Citizen-led Assessments: the experience of People's Action for Learning

• In Event: How to generate and use knowledge and evidence for education policy reform: perspectives on the potential of GPE's new financing mechanisms

Proposal

The People’s Action for Learning Network (PAL Network) is comprised of organization partners in fourteen countries working across three continents to assess the basic reading and numeracy competencies of all children, in their homes, through annual citizen-led assessments. Its mission is to bring learning and measurement to the center of educational policy and practice. Citizen-led, household-based assessments of basic reading and numeracy competencies have been a useful tool to find out whether all children (and not just those in school) are acquiring basic skills, which are the building blocks for all future progress in school.

The approach originated in India in 2005 where it is known as ASER (meaning ‘impact’). Since then it has grown to become and international movement to increase transparency in education and help to drive attention to the severe learning deficits – as well as the solutions – in countries around the world. In 2008, Pakistan adopted this approach by the same name, followed by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda which joined the movement under the banner of Uwezo (which means ‘capability’). Between 2011 and 2017, Mali, Senegal, Mexico, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Ghana, Mozambique, Cameroon and Nepal.

A recent evaluation on citizen led assessments done by the Results for Development group found that ”what they measure, they measure well.” They test a constrained range of competencies in math and reading, in ways that are representative and produce valid results. Sara Ruto will discuss the contributions that have been made by members of the PAL network, including providing evidence of the seriousness of the learning crisis, demonstrating how relatively cheap and simple learning assessment tools can yield valid results on a national scale, and supporting increased discussion at national and local levels about the learning deficits. She will also discuss the challenges to transforming increased evidence on learning outcomes to concrete actions. While citizen-led assessments had proven to be quite effective in generating information, few initiatives have gone from knowledge to action, and this is a huge gap that needs to be bridged. She will discuss why merely making information available is not enough, and what is needed to turn available information into strategic action.

Author

• Sara Ruto, People's Action for Learning (PAL) Network