How EGRA is Shaping Classroom Assessment and EGR Reform: USAID/Mali’s Selective Integrated Reading Activity (SIRA)

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

Proposal

USAID in Mali has supported the implementation of three national level EGRAs. The first national level baseline was carried out in 2009 under the PHARE program. The baseline results revealed an extremely high percentage of zero scores and served as wake-up call for the MOE and key stakeholders. The EGRA process and the sharing of the results of these assessments have helped to drive reform ever since. The 2015 baseline for the current SIRA program indicated a reduction in Grade 2 zero scores to 66%. The recent SIRA mid-line assessment has demonstrated a promising increase in familiar word recognition among Grade 2 students with almost 14% meeting the government standard, and an encouraging reduction in Grade 2 zero scores to 43% of the students tested. The program is examining the reasons for these unusual scores to determine the cause and improve outcomes.

To support the country’s ongoing reform efforts in education, Mali SIRA is using the latest EGRA results to further adapt and reinforce training of Master Trainers/Coaches (MOE Pedagogical Counselors) and teachers to use formative assessment techniques. The classroom assessment strategy makes use of zero scores to specifically diagnose struggling learners and trains teachers and coaches to develop differentiated instructional approaches to support them. At the same time, the assessment driven Mali SIRA is also building the capacity of local MOE offices in this decentralized education system to carry out locally representative reading assessments. The local assessment results are then used to inform program management decisions at these same levels. The paper presents EGRA data, assessment tools and other information to demonstrate how the use of locally relevant assessments of reading performance can support improvements in both classroom practice and policy.

Authors

• Sylvaine Von Mende, Education Development Center (EDC)

• Thelma Khelghati, EDC