Sustaining EGR Assessment: Comparing EGRA and LEMA/GALA in Nigeria’s Bauchi State on USAID/NEI Plus

• In Event: The role of EGRA in reading education, policy and reform

Proposal

The USAID-funded Northern Education Initiative (NEI) Plus activity aims to strengthen systems and processes of education in Bauchi and Sokoto states, where resources are often limited. The situation in the two states is often further constrained by competing budget priorities and the challenges of decentralizing financial management and other administrative functions in such a large country. These conditions can impede states’ ability to plan for new inputs (e.g., teacher training), and at times appear to limit what states can and cannot do on their own initiative to affect education outcomes. The persistent lack of reliable data on education inputs and outcomes nationwide does not help matters. The piloting of the new Local Education Monitoring Assessment (LEMA) and Group Administered Learning Assessment (GALA) tools on NEI Plus is designed to change all that, providing the two states with some modest, accessible means of measuring a variety of early grade reading (EGR) indicators against changes in learning performance in reading. The tools apply Lot Quality Assurance Sampling methodologies to render large-scale EGR assessment more cost effective and enhance sustainability of monitoring system capacity. This approach derives from the traditional EGRA model, which the Initiative has implemented in both states. The formal EGRA exercise has provided much-needed data on learners’ performance against government-established benchmarks in Bauchi and Sokoto. However, the costs, infrastructure and technical capacity required for scaling up the EGRA were prohibitive, leading to LEMA/GALA development and implementation. The latter tools were specifically designed by and for state governments to provide a cost-effective EGR assessment approach while retaining the elements of the more rigorous EGRA model—as part of the NEI Plus systems strengthening efforts.

The paper describes and compares the experiences of Bauchi State with both EGR assessment models (EGRA and LEMA) in the program. The paper describes and compares Bauchi’s experience with the traditional EGRA model, its strengths and weaknesses, and those of the LEMA/GALA model. Findings of both EGRA and pilot LEMA/GALA studies will be presented to highlight the features of each model while address the relative challenges of implementation. These include data gathered from stakeholders during systems strengthening activities, policy forums and other activities held at state and local levels. The Bauchi experience and findings show that, although the EGRA has provided highly reliable data, GALA results have been more accessible, easier to interpret and use by state and LGA officials. LEMA/GALA also appears to be more cost-effective, particularly in resource-poor Bauchi and Sokoto States. However, there were significant limitations to what the GALA exercise was able to measure, and the extent to which the data could be used to assess learners’ progress in reading. The paper has implications for how EGR tools are designed, developed and employed to enhance evidence-based decision making in Nigeria and other countries.

Authors

• Isaac Adeshina Msukwa, Education Development Center

• NURUDEEN Adeshina LAWAL, CREATIVE ASSOCIATES INTERNATIONAL