sentences with 4-5 words in each sentence: 2 easy paragraphs in each sample.

Care is taken to ensure that sentences are connected to each other. The words and sentence

structure used in reading tools are similar to those in the grade 1 and 2 text books of the state.

The words used in paragraphs are easy and common in daily usage.

Ask the child to read the 4 sentences given. If the child can read at least 2 out of the 4 sentences as a complete sentence (does not stop frequently or does not read the

sentence as a string of words), then mark him/her as “sentence” child.

Meaning of sentences: (after the child has been marked at “sentence” level)

For the same sentences the child has just read; ask him/her to tell you the meaning of each sentence in his/her local language.

The child should be able to at least tell the meaning of the main underlined words in the sentence but do not point out these words to the child. E.g. for a sentence like ‘what is your

name?’ the child should at least say ‘what’ means ‘kya’ and ‘name’ means ‘naam’. It is

acceptable as long as the child is able to say the meaning of the main words.

If the child can correctly tell the meaning of at least 2 sentences, then mark him/her as “can say” else “cannot say”.

7) ASER TOOLS REVIEW GUIDELINES:

It is always important to keep in mind that ASER is primarily a local citizen’s attempt to

understand the status of schooling and basic learning of the children in her/his village. ASER

tools are used by thousands of volunteers and hundreds of thousands of children are assessed in

the household/community. While more sophisticated measurements may be possible with more

qualified and more trained surveyors and more time, the challenge in ASER is to make the tool

as simple as possible without losing rigor.

While reviewing, care must be taken to ensure that

Tools are comparable across languages and same in every language (Urdu, Sindhi,

Pashto)

Tools and tasks are simple and clear. So, that a common man is able to understand and

administer them.

Equivalent to state textbooks for Class 2 and 3 in terms of content.

Same tasks given to all children between ages 5 to 16.

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Sample # __________________________

Reviewed by __________________________ Date: ________________________

Table 1: ASER 2014 Learning Tools Checklist for the Reviewer/Subject Panelists

Component Criteria Rating Comments

Yes No

Urdu 1. Letters

1.1 Are there ten letters written on the sheet?

1.2 Is the entire letter’s font size readable?

2. Words

2.1 Are there ten words written on the sheet?

2.2 Are the words appropriate for class II

student’s vocabulary?

2.3 Are the words written without spelling

errors?

2.4 Have the words covered the National

Curriculum 2006 benchmark for Class II?

3. Sentences

3.1 Are there four sentences/two paragraphs

on the sheet?

3.2 Are the sentences written in present tense?

3.3 Are the sentences appropriate for class II

student’s vocabulary?

3.4 Are the sentences written without

grammatical errors?

3.5 Are all the sentences written in readable

font size for the students of class II?

3.6 Are all the sentences coherent in content?

3.7 Is the content related to the familiar

events?

3.8 Are all the sentences composed of short

sentences?

3.9 Do all the sentences avoid cultural bias?

3.10 Do all the sentences avoid gender

discrimination?

4. Story

4.1 Do the elements of a short story have a

character, context, beginning, problem and an

ending?

4.2 Does the story have varied grammatical

structure but not complicated?

4.3 Is the vocabulary used in the story

appropriate for class II students?

4.4 Do the bonus questions reflect cognitive

levels of comprehension and application?

CHECKLIST FOR LANGUAGE (URDU/SINDH/PASHTO) TOOLS

16

Sample # __________________________

Reviewed by __________________________ Date: _________________________

Table 2: ASER 2014 Learning Tools Checklist for the Reviewer/ Subject Panelists

Component Criteria Rating Comments

Yes No

English 1. Letters

1.1 Are there ten capital letters without duplication written on

the sheet?

1.2 Are there ten small letters without duplication written on

the sheet?

1.3 Is the entire letter’s font size readable?

2. Words

2.1 Are there ten words written on the sheet?

2.2 Are the words appropriate for class II student’s

vocabulary?

2.3 Are the words written without spelling errors?

2.4 Are the words combination present as nouns and verbs?

2.5 Have the words covered the National Curriculum 2006

benchmark for Class II?

3. Sentences

3.1 Are there four sentences on the sheet?

3.2 Are the sentences appropriate for class II student’s

vocabulary?

3.3 Are the sentences written without grammatical errors?

3.4 Are all the sentences written in readable font size for the

students of class II?

3.5 Are all the sentences coherent in content?

3.6 Is the content related to the familiar events?

3.7 Are all the sentences composed of short sentences?

3.8 Do all the sentences avoid cultural bias?

3.9 Do all the sentences avoid gender discrimination?

CHECKLIST FOR ENGLISH TOOLS

17

Sample # __________________________

Reviewed by __________________________ Date: _________________________

Table 3: ASER 2014 Learning Tools Checklist for the Reviewer/ Subject Panelists

Component Criteria Rating Comments

Yes No

Mathematics 1. Numbers

1.1 Are there eight different numbers from 1 -9 written on

the sheet?

1.2 Are there ten different numbers from 10-99 written on

the sheet?

1.3 Is all the number’s font size readable?

2. Subtraction

2.1 Are there eight questions written on the sheet?

2.2 Are all the questions cover the concept of borrow?

2.3 Is any question repeated in the sheet?

2.4 Do all the questions cover the National Curriculum 2006

benchmark learning outcomes of Class III?

3. Division

3.1 Are there four questions written on the sheet?

3.2 Are the questions appropriate for class III student’s

learning outcomes?

3.3 Are all the questions written in readable font size for

young children age 5?

CHECKLIST FOR ARITHMETIC TOOLS