Digital Frontiers in Educational Assessment: Insights from the ELANA Initiative by the PAL Network

• In Event: Highlighted Session: Digital Dynamics in Education: Cross-Continental Insights and Innovations

Proposal

The PAL (People's Action for Learning) Network, a consortium of organizations from the Global South, has long championed innovative, citizen-led assessments to enhance foundational literacy and numeracy among children. This paper presents a groundbreaking initiative by PAL Network, the Early Language & Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (PAL-ELANA), which represents our commitment to harnessing digital solutions for educational challenges. The necessity for robust, scalable educational assessment tools has never been more apparent, particularly in the Global South, where disparities in educational quality and access are profound. The PAL Network, through its extensive experience in managing large-scale educational assessments across diverse contexts, identified a critical gap in real-time, actionable data to inform educational interventions. ELANA was conceptualized as a digital, adaptive tool to meet this need, focusing on children aged 4-10 across 12 Global South countries.
ELANA's development was driven by the dual objectives of enhancing the accuracy and utility of educational assessments and democratizing access to data for all stakeholders, from local educators to policy makers. This paper explores the intricate process of developing ELANA, the challenges encountered, and the technological innovations that have characterized its implementation. The development of ELANA involved a multi-phase approach, including item creation, digital platform development, extensive field testing, and iterative refinements based on feedback from diverse educational settings. This paper will detail the collaborative efforts undertaken by researchers, technologists, psychometricians, language experts and educators to create a tool that not only assesses but also informs and transforms educational practices.
With the data analysis phase concluding just before CIES 2025, we are poised to share compelling insights into learning levels and trends across regions. Preliminary results suggest significant variances in literacy and numeracy competencies, underscoring the impact of socio-economic factors and the potential of targeted interventions. Our findings highlight how a robust, digital assessment tool like ELANA can provide nuanced understandings of educational outcomes, which are crucial for crafting effective policies and practices. This paper will discuss how ELANA stands as a testament to the potential of digital technologies to revolutionize educational assessment. By providing detailed, real-time data, ELANA facilitates a deeper understanding of the educational landscape, enabling stakeholders to make informed decisions that can dramatically improve educational outcomes. Moreover, the insights derived from ELANA's deployment will contribute to the global discourse on educational equity, particularly in underserved regions, aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals.
The ELANA initiative represents a significant stride towards establishing a more informed, equitable educational framework in the Global South. By sharing the methodologies and insights gained from this project, we aim to foster a broader application of similar digital assessment tools globally, enhancing the quality and accessibility of education for all children.

Authors

• Muhammad Usman, PAL Network

• Nicolas Buchbinder, PAL Network