Piloting a holistic learning assessment in Syria: Exploring the psychometric properties, feasibility, and implications for future operationalization in Syria.

• In Event: Innovating assessment: devising a holistic assessment for education cannot wait in Syria

Proposal

Over the past decade, assessment of learning has become more common in low- and middle-income countries. From the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) to citizen-led Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), systems of feasible assessment have given rise to evidence-based advocacy and decision-making in ministries, donors, multilaterals, and NGOs across the globe. These advances in learning assessment, however, have not adequately accounted for linguistic and contextual differences or the underlying neuroscience of these differences, particularly in the Arabic-speaking world and/or in emergency settings. Furthermore, psychometric examinations of validity and reliability of measures for specific populations are rarely conducted.
How can learning assessments effectively address issues of language, context, validity, and reliability and why is it critical that this be done? Clay Westrope (Save the Children) and Dr. Carly Tubbs Dolan (NYU Global TIES) will present the results of a pilot study with Syrian learners. The piloted holistic measure was developed with support from UNICEF and the Education Cannot Wait investment for Syria and designed through a consultative process with 17 Arabic-speaking measurement experts and academic partners. The piloted instrument drew on psychometric analyses of secondary data from other assessments in the region to inform sub-task and item selection. The assessment instrument contains domains in reading, math, and social and emotional skills and was administered to children in grades 2-3 in schools and learning centers.
The session will present the findings of the pilot-tested holistic measure and explore its psychometric properties. Reflections on the design process, the successes and challenges of the pilot study, and implications for future operationalization of the tool for use by teachers in the classroom will be presented.

Authors

• Clay Westrope, Save the Children

• Carly Tubbs Dolan, New York University Global TIES for Children