Using citizen-led assessment tools to measure learning for refugee children

• In Event: New Directions in Education in Emergencies Data

Proposal

The world is witnessing the highest levels of human displacement on record, with more than 21 million refugees, over half of which are children. On average, refugee children are five times less likely to attend school than other children. Where refugee children and young people are able to access education, they may start school late, attend school irregularly, repeat grades, and drop out. In addition, the quality of education is often poor, putting their learning and well-being at risk.

In many refugee-hosting contexts, assessing the learning competencies of refugee children remains a major challenge. With half of all primary-school age refugee children out-of-school, and those who are in school at risk of falling behind, there has been an increasing demand for simple, accessible and low-cost learning assessments that enable immediate identification of what a child is able to do. Increasingly, the testing tools used in large-scale, household-based, citizen-led assessments are being used to assess learning in refugee hosting countries. Inspired by the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) in India, the ASER model has been borrowed and adapted for use in over 80 projects in more than 33 countries worldwide.

The tools are designed carefully and deliberately to cater to the realities found in global South countries. The design reflects a philosophy that is different from that of standard school-based assessments as the tests are administered orally (so as not to assume that a child is already able to read), one-on-one (to capture with precision what each child is able to do), and in a variety of community-based settings (so as not to assume a child is enrolled or attending school). Traditionally, these type of assessments have been administered by trained citizen volunteers, demonstrating that learning assessment need not be the domain of trained enumerators or specialists, but is accessible for teachers, parents and community members. Whoever is testing the child is able to immediately understand what the child is able to do, without a complicated scoring process or lengthy data analysis.

This paper will present recent findings from a global mapping study conducted by the People’s Action for Learning Network (PAL Network) to explore the use of citizen-led assessment testing tools in conflict and emergency settings to measure and monitor the learning outcomes of displaced and refugee children. To date, the citizen-led testing tools have been used in Bangladesh, Iraq, Lebanon, Niger, Syria, Uganda, and Yemen. The paper will explore the reasons for selecting an adapted ASER-like assessment tool Vs other early-grade assessment tools, the process for developing the assessments, the selection of assessors and the process of training, as well as the experience of administering the assessment to displaced and refugee children. Crucially, this paper will further explore the assessment findings across refugee hosting communities in different contexts, paying special attention to how the assessment findings are being used to understand and improve learning for displaced and refugee children worldwide.

Author

• Hannah-May Wilson, People's Action for Learning (PAL) Network