Learning Outcomes Assessments and the Use of Data to Set Objectives and to Guide

Design for Mathematics Education Jeff Davis, Education Development Associates LLC

5 December 2013

Outline

• Process of choosing assessment tools

• Purposes of a system to classify tools

• Launch of system for classifying tools

• Classification of numeracy assessment tools

• Landscape of numeracy assessment tools

• Gaps in numeracy assessment tools

• Questions and discussion

Process of Choosing Assessment Tools

• Need for measureable learning outcomes in literacy and numeracy

• Importance of assessment tools for supporting instruction, monitoring progress, and guiding political/policy dialogue (demand)

• Identification of formative and summative assessment tools (supply)

• Matching process of demand and supply for assessment tools in literacy and numeracy

Purposes of a System to Classify Assessment Tools

• Make sense of existing assessment systems

– Judge current situation

– Identify overlaps and gaps

– Plan for future assessments

• Match supply and demand for tools

– Identify needs

– Find tools to fit those needs

– Adapt to contexts

Launch of System by Creating a Classification System and Database

• Launch of a user-friendly system for accessing numeracy assessment tools

• Target an audience of practitioners who need to measure numeracy learning outcomes

• Present characteristics and a system for classifying assessments in text format (current)

• Eventually put information into a user-friendly database, with codes for queries (future)

Criteria for Classifying and Describing Numeracy Assessment Tools

Assessment Characteristics

Purpose (Intention, use) Scope/sample (Time period, census/sample)

Type (Formative, summative; assessment, exam) Subject/content (Domains, cognitive; alignment)

Source (Government, donor, private) Item types (Objective, open-ended)

Testing method (Oral/individual, group; IT use) Statistics/psychometrics (Simple, complex)

Grade level (Specific, across) Cost/resources (Local, national, international)

Adaptation (Languages, tasks) Sustainability (Schools, institutions)

Landscape of Numeracy Assessment Tools

• EGMA (Early Grade Math Assessment)

• TEMA (Test of Early Mathematics Ability)

• ASER (Annual Status of Education Report)

• UWEZO (“Capability” in Kiswahili + Others)

• TEAM (Tools for Early Assessment in Math)

• National (e.g., FARS & LARS; CAPS)

• Regional (e.g., PASEC)

• International (e.g., TIMSS, TIMSS Numeracy)

EGMA in MENA (23 total countries as of August 2013)

• Iraq – April 2012 (USAID-funded) – Inform teacher training and curriculum reform

– 54 schools

• Jordan – May 2012 (USAID-funded) – Conduct baseline of student achievement levels

– 156 schools

• Morocco – May 2011 (USAID-funded) – Conduct baseline of student achievement levels

– 40 schools

TIMSS (Trends in Mathematics and Science Study) in MENA

• Previous participants in 2011 (50 total at Grade 4)

• Additional participants expressing interest for 2015

Bahrain Qatar

Iran Saudi Arabia

Kuwait Tunisia

Morocco UAE (Abu Dhabi, Dubai)

Oman Yemen

Egypt Palestinian National Authority

Lebanon

Gaps in Numeracy Assessment Tools

• Examinations, national, international, diagnostic

• Formative or classroom-based – High potential for raising achievement levels

– Evaluation at multiple points during the year

– Observation, questioning, and tasks

– Actionable character, i.e., inform instruction

– Systematic approach, i.e., set targets, provide instruction, conduct assessments, use data to monitor student, classroom, and school progress

Next Steps

• Further develop the classification system

• Try out the system using numeracy tools

• See whether it is useful to practitioners

• Revise and modify it

• Make it available