READ Overview and Relevance for

‘All Children Reading by 2015’Marguerite Clarke

mclarke2@worldbank.orgThe World Bank

All Children Reading by 2015: From Assessment to Action

Washington, DCApril 12-14, 2010

Common Starting Point

• Importance of student learning for reducing poverty and increasing economic growth

Assessment as key input

Overview

Russia Education Aid for Development (READ) Trust Fund

• 5-year $32 million trust fund• To help FTI countries improve learning outcomes

through improved assessment systems • Focus on strengthening the capacity of institutions

responsible for carrying out student assessment

“When students learn, nations prosper”

READ Focal Countries

Angola

Ethiopia

ZambiaMozambique

Vietnam

KyrgyzstanTajikistan

READ Products and Activities

Conceptual Framework and Tools

Dimension #1: Assessment Types/ FunctionsClassroom assessment

•Provide ‘real-time’ information for improving teaching and learning

Examinations•Provide standardized information for making decisions about student admission, promotion or graduation/certification

Large-scale assessment•Provide system-level information on student learning levels and related factors

Dimension #2: Quality Drivers

Enabling environment •Policies•Organizational structures•Human/fiscal resources

System alignment•Alignment with learning goals, curricula, textbooks, training•Alignment with accountability or incentive systems

Technical quality•Design, administration, analysis, use

READ Framework

?Indicators Performance

levels

Stages of development Strategies

‘Enabling Environment’ Indicators

‘System Alignment’ Indicators

‘Technical Quality’ Indicators

Stages of Assessment System Development

Emerging

Established

Mature

‘EMERGING’

Enabling environment

System alignment

Technical quality

•No or limited policy framework•Few trained staff; high turnover•Unreliable funding•Unclear institutional structures/arrangements •Assessments not aligned with learning goals, materials•Assessments out of sync with reforms in other areas •Limited use of results

•Limited awareness or application of professional or technical standards

Example: Mongolia

‘ESTABLISHED’

Enabling environment

System alignment

Technical quality

•Presence of policy framework•Training programs/trained staff with low turnover•Stable funding•Clear institutional structures/arrangements

•Assessments aligned with learning goals, materials•Assessments in sync with reforms in other areas •Systematic use of results to inform policy and practice

•Awareness and application of technical or professional standards

Example: Ireland

Enabling environment

System integration

Technical quality

•Attributes of ESTABLISHED assessment system

+

Strong focus on:

•Assessment for learning•Classroom-based assessment•Role of teachers•Innovation and research-based practices

Example: Some Australian states

‘MATURE’

Tools Based on the Framework

Title Purpose Main user/Uses

1. Self diagnostic TORs

•Collect information on status of country’s assessment system

•Country•Determine status/needs of current assessment system

2. Discussion paper •Framework for discussing priorities and next steps for country’s assessment system

•Country and partners•Prioritize next steps for improving assessment system

3. Benchmarking survey

•Collect comparative data on characteristics of countries’ assessment systems

•Global community•Compare countries’ assessment systems and identify ‘leading’ indicators of effectiveness

4. Illustrative case studies

•Identify practices countries have used to develop more effective assessment systems

•Global community•Explore/validate key stages of development in countries’ assessment systems

Other READ Tools• PISA

– Reading component skills assessment for 15 year olds

• ‘National Assessments’ toolkit series– Translation into Portuguese and Russian– http://go.worldbank.org/M2O1YDQO90

Relevance for ‘All Children Reading by 2015’

Three Areas1. Source of materials and information on good

practices/’what works’I. Tools, templates, materials II. TrainingIII. Pilot projects

2. Evidence base for discussion/dialogI. Society, educators, policymakers, donors

3. Framework for strategic action

Further Information/Resources•READ Website http://go.worldbank.org/C42AEVXDT0–Vision note–First Annual Report

•includes Self-diagnostic TORs

–First Global Conference materials•Presentations by READ focal countries•READ framework presentation

–Forthcoming •Roadmap paper, Synthesis of Self-Diagnostic findings from 7 READ countries, READ Video

Go raibh maith agat!Marguerite Clarke

mclarke2@worldbank.org