Is Rapid and Revolutionary Also Valid? Exploring Validity Evidence for Large-Scale ASER (Annual Status of Education Report) Assessment in India (Poster 34)

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Wednesday 10:50 a.m.
  In Poster Session: Measurement, Psychometrics, and Assessment: Poster Session I

Abstract

The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), an annual educational assessment initiated by Pratham in India, addresses the critical question, "Are children learning?" Using one-on-one assessment approach, ASER is conducted in households by citizen volunteers, making it suitable for India’s unique educational context. ASER’s 2022 survey reached 19,060 villages, assessing over 530,000 children. This paper examines the validity evidence for ASER as a large-scale assessment of foundational learning for accountability purposes in India, using the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing’s five sources of validity evidence. Our findings indicate that ASER's validity is supported by evidence aligned with four of these five sources. Further validation work is recommended to strengthen and synthesize the evidence into a coherent validity argument.

Authors

• Ketan ., University of Massachusetts - Amherst

• Stephen G. Sireci, University of Massachusetts - Amherst

• Melissa Goodnight, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign