A REFLECTION ON THE NATURE OF LITERACY ASSESSMENT IN UGANDA

A REFLECTION ON THE NATURE OF LITERACY ASSESSMENT IN UGANDA Dan Kyagaba Senior Examinations Officer National Assessment of Progress in Education Uganda National Examinations Board

Introduction • Literacy is the ability to read and write • Operational definition for assessment purposes includes: - the content of what is read - context in which Literacy learning occurs • Main objective of reading is comprehension • Achieving reading comprehension ability is a multi-phase process • Reading and writing abilities are developed based on skills of Listening and speaking

Background • There is rampant poor reading and writing culture in Uganda • This attracted attention of: - Government - NGOs - Development Partners • Effort is geared towards developing reading ability among learners.

Background cont… • Little effort is devoted to developing a reading spirit. • It is the spirit to read that causes yearning to read. • The yearning to read is the basis upon which a reading culture is developed. • For over a decade now, Uganda has been grappling to get all school-age children into school.

Background cont… • With some success on that front, effort now is focussed on the quality of learning in the school. • Quality learning revolves around learners Literacy, levels to some extent. • Hence the emphasis of Literacy, even in Thematic Curriculum. • Efforts geared to Literacy learning should be assessed to determine their value to the learner.

Background cont… • Assessment: - enables stakeholders to understand what learners know and can do. - acts as driver for further learning because what is assessed gets taught (Peter Johnston & Paula Costello, 2005). - and what is assessed and how it is assessed has implications to learning.

What is Literacy Assessment? • According to Evangeline H.Stefanakis (2002): - the word assess comes from the Latin assidere - assidere means to sit beside - Literally then, to assess means to sit beside the learner • Literacy assessment can be defined as: - the determination of learners achievement on the Literacy curriculum.

Assessment definition cont… - Such assessment considers the context in which the Literacy assessed occurs/learned. - the ultimate objective of such assessment is to make the learning of Literacy better. The purpose of educational assessment is to help learners learn and teachers teach (NWEA 2014)

Assessment definition cont… • Assessments vary: - according to purpose of assessment - the design of an assessment depends on its purpose - Literacy assessment is for determination of what learners know and can do (not what they do not know and cannot do) out of the expected lot as specified in the curriculum.

Assessment definition cont… • Literacy assessment takes into consideration: - learners’ varying learning ability levels. • Hence, the expertly developed proficiency levels, which are: - unique levels of achievement on competencies, and - each proficiency level with unique descriptors derived from the curriculum.

Questions to ask: • What is the purpose of the Literacy assessment you conduct or know about? • Does that assessment respect varying proficiency levels of learners? • Does that assessment define learners achievement in terms of proficiency levels or in terms of total scores?

What is the Literacy assessment base? • Literacy learning is a multi-phase process. • Phases are expertly defined in a curriculum. • Curriculum could be informal or formal. • For our case, in Uganda, it is formal by NCDC. • Teaching of Literacy is based and follows the NCDC curriculum. • Likewise, meaningful Literacy assessment must be based on that same curriculum.

Literacy assessment base cont… • “ Effective assessment of young learners is integrally tied to the principles of learning adopted within the curriculum in which the children are learning. If the underlying pedagogy principles of assessment and learning are not aligned this would indicate a serious problem within the assesssment procedures being used.”(Penny Mckay,2007)

Questions to ask: • Is the Literacy assessment you conduct or know about in Uganda based on the defined curriculum. • Is that curriculum the approved one for the education system? • Is that curriculum the one to which the learners are subjected during teaching and learning?

Who should implement Literacy assessment? • Evangeline Harris Stefanakis says: - “ to assess” means “ to sit beside the learner”. • From this we deduce that: - one who ‘sits beside the learner’ should implement Literacy assessment. • But who is that who ‘sits beside the learner’? • For Literacy assessment, this implies one who:

Who should implement Lit. ass. cont… - teaches Literacy. - understands the learne. - is competent in the pedagogy of Literacy. - assists the learner to conceptualise and use the Literacy content. - is part of the context of Literacy learning and understands fully. This is the contemporary (active) Literacy teacher.

Who shd implement Lit. ass. cont… “Assessing children’s Literacy learning requires attending not only to what they know and can do but also at least as much to the context in which they know and do”.(Peter Johnston et al, 2005) • Any one not ‘sitting beside the learner’, but a distance away from the learner, should as well keep a distance away from Literacy assessment.

Who shd implement Lit. ass. cont… • They (teachers) are the gatekeepers of the curriculum.(Eisner, 2002) • Curriculum is the source of teaching, learning and assessment. • Only the gatekeepers of the curriculum can interpret it for teaching, learning and assessment

Who shd implement Lit. ass. cont… • Teachers (Literacy teachers) have ways of developing assessment instruments that act as drivers for learning. Teachers ‘bias for best’ tests which give some indications of success. (Penny Mckay, 2007)

Questions to ask: • Do teachers, on their own, conduct Literacy assessment during teaching? • Are teachers involved in implementing the Literacy assessment programmes which assess their learners , or are mere observers? • If they are, at what stages of implementation are they involved?

Questions to ask: cont… • Is the Literacy assessment programme you implement or know about mindful of the context in which the learning of the Literacy assessed takes place? • How effective are the Literacy assessors? • Are the Literacy assessors really ‘sitting beside the learner’ ?

How competent are the Literacy assessors for the job? • Literacy assessment findings are for different purposes: - making major policy decisions - allocation of resources - informing teaching, among others. • Indeed, Fenton (1996), defines assessment as a “collection of relevant information that may be relied on for making decisions”.

How competent are Lit assessors…? cont… • If deceptive assessment findings are used, then: - decisions based on them will be totally wrong. - misallocation of resources may occur. - teaching and learning process is derailed.

How competent are Lit assessors…? cont… Penny Mckay (2007), observes that the effect of assessment may be positive or negative depending on a number of factors ranging from the way the assessment procedures or tests are conducted to the way it is used. To avoid negative consequences of Literacy assessment, assessors should: - be trained teaches

How competent are Literacy assessors… cont… - be trained teachers - posses basic skills in assessment. - have some level of competence to implement Literacy assessment diligently to yield valid and reliable statistics.

Questions to ask: • Are the Literacy teachers competent in assessment skills since they are the ones who ‘sit beside the learner’. • Are those involved in the Literacy assessment job possessing required basic skills in assessment? • Since the correctness of the procedures of assessment determines the usefulness of the findings, to what extent are the procedures of the assessment you conduct or know about correct?

Question to ask: • Do we have any quality control measures or point in place for Literacy assessment and Literacy assessors? • Are the policy makers competent enough in assessment to make relevant policies for Literacy assessment or create an enabling environment for Literacy assessment?

Questions to ask: • Do the education managers ( supervisors) have the capacity to tell the correct and effectively positive Literacy assessment plan or programme from the incorrect or ineffective and negative ones.

Assessment of Literacy assessment or for Literacy assessment? • Assessment of learning: - done at the end of a learning process. - learner is given a grade at the end . - no definition of the grade. - no explantion of the grade. - no given advice or strategy to take to improve on the grade.

Literacy Assessment for or of learning … cont… • Assessment for learning: - done during the learning process. - findings used as feedback to the learner and teacher (and other stakeholders). - feedforward information is provided. - informs teaching and learning process.

Literacy Assessment for or of learning… cont… • “… in order to know how to proceed,the learner needs to be fully aware of their current position in relation to what has taken place prior to assessment, as well as being informed not only about where the next sign post is but also about how to get there”. (Kari Smith, 2010)

Questions to ask: • Is the Literacy assessment you conduct or know about , assessment of learning or for learning? • Does that assessment use the effective formative assessment which involves diagonistic assessment? • What is the nature of feedback that arises from your assessment findings?

Questions to ask: cont… • Is the feedback expertly designed to suit stakeholders? • Does the feedback provided carry corresponding feed-forward messages?

How is Lit. assess. used to improve the quality of education in Uganda? • The purpose of an assessment determines its use. • The ultimate purpose of Literacy Assessment is to improve classroom practices. • It is only a positive change in classroom Literacy practices that will grow a positive change in the quality of learning and education.

How Lit Assess. .. Cont.. • Kellaghan et at (2009), observed that student learning is unlikely to improve unless assessment findings are used to develop policies and strategies directed towards school and classroom practices. • Many good Literacy assessment findings are not used. • Some are never effectively disseminated to the stakeholders.

How Lit. Assess. cont… • Users are not facilitated to implement the recommendations. • Some users appear disinterested. • Findings not used can’t help to improve the quality of learning. • It is the effective use of the findings which is relevant quality of learning.

How Lit. Assess. cont… • UNESCO (1990), observed that providing evidence and data to an educational decision-maker represents communication only when the decision-maker is actively listening and reflecting on the problem. • Kellaghan et al (2009), describes three procedural steps that are essential if assessment findings are to be used effectively in schools and classroom teaching. They are:

How Assess. cont… - communication of findings to teachers, - interpretation of findings by teachers and assessment of their relevance to their schools, - application of findings in strategies designed to improve student learning.

Questions to ask: • Is the feedback from Literacy assessment findings disseminated to the supposed users? • Does the dissemination consider expertly designed feedbacck and feed-forward messages/information? • Do the classroom teachers get to know about the Literacy assessment findings?

Questions to ask: cont… • Has someone taken trouble to interpret the findings to the teachers and show their relevance and use to them? • Is the feedback dissemination providing strategies for the way forward to Literacy learning, instead of apportioning blame to groups of stakeholders? • Do you think your feedback dissemination is effective?

Questions to ask: • Is the system (stakeholders) using the findings to improve Literacy learning? • How much of the findings from Literacy assessment are effectively used? • How relevant are multi-organisational Literacy assessments to the quality of learning in Uganda?

Questions to ask: • Is the solution to low levels of Literacy or poor quality of learning in the country embedded in Literacy assessment? • Is there any cost-effectiveness in efforts exerted in Literacy assessment as a way of improving Literacy learning and the quality of education?

Questions to ask: • Don’t we need to borrow the economist’s principle of ‘division of labour’ to improve the quality of Literacy learning as a way of improving the quality of education?

Any capacity building plan for Lit. assess.? • Capacity building for assessment purposes is a neglected critical issue in our education system. • Many people consider synonymous, expertise in a learning area and expertise in its assessment. • These are two different disciplines both of which are essential for effective assessment.

Any capacity building… cont… • There are high levels of assessment illiteracy in our education system. • Assessment illiteracy must be fought, if efforts to improve Literacy learning and learning in general are to yield the expected results.

Any capacity building… cont… • NWEA (2014), notes that “…educators are beginning to agree that assessment literacy or the knowledge of the basic principles of sound assessment practice, including terminology, development, administration, analysis and standards of quality is an essential component to successful teaching and learning”.

Any capacity building … cont… • Unfortunately for Uganda, there is no institution that trains teachers in assessment as is supposed to be practised in the process of teaching and learning.

Questions to ask: • Are the Literacy assessors competent enough to implement effective Literacy assessment? • Do the Literacy assessors possess basic assessment skills, or are just experts in Literacy as a learning area, or not even any of those at all? • Is the Literacy assessment conducted really valid and reliable, if the assessors are assessment illiterates?

Questions to ask: • If the system is largely assessment illiterate, can it effectively support the would be effective Literacy assessment efforts? • What plans are there to build capacity for Literacy assessment in individual schools,institutions, organisations and country?

Any plans for building… cont… • Senteza-Kajubi (2002), observed that the improvement of the quality of education, and therefore, closing the gap between schooling and education will be attained through better teacher education and training to produce teachers who are not only competent, but also confident to assess their own pupils objectively.

A REFLECTION ON THE NATURE OF LITERACY ASSESSMENT IN UGANDA