Developing a practical assessment of early language learning in Bangladesh

1. Developing a practical assessment of early language learning in Bangladesh Colette Chabbott International Education Program George Washington University chabbott@gwu.edu Funding for this work was partially provided by a Partnership Grant from the U.S. Department of State to the George Washington University and BRAC University. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of any of these sponsors.

2. Introduction My applied work: project design and evaluation for rural community schools, in Islamic countries, where very few education experts, including myself, are fully fluent in the local language. Most intensively in Bangladesh, over 25 years with BRAC and more recently with BRAC University C. Chabbott

3. The situation in Bangladesh BANGLA • 4th most spoken mother tongue in the world. (SIL Ethnograph 1999) • archaic orthography, complex script with many characters, limited children’s literature PRIMARY EDUCATION • 80-95% net enrollment for both boys and girls • 40% of students receiving stipend & secondary scholarships available for many girls • crowded classrooms and an official primary drop out rate of 48% • Less than 50% of primary school completers—and less than 25% of all 11-year-olds--are independent readers. C. Chabbott

4. Support for primary education • Over 25 year of large-scale foreign assistance • Government developed primary competencies and issued new textbooks in early 1990s • Currently in middle of 5th large-scale primary education program, > US$ 1 billion for five years, of which > US$ 650 million is from external sources • Usual demands for accountability C. Chabbott

5. Approaches to monitoring learning • Beginning in Grade 4, a system of school-based and public examinations are riddled with cheating and a rote approach • Non-government group has conducted nationally representative surveys and administered competency-based achievement tests for Grade 4 and 5 several times in last decade. • Need something smaller, quicker, cheaper for monitoring and evaluating what interventions really improve learning, particularly in Grades 1, 2 & 3 C. Chabbott

6. My wish list for an ideal learning measure: • …focuses on “real” learning. • …improves lifelong learning, not just test-taking. • …measures progress in G1-G3, BEFORE most children drop out • …measure progress in small increments, so that even schools starting at low levels of performance can show progress in the early grades. • …quick to prepare • …serves as a leading indicator for achievement in more than one subject. • …is easy enough so that even non-professional teachers can use for continuous assessment • …doesn’t need to be kept a secret. • …speaks to policy-makers, teachers and parents. C. Chabbott

7. Systematic development of a graded Test of Oral Reading Fluency (TORF) • Come to an understanding of what we mean by “reading” • Analyze language competencies in existing curriculum • Generate word lists from textbooks and “age-appropriate” books • Develop criteria for composing tests that take into account both grade level, time of year, and variation in school quality • Testing the test • Establishing benchmark reading rates by grade and time of year C. Chabbott

8. What is reading? Coming to a common understanding C. Chabbott

9. Analyzing the official curriculum… • Includes many terminal (end-of-year) competencies for language (Bangla) in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. • Identifies topics and vocabulary at specific levels • Includes one critical reading competency before Grade 4: By the end of Grade 3, students should be able to “…read textbooks and other books written for children at an appropriate level.” C. Chabbott

10. 52 terminal competencies, just 6 relate to Bangla C. Chabbott

11. Graded competencies for reading Bangla C. Chabbott

12. Establishing “fair” word lists and topics • Topics come from competencies and national (N) textbooks • Find pictures, letters and words in national (N) and alternative, more basic (B) textbooks • Create database, including source, page number, translation into international language C. Chabbott

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14. Establishing graded criteria for tests Different types of tests 1) Pictures 4) Sentences 2) Letters 5) Continuous text 3) Words Different levels • Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3 • Beginning, middle, end of year • Easy, basic, advanced C. Chabbott

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16. Standardize the test • Fonts • Dialects • 11 types of primary schools • Grade 1 notoriously difficult to test • Getting children used to the test C. Chabbott

17. What do we want? http://dibels.uoregon.edu/benchmarkgoals.pdf C. Chabbott

18. How long does it take to develop a robust graded test? • Varies by language • Non-international languages likely to need more than a few weeks • Varies by degree of conflict over education • Translating competencies, word lists, and criteria into an international language can help engage more people in process of improving the test C. Chabbott