Eligibility Criteria for Use of an Assessment to Report on SDG 4.1.1a

• In Event: New Technical Contributions to Measuring Foundational Skills for SDG 4.1.1a

Proposal

As with all data used for SDG 4.1.1 reporting, it is essential that the results are comparable across countries and representative of each individual country. The data must meet minimum quality standards to ensure that students are being compared on a like-for-like basis. However, no two countries are the same. Not every country has the same policies or aims to measure learning at all three levels (grades 2/3, primary, and secondary). Additionally, countries differ in the content they teach, and the variability in test formats and sampling decisions complicates the process. Thus, promoting a single global assessment has not been an acceptable idea. But instead, establishing a minimum set of procedural standards is crucial to ensuring that results are robust and comparable across different contexts, does make sense and is what UIS is pursuing.
This paper will discuss six detailed eligibility criteria for the use of learning assessments in reporting on SDG 4.1.1:

Criterion 1: Focuses on content alignment and validity, assessing how well the assessment instrument aligns with the Global Proficiency Framework (GPF) and the Minimum Proficiency Level (MPL). This criterion ensures that the content assessed reflects the skills and knowledge students are expected to acquire.

Criterion 2: Examines item quality, both qualitatively and quantitatively. It provides evidence of the psychometric properties of the assessment items, such as difficulty, discrimination, and differential item functioning, etc. This criterion ensures that the assessment items function as intended and produce reliable data.

Criterion 3: Addresses sample representativeness and sampling rigor, requiring evidence that the sample of learners who took the assessment is representative of the population against which the results will be reported. This criterion ensures that the results are generalizable and reflect the broader student population.

Criterion 4: Covers assessment administration and data custodianship. It ensures that the assessment was conducted using standardized procedures and that data was handled securely and appropriately. This criterion guarantees that the data collection process did not introduce bias, or errors and that the integrity of the data is maintained.

Criterion 5: Focuses on the reliability of the assessment instruments and the psychometric properties of the operational items. This criterion ensures that the assessment consistently measures what it is intended to measure and that the results are dependable.

Criterion 6: Assesses the benchmarking and linking process to construct and maintain the reporting scale. This criterion ensures that the results from different assessments are comparable and that the scaling methods used are appropriate for global reporting.

Author

• Luis A Crouch, RTI