80071 Uganda   SABER Country Report STUDENT ASSESSMENT 2012     Key Policy Areas for Student Assessment Status 1. ClassroomAssessment In Uganda, formal system-level documents, such as teaching syllabuses produced by  the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC), provide guidelines for classroom assessment. These documents—as well as other system-wide resources, such as textbooks, which provide self-testing exercises at the end of each curricular topic—are available for teachers to engage in classroom assessment activities. Mechanisms are also in place to systematically ensure that teachers develop skills and expertise in classroom assessment. For example, pre-service teacher training for all teachers includes the development of skills and expertise in classroom assessment. However, classroom assessment practices are perceived to be weak. 2. Examinations The Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) examination has been  administered every year since 1980 to grade 13 students. UACE results are used for certifying grade completion and determining admission to higher education institutions, as well as for monitoring education quality levels, planning education policy reforms, and for school and educator accountability. There are varied and systematic mechanisms in place to ensure the quality of the examination. For example, the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) conducts a pilot and translation verification before the final examination is set. However, inappropriate behavior surrounding the examination process is high, and includes candidates using unauthorized materials, such as prepared answers and notes. 3. NationalLargeͲScaleAssessment(NLSA) The National Assessment of Progress in Education (NAPE) has been administered in  Uganda at the primary level since 1996 and at the secondary level since 2008. NAPE is administered annually to students in grades 3 and 6 in Literacy and Numeracy, and every three years in Oral Skills in English. NAPE is also administered every year to students in Senior grade 2 in English, Mathematics, and Biology. Regular funding for NAPE is provided by the government and external sources, such as the World Bank. Although the group in charge of NAPE is a permanent unit within the Uganda National Examinations Board, there are too few staff members to adequately carry out assessment activities. 4. InternationalLargeͲScaleAssessment(ILSA) Uganda has participated in two international large-scale assessments, SACMEQ II (1999-2004) and SACMEQ III (2005-2009). Uganda has taken concrete steps to participate in SACMEQ IV (2010-2015). Funding for SACMEQ III was earmarked partly from the regular government budget, allocated at discretion, as well as from external sources. Although Uganda met all technical standards required to have its data from the SACMEQ exercises presented in the main displays of the international report, the results have not been covered in the media.      THEWORLDBANK UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT   SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012 Introduction systems: the types/purposes of assessment activities  andthequalityofthoseactivities. Uganda has focused on increasing student learning  outcomes by improving the quality of education in the Assessmenttypesandpurposes country. An effective student assessment system is an  important input to improving education quality and Assessment systems tend to be comprised of three learning outcomes because it provides the necessary main types of assessment activities, each of which information to meet stakeholders’ decisionͲmaking serves a different purpose and addresses different needs. In order to gain a better understanding of the information needs. These three main types are: strengths and weaknesses of its existing assessment classroom assessment, examinations, and largeͲscale, system, Uganda decided to benchmark this system systemlevelassessments. using standardized tools developed under The World  Bank’s Systems Approach for Better Education Results Classroom assessment provides realͲtime information (SABER) program. SABER is an evidenceͲbased program to support ongoing teaching and learning in individual to help countries systematically examine and classrooms. Classroom assessments use a variety of strengthentheperformanceofdifferentaspectsoftheir formats, including observation, questioning, and paperͲ educationsystems. andͲpencil tests, to evaluate student learning, generally  onadailybasis.  WhatisSABERͲStudentAssessment? Examinations provide a basis for selecting or certifying  students as they move from one level of the education SABERͲStudent Assessment is a component of the system to the next (or into the workforce). All eligible SABER program that focuses specifically on students are tested on an annual basis (or more often if benchmarkingstudentassessmentpoliciesandsystems. the system allows for repeat testing). Examinations The goal of SABERͲStudent Assessment is to promote cover the main subject areas in the curriculum and stronger assessment systems that contribute to usuallyinvolveessaysandmultipleͲchoicequestions. improvededucationqualityandlearningforall.   LargeͲscale, systemͲlevel assessments provide feedback National governments and international agencies are on the overall performance of the education system at increasingly recognizing the key role that assessment of particular grades or age levels. These assessments student learning plays in an effective education system. typically coverafewsubjectsonaregularbasis(suchas Theimportanceofassessmentislinkedtoitsrolein: every 3 to 5 years), are often sample based, and use (i) providing information on levels of student multipleͲchoice and shortͲanswer formats. They may be learningandachievementinthesystem; nationalorinternationalinscope. (ii) monitoring trends in education quality over  time; Appendix 1 summarizes the key features of these main (iii) supporting educators and students with realͲ typesofassessmentactivities. time information to improve teaching and learning;and  (iv) holdingstakeholdersaccountableforresults.    SABERǦStudentAssessmentmethodology  The SABERͲStudent Assessment framework is built on the available evidence base for what an effective assessment system looks like. The framework provides guidance on how countries can build more effective student assessment systems. The framework is structured around two main dimensions of assessment  SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS 2 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT   SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012 Qualitydriversofanassessmentsystem Table 1: Framework for building an effective The key considerations when evaluating a student assessmentsystem,withindicatorareas assessment system are the individual and combined  quality of assessment activities in terms of the adequacy of the information generated to support decision making. There are three main drivers of information quality in an assessment system: enabling context,systemalignment,andassessmentquality.  Enabling context refers to the broader context in which the assessment activity takes place and the extent to whichthatcontextisconduciveto,orsupportiveof,the assessment. It covers such issues as the legislative or policy framework for assessment activities; institutional and organizational structures for designing, carrying out, or using results from the assessment; the The indicators are identified based on a combination of availability of sufficient and stable sources of funding; criteria,including: andthepresenceoftrainedassessmentstaff. x professionalstandardsforassessment;  x empiricalresearchonthecharacteristicsofeffective System alignment refers to the extent to which the assessment systems, including analysis of the assessment is aligned with the rest of the education characteristics that differentiate between the system. This includes the degree of congruence assessment systems of lowͲ versus highͲperforming between assessment activities and system learning nations;and goals, standards, curriculum, and preͲ and inͲservice x theory—that is, general consensus among experts teachertraining. thatitcontributestoeffectiveassessment.   Assessmentqualityreferstothepsychometricqualityof Levelsofdevelopment the instruments, processes, and procedures for the  assessment activity. It covers such issues as design and The World Bank has developed a set of standardized implementation of assessment activities, analysis and questionnaires and rubrics for collecting and evaluating interpretation of student responses to those activities, data on the three assessment types and related quality and the appropriateness of how assessment results are drivers. reportedandused.   The questionnaires are used to collect data on the Crossing the quality drivers with the different characteristics of the assessment system in a particular assessment types/purposes provides the framework country. The information from the questionnaires is and broad indicator areas shown in Table 1. This then applied to the rubrics in order to judge the framework is a starting point for identifying indicators development level of the country’s assessment system that can be used to review assessment systems and indifferentareas. planfortheirimprovement.  The basic structure of the rubrics for evaluating data collected using the standardized questionnaires is summarized in Appendix 2. The goal of the rubrics is to provide a country with some sense of the development level of its assessment activities compared to best or recommended practice in each area. For each indicator, the rubric displays four development levels—Latent, Emerging, Established, and Advanced. These levels are  SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS 3 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT   SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012 artificially constructed categories chosen to represent available), net enrollment at the primary level was 94 key stages on the underlying continuum for each percent; as of 2002 (latest data available), it was 16 indicator. Each level is accompanied by a description of percentatthesecondarylevel.Netenrollmentofgirlsis what performance on the indicator looks like at that higher than boys at the primary level (95 percent for level. girls and 92 percent for boys in 2011); however, it is  higher for boys at the secondary level (15 percent for x Latent is the lowest level of performance; it girlsand17percentforboysin2002). represents absence of, or deviation from, the  desiredattribute. The Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) in Uganda x Emerging is the next level; it represents partial has identified a number of priorities to further develop presenceoftheattribute. its education system, including improving the quality of x Established represents the acceptable minimum primary education through the introduction of local standard. language instruction, increasing the attractiveness of x Advanced represents the ideal or current best the teaching profession through the introduction of a practice. scheme of service that creates a career ladder for  teachers and school administrators, and ensuring that A summary of the development levels for each allpupilssuccessfullycompletingthefirstprimaryseven assessmenttypeispresentedinAppendix3. years of education have access to either academic  secondary education or Business, Technical, and In reality, assessment systems are likely to be at VocationalEducationandTraining(BTVET). different levels of development in different areas. For  example, a system may be Established in the area of DetailedinformationwascollectedonUganda’sstudent examinations, but Emerging in the area of largeͲscale, assessment system using the SABERͲStudent systemͲlevel assessment,andviceversa.Whileintuition Assessment questionnaires and rubrics. It is important suggests that it is probably better to be further along in to remember that these tools primarily focus on as many areas as possible, the evidence is unclear as to benchmarkingacountry’spoliciesandarrangementsfor whether it is necessary to be functioning at Advanced assessment activities at the system or macro level. levels in all areas. Therefore, one might view the Additional data would need to be collected to Established level as a desirable minimum outcome to determine actual, onͲtheͲground practices in Uganda, achieveinallareas,butonlyaspirebeyondthatinthose particularly by teachers and students in schools. The areas that most contribute to the national vision or following sections discuss the findings by each priorities for education. In line with these assessment type, accompanied by suggested policy considerations, the ratings generated by the rubrics are options. The suggested policy options were determined not meant to be additive across assessment types (that in collaboration with key local stakeholders based on is, they are not meant to be added to create an overall Uganda’s immediate interests and needs. Detailed, ratingforanassessmentsystem;theyareonlymeantto completed rubrics for each assessment type are produce an overall rating for each assessment type). providedinAppendix5.  The methodology for assigning development levels is summarizedinAppendix4.  EducationinUganda  Uganda is a low income country in SubͲSaharan Africa. In 2012, GDP per capita (current US$) was $547, with annualgrowthof3.4percent.  In Uganda, the first seven years of education are free and compulsory for all children. As of 2011 (latest data  SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS 4 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT   SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012 ClassroomAssessment   In Uganda, classroom assessment information is required to be disseminated to all key stakeholders. Levelofdevelopment:EMERGING  Specifically, teachers are required to report classroom In Uganda, several formal, systemͲlevel documents assessment information to the school, parents, provide guidelines for classroom assessment at the students, School Management Committees and the primary and secondary level. Additionally, there are BoardofGovernors. some systemͲwide resources available for teachers to  engagein classroomassessmentactivities.Forexample, Classroom assessment information is also required to textbooks provide selfͲtesting exercises at the end of be used to support student learning, including eachtopic. diagnosing student learning issues, providing feedback  to students on their learning, and as an input to an Additionally, there are some systemͲlevel mechanisms external examination program. Although teachers use to ensure that teachers develop skills and expertise in classroom assessment to inform their students’ classroomassessment.Forexample,preͲserviceteacher learning, informing their own teaching is not a main training that is offered to teachers in Primary Teacher’s reason why teachers typically carry out classroom Colleges and in the undergraduate Bachelor of assessmentactivities. Education degree program includes a topic on the  development of skills and expertise in classroom Suggestedpolicyoptions: assessment. Opportunities are also available every year  for some teachers and Uganda National Examinations 1. Ensure a variety of resources are made available to Board (UNEB) examiners to participate in workshops teachers at the system level to provide support for and conferences, as well as in item development for, classroom assessment activities, such as scoring criteria and in scoring of, examinations. School inspection and orrubricsforevaluatingstudents’work. teacher supervision also includes a component focused  onclassroomassessment. 2. Review existing preͲservice and inͲservice training  mechanismsandadjustthemtoensurethatthetraining Informal and adͲhoc activities to build teachers’ skills that teachers receive in conducting classroom and expertise in classroom assessment are also made assessment is sufficient to ensure appropriate student available in Uganda, including refresher courses on learning. InͲservice training should also be made classroom assessment, as well as conferences and mandatory after a specific number of years in the workshopsorganizedforpracticingteachers. teaching service to refresh those who have taught for  long. Varied and systematic mechanisms are in place in  Uganda to monitor the quality of classroom assessment 3.Ensurethatteachersemployavarietyofassessments practices. Specifically, classroom assessment is a that go beyond knowledge recall and allow students to required component of a teacher’s performance engage in higherͲorder thinking skills, with emphasis on evaluation and of school inspection. There are also the students’ ability to inquire, reason, and apply systemͲwide reviews of the quality of education, which conceptstorealͲworldsituations. includeafocusonclassroomassessment.   4. Ensure that teachers evaluate their assessment At the same time, classroom assessment practices are practice and use assessment not only to measure a generally considered to be weak. For example, teachers student’s progress but also to acquire useful data to tendto construct theirownassessmentsinahaphazard informtheirowninstructionalpractice. fashion,creatingquestionsandessaypromptssimilarto  the ones that their teachers used. In addition, it is very   common for classroom assessment activities to be mainlyaboutrecallinginformation.  SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS 5 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT   SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012 Examinations Somedocumentationaboutthetechnicalaspectsofthe examination is available, but it is not in a formal report  format. At the same time, there are varied and Levelofdevelopment:ESTABLISHED systematicmechanismsin placetoensurethequalityof  theexamination.Forexample,UNEBconductsapilotor TheUgandaAdvancedCertificateofEducation(UACE)is filed testing and translation verification before the an examination that has been administered every year examination is finalized. UNEB also sends supervisors since 1980 to grade 13 students. Examination results who monitor the administration of the examination at are used for certifying grade completion and UACEexaminationcentersalloverthecountry. determining admission to university and other higher  education institutions, as well as for monitoring However, inappropriate behavior surrounding the education quality levels, planning education policy examination process is high. Inappropriate behavior reforms,andschooloreducatoraccountability. includes leakage of examination content prior to the  examination, and using unauthorized materials such as The Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB), a preparedanswersandnotesduringtheexamination. semiͲautonomous body that is accountable to the  Ministry of Education and Sports, is responsible for In general, examination results are used by some running the UACE. While UNEB has permanent, fullͲ stakeholder groups in a proper way. However, schools time staff, there are too few staff members to release the examination results to the media, which adequately meet the demands of the examination. publish student’s names and grades. This practice is not Specifically, one staff member is required to handle in line with the guidelines of communicating many subject areas outside of his or her area of examinationresults,anditissomethingthattheschools expertise. UNEB sometimes relies on external andthemediadowithoutformalauthority. specialists, including the National Curriculum  Development Centre (NCDC) and university staff, Students who do not perform well on the UACE have teacher trainers, and secondary school teachers, to the option of retaking the examination, attending assistwithexaminationactivities. remedial courses to prepare for the examination and  repeating the grade. Students can also opt to attend There are some opportunities offered in Uganda to less selective schools. In addition, some mechanisms prepare for work on the examination. For example, are in place to monitor the consequences of the Makerere University’s School of Education offers examination. For example, there is a permanent undergraduate and master’s degree courses on oversight committee and studies that are updated educational measurement and evaluation. Additionally, regularly. UNEB sends eight to ten people to attend the  Association for Educational Assessment in Africa (AEAA) Suggestedpolicyoptions: conference and two people to attend the International  Association for Educational Assessment (IAEA) 1. Ensure that UNEB has a sufficient number of conferenceeveryyear. permanent fullͲtime staff to meet the demands of the  examination. In addition, ensure that UNEB has UNEB annually selects teachers to participate in adequate facilities, including computers for all technical developingtheexaminationquestions,creatingmarking staff, in order to carry out the required examination guides,administeringtheexamination,actingasajudge activities. in orals, and supervising examination procedures.  However, other than a fourͲweek training for the 2. Introduce courses or workshops on the examination, teachers involved in item development and marking of and make them widely available to teachers. For the examination, there are no courses or workshops on example, conduct workshops on the Report on the theexaminationsavailabletoteachers. Work of Candidates (which analyses in detail the  candidates’ performance in the examination papers) to  SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS 6 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT   SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012 allow teachers sufficient time to address candidates’ weaknesses.  3.Ensurevariedandsystematic mechanismstomonitor the consequences of the examination. For example, allocate government funding for independent research ontheimpactoftheexamination.  4. Ensure that the technical aspects of the examination are contained in a formal report format that is easily accessibletoallstakeholders.  5. Introduce preventive and reactive mechanisms to limit inappropriate behavior surrounding the examination. For example, make available for all key stakeholders a document that clearly defines inappropriate behavior during the examination process and specifies the consequences for engaging in such behavior. Ensure that the consequences are consistentlyenforced.  6. Ensure that schools and the media comply with the guidelines of communicating examinations results. Measures for nonͲcompliance should be clearly stated andconsistentlyenforced.     SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS 7 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT   SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012 NationalLargeͲScaleAssessment(NLSA) of NAPE. For example, all administrators are trained  according to a protocol, there is a standardized manual for the administrators, and a pilot is conducted before Levelofdevelopment:ESTABLISHED  themaindatacollectiontakesplace. To monitor the effectiveness of the teachingͲlearning  process, the Government of Uganda has carried out the Acomprehensive,highͲqualitytechnicalreportonNAPE National Assessment of Progress in Education (NAPE) at is available to the general public. The report broadly the primary level since 1996 and at the secondary level covers an introduction to the assessment, survey since 2008. At the primary level, assessment is procedures, and student achievement levels by subject conducted annually in grades 3 and 6 in Literacy and and grade. The report also presents challenges faced by Numeracy, and every three years in Oral Skills in the schools and concludes with recommendations for English. At the secondary level, students in the Senior thefuture. grade 2 are assessed every year in English,  Mathematics, and Biology. In addition, a sample of NAPE results are disseminated within 12 months after teachersisassessed. the assessment is administered. In addition,  mechanisms are in place to monitor the consequences The Government White Paper on Education (Ministry of of NAPE, including a permanent advisory committee, Education and Sports, 1992) is the formal policy regular focus groups and surveys of key stakeholders, document that authorizes NAPE. In addition to this andexpertreviewgroups. document, a national largeͲscale assessment plan for  the coming years exists in official communications and Suggestedpolicyoptions: minutesofmeetings.   1. Usingofficialcommunications,minutesofmeetings, Regular funding for NAPE is allocated by the and other resources, develop a formal, written plan government and by nonͲgovernment sources, such as forfutureNAPEactivities. the World Bank. Activities covered by the funding  include assessment design and administration, and data 2. Introduce funding for research and development analysis and reporting. Due to the small resource activitiesspecificallyforNAPE. envelope allocated for the assessment program from  both government and nonͲgovernment sources, some 3. Ensure a variety of mechanisms are in place to activities, mainly at the level of dissemination of NAPE monitortheconsequencesofNAPE,suchasfunding findings,aresuppressedandothersaresqueezed. forindependentresearchontheimpactofNAPE.   ThegroupinchargeofNAPEisaunitwithintheUganda 4. Establishandmakeregularlyavailableopportunities National Examinations Board. Although there is thatprepareindividualsforworkonNAPE. permanent fullͲtime staff responsible for NAPE, there  are too few staff members to meet the needs of the 5. Ensure that sufficient funds from government and assessment. nonͲgovernment sources are earmarked for NAPE  activities, including for the dissemination of NAPE In Uganda, university courses (graduate and findings. undergraduate) on educational measurement and  evaluation are available on an annual basis; however, 6. Ensure that NAPE has a sufficient number of there are no opportunities to prepare individuals to permanent fullͲtime staff to meet the demands of work on NAPE. At the same time, teacher training theassessment. courses, workshops, and presentations are offered to   teachers,headteachers,andDistrictEducationOfficers.  A number of measures are taken to ensure the quality  SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS 8 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT   SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012 InternationalLargeͲScaleAssessment report. In addition, Uganda has contributed to the global knowledge base on international assessments by (ILSA) generating new knowledge and making it available  through publications and presentations, which are Levelofdevelopment:EMERGING available as SACMEQ National Reports, National Policy  Briefs,andResearchPapersandTheses. Uganda hasparticipatedintwointernationallargeͲscale  assessments, SACMEQ II (1999Ͳ2004) and SACMEQ III Although SACMEQ results have not been covered in the (2005Ͳ2009). In addition, Uganda has taken concrete media, they have been used by policymakers to inform steps to participate in SACMEQ IV (2010Ͳ2015). A pilot curriculum improvement, teacherͲtraining programs, study of SACMEQ IV has been concluded, and the and resource allocation. For example, SACMEQ findings resultsarebeinganalyzed. havebeen usedbythe MinistryofEducationandSports  to inform the design of continuous assessment Funding for SACMEQ III was earmarked partly from the guidelines for tutors in Primary Teacher Colleges (PTCs). regular government budget, allocated at discretion, as SACMEQ findings have also been used to inform the well as from external sources. Funding for SACMEQ III content and delivery of preͲservice and inͲservice covered implementation of the assessment exercise in teacher training programs to ensure that they are more Uganda, processing and analyzing data collected from responsivetoteachers’needs. the assessment exercise, and reporting and  disseminating assessment results. In addition, funding Suggestedpolicyoptions: coveredattendanceatinternationalexpertmeetings,as  well as research and development activities. The 1. Introduce a systemͲlevel strategy and monitoring Government of Uganda is required to meet the costs of mechanisms to ensure that SACMEQ information is administeringSACMEQIV. communicated effectively to all key stakeholders. For  example, include provisions for all schools and The team responsible for carrying out SACMEQ educators to receive feedback on SACMEQ results. activities is comprised of the National Coordinator, who Additionally, distribute national reports with SACMEQ is the Minister of Education and Sports, and two results to stakeholder groups in electronic and print National Research Coordinators, all of whom are fluent formats. in the language in which the internationalͲlevel  meetings are conducted. They have attended various 2. Collaborate with the media to ensure wide coverage international workshops, meetings, and trainings. The of ILSA results, such as through newspapers, radio, and team has previous experience working on international televisionǤ assessments and has the necessary training and  experience to carry out the required assessment ͵Ǥ Ensure that financial resources are earmarked from activitieseffectively. both government and nonͲgovernment sources to run  SACMEQactivities. Individuals working directly on SACMEQ benefit from  the opportunities to learn about international assessments. Master’s degree students studying assessment or a related area are also invited to the international training workshops. Workshops that are heldinUgandaareonlyforindividualswhoareinvolved in administering the SACMEQ questionnaires, and master’s degree students are not invited to these workshops.  Uganda met all technical standards required to have its data presented in the main displays of the international  SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS 9 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT   SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012 Appendix1:AssessmentTypesandTheirKeyDifferences  Classroom Large-scale assessment Examinations Surveys National International Exit Entrance Purpose To provide To provide To provide To certify To select immediate feedback on feedback on the students as they students for feedback to overall health of comparative move from one further inform the system at performance of level of the educational classroom particular the education education system opportunities instruction grade/age system at to the next (or level(s), and to particular into the monitor trends in grade/age workforce) learning level(s) Frequency Daily For individual For individual Annually and Annually and subjects offered subjects offered more often more often on a regular on a regular where the system where the system basis (such as basis (such as allows for allows for every 3-5 years) every 3-5 years) repeats repeats Who is All students Sample or A sample of All eligible All eligible tested? census of students at a students students students at a particular grade particular grade or age level(s) or age level(s) Format Varies from Usually multiple Usually multiple Usually essay Usually essay observation to choice and short choice and short and multiple and multiple questioning to answer answer choice choice paper-and-pencil tests to student performances Coverage of All subject areas Generally Generally Covers main Covers main curriculum confined to a few confined to one subject areas subject areas subjects or two subjects Additional Yes, as part of Frequently Yes Seldom Seldom information the teaching collected from process students? Scoring Usually informal Varies from Usually involves Varies from Varies from and simple simple to more statistically simple to more simple to more statistically sophisticated statistically statistically sophisticated techniques sophisticated sophisticated techniques techniques techniques  SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS 10 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT   SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012 Appendix2:BasicStructureofRubricsforEvaluatingDataCollectedonaStudentAssessmentSystem  Development Level LATENT ESTABLISHED (Absence of, or EMERGING (Acceptable deviation from, (On way to meeting minimum ADVANCED Dimension attribute) minimum standard) standard) (Best practice) Justification EC—ENABLING CONTEXT EC1—Policies EC2—Leadership, public engagement EC3—Funding EC4—Institutional arrangements EC5—Human resources SA—SYSTEM ALIGNMENT SA1—Learning/quality goals SA2—Curriculum SA3—Pre-, in-service teacher training AQ—ASSESSMENT QUALITY AQ1—Ensuring quality (design, administration, analysis) AQ2—Ensuring effective uses     SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS 11 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT   SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012 Appendix3:SummaryoftheDevelopmentLevelsforEachAssessmentType  Assessment Type LATENT EMERGING ESTABLISHED ADVANCED  Absence of, or deviation On way to meeting Acceptable minimum Best practice from, the attribute minimum standard standard There is no system-wide There is weak system- There is sufficient There is strong system- institutional capacity to wide institutional system-wide institutional wide institutional support and ensure the capacity to support and capacity to support and capacity to support and quality of classroom ensure the quality of ensure the quality of ensure the quality of assessment practices. classroom assessment classroom assessment classroom assessment practices. practices. practices. CLASSROOMASSESSMENT There is no standardized There is a partially There is a stable There is a stable examination in place for stable standardized standardized standardized key decisions. examination in place, examination in place. examination in place and and a need to develop There is institutional institutional capacity and institutional capacity to capacity and some strong mechanisms to run the examination. The limited mechanisms to monitor it. The EXAMINATIONS examination typically is monitor it. The examination is of high of poor quality and is examination is of quality and is perceived perceived as unfair or acceptable quality and is as fair and free from corrupt. perceived as fair for corruption. most students and free from corruption. There is no NLSA in There is an unstable There is a stable NLSA There is a stable NLSA place. NLSA in place and a in place. There is in place and institutional need to develop institutional capacity and capacity and strong institutional capacity to some limited mechanisms to monitor run the NLSA. mechanisms to monitor it. The NLSA is of high NATIONAL(ORSYSTEMͲ Assessment quality and it. The NLSA is of quality and its LEVEL)LARGEͲSCALE impact are weak. moderate quality and its information is ASSESSMENT information is effectively used to disseminated, but not improve education. always used in effective ways. There is no history of Participation in an ILSA There is more or less There is stable participation in an ILSA has been initiated, but stable participation in an participation in an ILSA nor plans to participate there still is need to ILSA. There is and institutional capacity in one. develop institutional institutional capacity to to run the ILSA. The capacity to carry out the carry out the ILSA. The information from the INTERNATIONALLARGEͲ ILSA. information from the ILSA is effectively used SCALEASSESSMENT ILSA is disseminated, to improve education. but not always used in effective ways.    SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS 12 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT  SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012  Appendix4:MethodologyforAssigningDevelopmentLevels  1.Thecountryteamorconsultantcollectsinformationabouttheassessmentsysteminthecountry.  2.Basedonthecollectedinformation,alevelofdevelopmentandscoreisassignedtoeachdimensionintherubrics:  x Latent=1scorepoint x Emerging=2scorepoints x Established=3scorepoints x Advanced=4scorepoints  3. The score for each quality driver is computed by aggregating the scores for each of its constituent dimensions. For example:  Thequalitydriver,‘EnablingContext,’inthecaseofILSA,has3dimensionsonwhichahypotheticalcountryreceivesthe following scores: Dimension A = 2 points; Dimension B = 2 points; Dimension C = 3 points. The hypothetical country’s overallscoreforthisqualitydriverwouldbe:(2+2+3)/3=2.33  4.Apreliminarylevelofdevelopmentisassignedtoeachqualitydriver.  5. The preliminary development level is validated using expert judgment in cooperation with the country team and The WorldBankTaskTeamLeader.  For scores that allow a margin of discretion (i.e., to choose between two levels of development), a final decision has to be made based on expert judgment. For example, the aforementioned hypothetical country has an ‘Enabling Context’ score of 2.33, corresponding to a preliminary level of development of ‘Emerging or Established.’ Based on qualitative information not captured in the rubric, along with expert judgment, the country team chooses ‘Emerging’ as the most appropriatelevel.  6. Scores for certain key dimensions under ‘Enabling Context’ (in the case of EXAM, NLSA, and ILSA) and under ‘System Alignment’ (in the case of CLASS) were set as ceiling scores, i.e., the overall mean score for the particular assessment type cannot be greater than the score for these key dimensions. These key variables include formal policy, regular funding,havingapermanentassessmentunit,andthequalityofassessmentpractices.  SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS 13 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012  Appendix5:SABERǦStudentAssessmentRubricsforUganda  Thisappendixprovidesthecompleted SABERͲStudentAssessmentrubricsforeachtypeofassessmentactivityin Uganda.Ineachrowoftherubric,therelevant selection is indicated by a thick border and an asterisk. The selection may include a superscript number that refers to the justification or explanation for the selection (as indicated by a thick border and an asterisk). The explanation or justification text can be located in the “Development level rating justifications” sectionattheendofeachrubric.Ifarowincludesasuperscript,butnotathickborderandanasterisk,thismeansthat insufficientinformationwasavailableto determinetherelevantselectionintherow.  SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      14 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012           UGANDA ClassroomAssessment    SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      15 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012  ENABLINGCONTEXTANDSYSTEMALIGNMENT Overallpolicyandresourceframeworkwithinwhichclassroomassessmentactivitytakesplaceinacountryorsystem,andthedegreetowhichclassroom assessmentactivityiscoherentwithothercomponentsoftheeducationsystem. LATENT EMERGING ESTABLISHED ADVANCED ENABLINGCONTEXTANDSYSTEMALIGNMENT1: Settingclearguidelinesforclassroomassessment There is no systemͲlevel document that There is an informal systemͲlevel There is a formal systemͲlevel document This option does not apply to this provides guidelines for classroom document that provides guidelines for that provides guidelines for classroom dimension. assessment. classroomassessment. assessment.1 * This option does not apply to this This option does not apply to this The availability of the document is Thedocumentiswidelyavailable.2 dimension. dimension. restricted. * ENABLINGCONTEXTANDSYSTEMALIGNMENT2: Aligningclassroomassessmentwithsystemlearninggoals There are no systemͲwide resources for There are scarce systemͲwide resources There are some systemͲwide resources There are a variety of systemͲwide teachersforclassroomassessment. forteachersforclassroomassessment. forteachersforclassroomassessment.3 resources available for teachers for classroomassessment. * There is no official curriculum or There is an official curriculum or There is an official curriculum or There is an official curriculum or standardsdocument. standards document, but it is not clear standards document that specifies what standards document that specifies what what students are expected to learn or students are expected to learn, but the students are expected to learn and to towhatlevelofperformance. level of performance required is not whatlevelofperformance.4 clear. * ENABLINGCONTEXTANDSYSTEMALIGNMENT3: Havingeffectivehumanresourcestocarryoutclassroomassessmentactivities There are no systemͲlevel mechanisms This option does not apply to this There are some systemͲlevel There are a variety of systemͲlevel to ensure that teachers develop skills dimension. mechanisms to ensure that teachers mechanisms to ensure that teachers andexpertiseinclassroomassessment. develop skills and expertise in classroom develop skills and expertise in classroom assessment.5 assessment. *                       SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      16 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012   ASSESSMENTQUALITY Qualityofclassroomassessmentdesign,administration,analysis,anduse. LATENT EMERGING ESTABLISHED ADVANCED ASSESSMENTQUALITY1: Ensuringthequalityofclassroomassessment Classroom assessment practices suffer Classroom assessment practices are Classroom assessment practices are Classroom assessment practices are from widespread weaknesses or there is knowntobeweak.6 knowntobeofmoderatequality. knowntobegenerallyofhighquality. no information available on classroom assessmentpractices. * There arenomechanisms to monitor the Thereareadhocmechanismstomonitor Therearelimitedsystematicmechanisms There are varied and systematic quality of classroom assessment the quality of classroom assessment to monitor the quality of classroom mechanisms in place to monitor the practices. practices. assessmentpractices. quality of classroom assessment practices.7 * ASSESSMENTQUALITY2: Ensuringeffectiveusesofclassroomassessment Classroom assessment information is not This option does not apply to this Classroom assessment information is Classroom assessment information is required to be disseminated to key dimension. required tobe disseminatedto some key required to be disseminated to all key stakeholders. stakeholders. stakeholders.8 * There are no required uses of classroom There are limited required uses of There are adequate required uses of There are adequate required uses of assessmenttosupportstudentlearning. classroom assessment to support classroom assessment to support classroom assessment to support studentlearning. student learning, excluding its use as an student learning, including its use as an inputforexternalexaminationresults. inputforexternalexaminationresults.9 *     SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      17 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012  ClassroomAssessmentǣ‡˜‡Ž‘’‡–Ž‡˜‡Ž”ƒ–‹‰Œ—•–‹ˆ‹…ƒ–‹‘•  1.Attheprimarylevel,twodocumentsprovideguidelinesforclassroomassessment:theNationalCurriculumDevelopmentCentre(NCDC)syllabusesforeach yearP1toP7andtheTeacher’sGuidesforP1toP3.Eachofthesedocumentscontainsasectiononguidelinesforassessment.TherearenoTeacher’sGuides forP4toP7.  ThecurriculumattheLowerPrimarylevel(P1toP3)isorganizedinaThematicApproach,wheredifferentthemeshavebeendevelopedandcontenttobe taughtisorganizedinbroadlearningareasreferredtoasstrands.Emphasisatthislevelisonliteracy,numeracy,andlifeskills.ThecurriculumattheUpper Primarylevel(P4toP7)issubjectbased,coveringEnglish,Mathematics,IntegratedScience,SocialStudies,LocalLanguage,ReligiousStudies,Creativeand PerformingArts.WithregardtoPrimaryEducation,NCDChasproducedsyllabusesforallthesubjectsforeachyearforP1toP7andTeacher’sGuidesforP1to P3.Guidelinesforclassroomassessmentareprovidedattheendofeachtopicinthesyllabuses.Furtherdetailsonclassroomassessmentaregiveninthe Teacher’sGuidesforP1toP3.Withregardtosecondaryeducation,NCDChasproducedteachingsyllabusesforOͲLevel(S1toS4).Thereisateachingsyllabusfor eachsubjectforeachyearS1toS4.Thesesyllabusescontainguidanceonthemodeofassessmentbutdonotprovidedetailedguidelinesforclassroom assessmentforeachtopic.TherearealsonoTeacher’sGuidesatthislevel.Thereareteachingsyllabusesforeachofthe8coreand23electiveOͲLevelsubjects. NCDChasrecentlyproducedtheteachingsyllabusforAͲLevelanditcanbeaccessedfromtheNationalCurriculumDevelopmentCentrewebsiteat http://www.ncdc.go.ug/aͲlevels.html.  TheMinistryofEducationandSportshasalsodevelopedaContinuousAssessmentHandbookandGuidelinesforTutorsinPrimaryTeacherEducationinUganda. Thisisaguideforindividuals(i.e.,tutors/teachertrainers)preparingstudentteacherstoengageincontinuousassessmentinprimaryschools.Althoughthis HandbookismainlyfortutorsinthePrimaryTeacher’sColleges(PTCs),itisavaluableresourceonassessmentmechanismsforteachereducators,teacher traineesandpracticingteachersinprimaryschools.ThehandbookcanbeaccessedfromtheMinistryofEducationwebsite.  2.TheNCDCsyllabusesforeachyearP1toP7areavailabletothepublicthroughtheNationalCurriculumDevelopmentCentre,teacherͲtrainingcolleges,inͲ servicecoursesforteachersandleadingbookstoresinthecountry.ThesyllabusesareprovidedfreeofchargetoallgovernmentͲaidedschoolsinthecountry. PrivateschoolscanpurchasecopiesofthesyllabusesfromNCDCandbookstores.  TheNCDCTeacher’sGuidesforP1toP3areprovidedfreeofchargetoallgovernmentͲaidedschools.PrivateschoolscanpurchasetheTeacher’sGuidesfrom NCDCandbookstores.  TheNCDCsyllabusesforOͲLevel(S1toS4)areavailablefromNCDCandaresoldatbookstoresinthecountry.Thesesyllabusescanalsobeaccessedfromthe NationalCurriculumDevelopmentCentrewebsiteathttp://www.ncdc.go.ug/oͲlevel.html.  3.TheNCDCsyllabusesforeachyearP1toP7andtheNCDCsyllabusesforOͲLeveloutlinewhatstudentsareexpectedtolearnindifferentsubjectareasat differentgradelevels.   SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      18 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012  Therecommendedtextbooksforprimaryandsecondaryeducationprovidesupportforclassroomassessment.ThesetextbooksusuallyprovideselfͲtesting exercisesattheendofeachtopic.NCDChasonlyproducedtheAͲLevelEntrepreneurshipLearner’sBookastextbooksaremainlyproducedbyprivatesector publisherssuchasMacMillanandHeinemann.TheMinistryofEducationandSportsnormallyprovidesalistoftherecommendedtextbookstoeach governmentͲaidedschool.SchoolsarerequiredtoselectthetextbookstheywouldneedfromthelistandsubmittheirliststotheMinistryofEducationand Sports,whichthenpurchasescopiesandsuppliesthemfreeofchargetoallgovernmentͲaidedschools.Privateschoolspurchasetheirowntextbooksfrombook stores.  Schoolsandteachersmaketheirownscoringcriteriaforclassroomassessmentactivities,followingtheUNEBexaminationformats.Schoolsandteacherscan purchasepastUNEBexaminationpapersfromUNEBandbookstoresandusethemfortheirclassroomassessmentactivities.Schoolsandteachersalsocollect pastpapersfromthebestͲperformingschoolsandusethemforclassroomassessmentactivities.  4.TheNCDCsyllabusesforP1toP7outlinewhatstudentsatdifferentgradeandagelevelsareexpectedtolearninLanguageandMathematics.Thesyllabuses alsooutlinewhatstudentsareexpectedtolearnforallsubjectsinthecurriculum.Thesyllabuseslistasetofcompetenciesthatstudentsareexpectedto acquireattheendofeachcurriculartopic.TheNCDCsyllabusesforOͲLeveloutlinewhatstudentsatdifferentgradeandagelevelsareexpectedtolearnin EnglishandMathematics.Theyalsooutlinewhatstudentsareexpectedtolearnforallsubjectsinthecurriculum.TheOͲLevelandAͲLevelUNEBsyllabuses outlinewhatstudentsareexpectedtolearninLanguageandMathematics.Theyalsooutlinewhatstudentsareexpectedtolearnforallsubjectsinthe curriculum.  5.SystemͲlevelmechanismsincludepreͲandinͲserviceteachertraining.Specifically,preͲserviceteachertrainingforallteachersincludesatopiconthe developmentofskillsandexpertiseinclassroomassessment.Secondaryschoolteachertraineesreceivetrainingonclassroomassessmentduringtheir undergraduateBachelorofEducationdegreeprogram.PrimaryschoolteachertraineesreceivetrainingonclassroomassessmentduringtheirGrade3 CertificateprogramsatthePrimaryTeacher’sColleges(PTCs).PrimaryteachertraineesenrolledfortheDiplomainPrimaryEducationalsoreceivetrainingon classroomassessment.  TheprovisionforinͲserviceteachertrainingismainlyavailabletoprimaryschoolteachersthroughtheContinuousProfessionalDevelopment(CPD)programand theinitialteacherorientationprogramconductedbythecoordinatingtutors.CoordinatingtutorsareteachertrainersinteacherͲtrainingcollegeswhohave beenidentifiedbytheMinistryofEducationandSportstooffersupportinimplementationofthecurriculum.Atthesecondaryschoollevel,theprovisionforinͲ servicetrainingisavailableprimarilytoMathematicsandScienceteachersthroughtheSecondaryScienceandMathematicsTeachers(SESEMAT)program.The purposeoftheprogramistoimprovetheteachingabilityofScienceandMathematicsteachersatthesecondarylevel,andtheoverallgoalistoimprovestudent performanceinthosesubjects.  Additionally,allteachertrainingprogramsincludearequiredcourseonclassroomassessment.Schoolinspectionorteachersupervisionalsoincludesa componentfocusedonclassroomassessment.Annualopportunitiestoparticipateinworkshops,conferences,anditemdevelopmentfor,orscoringofexams areavailableforsometeachersandUNEBexaminers.   SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      19 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012  InformaloradͲhocinitiatives/activitiestobuildskillsandexpertiseinclassroomassessmentarealsomadeavailableinthecountry,includingrefreshercourses, conferencesandworkshopsorganizedforpracticingteachers.  6.ThesupplyͲopenendedformatismorecommonattheprimaryschoollevel,whilethemultipleͲchoiceformatiscommonatthesecondaryschoollevel.There isnostandardsystemͲlevelcriterionthatisprovidedtoteacherstobeusedduringthegradingaspartofclassroomassessmentactivities.Teachersconstruct theirownclassroomassessmentsinahaphazardfashion,withquestionsandessaypromptssimilartotheonesthattheirteachersused.  Itisverycommonforclassroomassessmentactivitiestobemainlyaboutrecallinginformation.Itisalsocommontoobserveerrorsinthescoringorgradingof students'work,andgradeinflation,andunevenapplicationofstandardsforgradingstudents'workisaseriousproblem.Itiscommonforclassroomassessment tobemainlyusedasanadministrativeorcontroltoolratherthanasapedagogicalresource.Atthesametime,classroomassessmentistypicallyalignedwith thepedagogicalorcurricularframework,parentsaregenerallyinformedoftheirchild'sgrades,andclassroomassessmentactivitiestendtoprovideuseful feedbacktostudents.  7.SystemͲlevelmechanismsareinplacetomonitorthequalityofclassroomassessmentactivitiesandincludeclassroomassessmentasarequiredcomponent ofateacher’sperformanceevaluationandschoolinspections.TherearealsosystemͲwidereviewsofthequalityofeducation,whichincludeafocuson classroomassessment.Specifically,theDirectorateofEducationStandardshastheresponsibilityofsettingstandards,assuringqualityandevaluating performanceineducation.Additionally,thereisanexternalmoderationsystemthatreviewsthedifficultyofclassroomassessmentactivitiesandthe appropriatenessofscoringcriteria.Someschoolshaveinternalandexternalmoderationsystemscomprisedofstaffwithinandoutsideoftheschools.  8.Teachersarerequiredtoreportclassroomassessmentinformationtotheschool,parents,students,SchoolManagementCommittees,andBoardof Governors.Onrequest,schoolsshouldbeabletoreportonindividualstudent’sperformancetoofficialsfromtheMinistryofEducationandCoordinatingCentre Tutors(CCTs).  9.Therequiredusesofclassroomassessmentactivitiestopromoteandinformstudentlearningincludediagnosingstudents’learningissues,providingfeedback tostudentsontheirlearning,informingparentsabouttheirchild’slearning,gradingstudentsforinternalclassroomuses,providinginputtoanexternal examinationprogram,andpromotingstudentsfromonegradeleveltothenext.  AlthoughteachersinUgandauseclassroomassessmenttoinformstudents’learning,informingtheirownteachingisnotamainreasonteacherstypicallycarry outclassroomassessmentactivities.    SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      20 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012          UGANDA Examinations   SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      21 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012  ENABLINGCONTEXT Overallframeworkofpolicies,leadership,organizationalstructures,fiscalandhumanresourcesinwhichassessmentactivitytakesplaceinacountryorsystem andtheextenttowhichthatframeworkisconduciveto,orsupportiveof,theassessmentactivity. LATENT EMERGING ESTABLISHED ADVANCED ENABLINGCONTEXT1: Settingclearpolicies No standardized examination has taken The standardized examination has been The examination is a stableprogram that This option does not apply to this place. operatingonanirregularbasis. hasbeenoperatingregularly.1 dimension * There is no policy document that There is an informal or draft policy There is a formal policy document that This option does not apply to this authorizestheexamination. document that authorizes the authorizestheexamination.2 dimension. examination. * This option does not apply to this The policy document is not available to The policy document is available to the This option does not apply to this dimension. thepublic public.3 dimension. * This option does not apply to this This option does not apply to this The policy document addresses some The policy document addresses all key dimension. dimension. keyaspectsoftheexamination.4 aspectsoftheexamination. * ENABLINGCONTEXT2: Havingstrongleadership All stakeholder groups strongly oppose Most stakeholder groups oppose the Most stakeholders groups support the All stakeholder groups support the theexaminationorareindifferenttoit. examination. examination.5 examination.  * There are no attempts to improve the This option does not apply to this There are independent attempts to There are coordinated attempts to examinationbystakeholdergroups. dimension. improve the examination by stakeholder improve the examination by stakeholder groups.6 groups. * Efforts to improve the examination are This option does not apply to this Efforts to improve the examination are This option does not apply to this not welcomed by the leadership in dimension. generally welcomed by the leadership in dimension. chargeoftheexamination chargeoftheexamination.7 *                   (CONTINUED)  SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      22 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012     LATENT EMERGING ESTABLISHED ADVANCED ENABLINGCONTEXT3: Havingregularfunding There is no funding allocated for the There is irregular funding allocated for There is regular funding allocated for the This option does not apply to this examination. theexamination. examination.8 dimension. * This option does not apply to this Funding covers some core examination Funding covers all core examination This option does not apply to this dimension. activities: design, administration, data activities: design, administration, data dimension. processingorreporting. processingandreporting.9 * This option does not apply to this Funding does not cover research and This option does not apply to this Funding covers research and dimension. development. dimension. development.10 * ENABLINGCONTEXT4: Havingstrongorganizationalstructures The examination office does not exist or The examination office is newly The examination office is a stable This option does not apply to this isnewlyestablished. established. organization.11 dimension. * The examination office is not This option does not apply to this The examination office is accountable to This option does not apply to this accountable to an external board or dimension. anexternalboardoragency.12 dimension. agency. * Examination results are not recognized Examination results are recognized by Examination results are recognized by Examination results are recognized by byanycertificationorselectionsystem. certification or selection system in the one certification or selection system in two or more certification or selection country. anothercountry. systeminanothercountry.13 * The examination office does not have The examination office has some of the The examination office has all of the The examination office has state of the the required facilities to carry out the required facilities to carry out the required facilities to carry out the artfacilitiestocarryouttheexamination. examination. examination.14 examination. *                   (CONTINUED)  SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      23 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012    LATENT EMERGING ESTABLISHED ADVANCED ENABLINGCONTEXT5: Havingeffectivehumanresources There is no staff to carry out the The examination office is inadequately The examination office is adequately The examination office is adequately examination. staffed to effectively carry out the staffed to carry out the examination staffed to carry out the assessment examination,issuesarepervasive.15 effectively,withminimalissues. effectively,withnoissues. * The country does not offer opportunities This option does not apply to this The country offers some opportunities The country offers a wide range of that prepare for work on the dimension. that prepare for work on the opportunities that prepare for work on examination. examination.16 theexamination. *     SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      24 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012  SYSTEMALIGNMENT Degreetowhichtheassessmentiscoherentwithothercomponentsoftheeducationsystem. LATENT EMERGING ESTABLISHED ADVANCED SYSTEMALIGNMENT1: Aligningexaminationswithlearninggoalsandopportunitiestolearn It is not clear what the examination This option does not apply to this There is a clear understanding of what This option does not apply to this measures. dimension. theexaminationmeasures.17 dimension. * What the examination measures is This option does not apply to this What is measured by the examination is This option does not apply to this questionedbysomestakeholdergroups. dimension. largelyacceptedbystakeholdergroups.18 dimension. * Material to prepare for the examination Thereissomematerialtoprepareforthe There is comprehensive material to There is comprehensive material to is minimal and it is only accessible to examination that is accessible to some prepare for the examination that is prepare for the examination that is veryfewstudents. students. accessibletomoststudents.19 accessibletoallstudents. * SYSTEMALIGNMENT2: Providingteacherswithopportunitiestolearnabouttheexamination There are no courses or workshops on There are no upͲtoͲdate courses or There are upͲtoͲdate voluntary courses ThereareupͲtoͲdatecompulsorycourses examinationsavailabletoteachers.20 workshops on examinations available to or workshops on examinations available or workshops on examinations for teachers. toteachers. teachers. * Teachers are excluded from all Teachers are involved in very few Teachers are involved in some Teachers are involved in most examinationͲrelatedtasks. examinationͲrelatedtasks. examinationͲrelatedtasks. examinationͲrelatedtasks.21  *    SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      25 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012  ASSESSMENTQUALITY Degreetowhichtheassessmentmeetsqualitystandards,isfair,andisusedinaneffectiveway. LATENT EMERGING ESTABLISHED ADVANCED ASSESSMENTQUALITY1: Ensuringquality There is no technical report or other There is some documentation on the There is a comprehensive technical There is a comprehensive, high quality documentation. examination, but it is not in a formal reportbutwithrestrictedcirculation. technical report available to the general reportformat.22 public. * There are no mechanisms in place to This option does not apply to this Therearelimitedsystematicmechanisms There are varied and systematic ensurethequalityoftheexamination. dimension. in place to ensure the quality of the mechanisms in place to ensure the examination. qualityoftheexamination.23 * ASSESSMENTQUALITY2: Ensuringfairness Inappropriate behavior surrounding the Inappropriate behavior surrounding the Inappropriate behavior surrounding the Inappropriate behavior surrounding the examinationprocessishigh.24 examinationprocessismoderate. examinationprocessislow. examinationprocessismarginal. * The examination results lack credibility The examination results are credible for The examination results are credible for This option does not apply to this forallstakeholdergroups. somestakeholdergroups. allstakeholdergroups.25 dimension. * The majority of the students (over 50%) A significant proportion of students A small proportion of students (less than All students can take the examination; maynottaketheexaminationbecauseof (10%Ͳ50%)maynottaketheexamination 10%) may not take the examination there are no language, gender or other language, gender, or other equivalent because of language, gender, or other because of language, gender, or other equivalentbarriers. barriers. equivalentbarriers. equivalentbarriers.26 *                   (CONTINUED)           SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      26 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012    LATENT EMERGING ESTABLISHED ADVANCED ASSESSMENTQUALITY3: Usingexaminationinformationinafairway Examination results are not used in a Examination results are used by some Examination results are used by most Examination results are used by all properwaybyallstakeholdergroups. stakeholdergroupsinaproperway.27 stakeholdergroupsinaproperway. stakeholdergroupsinaproperway. * Studentnamesandresultsarepublic.28 This option does not apply to this Students’resultsareconfidential. This option does not apply to this dimension. dimension. * ASSESSMENTQUALITY4: Ensuringpositiveconsequencesoftheexamination There are no options for students who There are very limited options for Therearesomeoptionsforstudentswho There is a variety of options for students do not perform well on the examination, studentswhodonotperformwellonthe donotperformwellontheexamination. who do not perform well on the or students must leave the education examination. examination.29 system. * There are no mechanisms in place to This option does not apply to this There are some mechanisms in place to There is a variety of mechanisms in place monitor the consequences of the dimension. monitor the consequences of the to monitor the consequences of the examination. examination.30 examination. *           SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      27 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012  Examinationsǣ‡˜‡Ž‘’‡–Ž‡˜‡Ž”ƒ–‹‰Œ—•–‹ˆ‹…ƒ–‹‘•  1.The UgandaAdvancedCertificateof Education (UACE)isanexaminationwhichisadministeredtostudentsaftertheycompletetwoyearsofuppersecondary school (grade 13). The main purposes of the examination are for student certification for grade or school cycle completion, student selection to university or other higherͲeducation institution, monitoring of education quality levels, planning education policy reforms, and for school or educator accountability. The examinationwasadministeredforthefirsttimein1980.  2.TherearefourdocumentswhichcontainaspectsofthepolicyontheUACEexamination.  Theformalpolicydocumentsinclude:  a. TheUgandaNationalExaminationsBoardAct,Chapter137LawsofUganda. b. The UNEB Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education Regulations and Syllabuses, which are revised every five years. The current UACE Regulations andSyllabusesarefortheperiod2009Ͳ2013. c. TheUNEBRegulationsontheConductandSupervisionofUCEandUACEExamination,whichareauthorizedbyUNEB.Thecurrentregulationsarefor theyear2012.  Thedraftpolicydocumentincludes:  a. The National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) draft AͲLevel syllabus, which provides the policy on the UACE examination. This draft is not availabletothepublic.  3.Alloftheformalpolicydocumentsareavailabletoandeasilyaccessiblebythepublic.  TheUgandaNationalExaminationsBoardActcanbeaccessedfromUNEB.TheActcanalsobepurchasedfrombookstores.  A copy of the Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education Regulations and Syllabuses is distributed free of charge to examination centers, which regularly enter candidates for UACE. Additional copies can be obtained from UNEB. Schools, students, and the general public can purchase copies of the regulations and syllabuses from UNEB and bookstores in the country. The examination regulations can also be accessed from the Uganda National Examinations website at http://www.uneb.ac.ug.  A copy of the UNEB Regulations on the Conduct and Supervision of UCE and UACE Examinations is distributed free of charge to examination centers, which regularlyentercandidatesforUACE.   SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      28 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012  4. The Uganda National Examinations Board is mandated to conduct secondary and other examinations in Uganda. The UNEB Act outlines issues of governance, distribution of power, and responsibilities among key entities. It also states funding sources, as well as procedures for awarding certificates and responding to offenses.  TheUgandaAdvancedCertificateofEducationRegulationsandSyllabusesspecifywhocansitfortheexamination,theformatoftheexaminationquestions,and the examination's alignment with curricula and standards. Other issues addressed in the Regulations and Syllabuses include requirements to sit for the examination, award rules, grading, conditions for the award of certificates, center of examinations, examination fees, withdrawals, examination timetables, materialstobeprovidedbycandidates,notificationofresults,disqualification,andremarkingofscripts.  TheUNEBRegulationsontheConductandSupervisionofUCEandUACEExaminationsaddressissuesofsecuritybreaches,malpracticesandirregularities.Italso outlines the procedures for special needs and disadvantaged students and identifies rules about preparing the examination rooms and halls. Other issues addressed include categories of examination supervisors, general rules and regulations on the conduct and supervision of the examinations, as well as general arrangements, such as the collection of examination materials, packaging of examination papers, delivery of question papers to storage stations, daily distributionofquestionpaperstocenters,andcollectionofexaminationsscriptsfromstoragestations.  5. There is strong support for the examination program from policymakers, teacher unions, educators, students, parents, employers, and universities. Although themediasupportstheexaminationprogram,theyhavepointedtotheneedtoreviewtheexistingsystemofsettingandadministeringnationalexaminationsto improvethequalityoflearning.NewspaperarticlereviewshavepointedtothefactthatUNEBhasbeenrecyclingexaminationquestionsatalllevelsitexamines. This practice has had some implications, including encouraging many schools to divert from the teaching syllabus that is intended to promote learning in all its three domains, specifically cognitive (imparting knowledge), affective (positive attitude change) and psychomotor (skills development), to concentrating on the questionͲandͲanswer approach of teaching (which orients the learners to reproduce in an exam the points given during the lesson with little room for reasoning).  6. Attempts have been made by the media to acknowledge the need to improve the examination program. The newly appointed chairman of the Uganda NationalExaminationsBoardhasalsoexpressedintentionstoreviewtheentireexaminationsystem.  7. Efforts to improve the examination are generally welcomed by the leadership in charge of the examination. The UNEB syllabuses and regulations are revised every five years to cater to the changes in the established curriculum. The rules and regulations are also revised based on emerging needs and reports from the examinationexercise.  8.Thereisregularfundingallocatedbythegovernmentfortheexamination,andfundingisalsoprovidedbystudentfees.  9. Funding has been allocated for examination design and administration, data analysis, and reporting, and the longͲ or mediumͲterm planning of program milestones.Whilefundingcoversstafftraining,thisfundingisnotadequate.  10.Fundingalsocoversresearchanddevelopmentactivities.  SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      29 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012   11. The Uganda National Examinations Board is a semiͲautonomous body. It has the primary responsibility for running the examination. Although the Uganda NationalExaminationsBoardActwasformallyenactedin1983,theagencyhashadprimaryresponsibilityforrunningtheUACEexaminationsince1980.  12.TheUgandaNationalExaminationsBoardisaccountabletotheMinistryofEducationandSports.  13. The UACE examination results are officially recognized by certification and selection systems in Uganda as well as by more than one certification and selectionsystemabroad.SomecountriesanduniversitiesthatadmitUgandanstudentshaveonlywrittentoUNEBtoverify,translate,andclarifytheresults.For example, some universities in Canada have asked UNEB to send them a copy of the course content. Universities in India have requested UNEB to convert the gradesshownonthecertificates(i.e.,A,B,C,D,E,andF)intopercentages.  14. The UNEB headquarters are housed in a secure building located in Ntinda, one of the suburbs of Kampala. Another building which has secure storage facilities is located in Kyambogo, Kampala. Although UNEB has the ability to back up data and has adequate communication tools, it does not have adequate accesstocomputerservers,andnotalltechnicalstaffhasaccesstocomputers.  15.UNEBhaspermanent,fullͲtimestaff,butitisnotsufficienttomeetthedemandsoftheexamination.Somestaff,especiallythetechnicalstaff,isoverloaded. This year, a total of 111,581 candidates were expected to sit for the UACE examination, in addition to the 565,663 candidates who sat for the PLE examination andthe268,782studentswhosatfortheUCEexamination.ThePLEexaminationandtheUCEexaminationarealsooverseenbyUNEB.  Thereareapproximately230staff(technical,general,middlelevel,andtoplevelstaff)workingwithUNEB.However,thereisalimitednumberoftechnicalstaff. For example, the Secondary School Department, which is tasked with the UACE examination, employs 12 test developers, four staff who are tasked with examinationmanagement,andsevenstaffwhoworkintherecordssection.Staffisoverloaded,andonestaffmemberisrequiredtohandlemanysubjectareas (even though these subjects were not his or her major at the university). UNEB sometimes relies on subject experts from NCDC, universities, as well as teacher trainersandsecondaryschoolteachers.  Issues that have been identified with the performance of the human resources who are responsible for the examination include poor training of test administrators and invigilators, as well as weaknesses in test design. Specifically, the training for invigilators is not adequate. Some invigilators are practicing teachers who are expected to be familiar with administering examinations in general. Other invigilators are teachers who have previously invigilated UNEB examinations. UNEB has therefore not invested significant time in reͲtraining teachers to invigilate the examinations. UNEB conducts a 4Ͳweek training for the teachers involved in testͲitem development and marking of the examinations. However, the teachers involved in supervising and invigilating the examinations are only given a oneͲday briefing prior to the commencement of the examinations. Some teachers are not able to attend the briefing. Recently, however, UNEB has clarified the duties of invigilators in their Regulations on the Conduct and Supervision of UCE and UACE Examinations publication. This document is distributed to testͲadministrators, supervisors and invigilators at the oneͲday briefing and also at the commencement of the examinations for those teachers who were not able to attend the briefing. Regarding weaknesses in testͲdesign, certain examination questions are not asked in a clear enough way for all studentstounderstandthemcorrectly.   SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      30 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012  16. There are university courses on educational measurement and evaluation in Uganda. For instance, Makerere University’s School of Education offers undergraduateandmaster’scoursesoneducationalmeasurementandevaluation.  Funding is also available through the UNEB budget for attending international programs, courses, and workshops on educational measurement and evaluation. The funding is available on an annual basis to UNEB staff. For example, UNEB is a member of the Association for Educational Assessment in Africa (AEAA). This associationorganizesconferencesinvariouscountriesinAfricatowhichUNEBusuallysendseightto10people,suchastestdevelopersandresearchofficers,to attend. UNEB is also a member of the International Association for Educational Assessment (IAEA). This association also organizes conferences every year, but becauseofthecostsinvolved,UNEBisonlyabletosendapproximatelytwopeopletotheconferenceeveryyear.  17.TheUACEexaminationmeasuresthenationalschoolcurriculumguidelinesandstandards.  18.Whatismeasuredbytheexaminationislargelyacceptedbyvariousstakeholderssuchaspolicymakers,teachers,educators,students,parents,media,thinkͲ tanks,universities,andemployers.  19. The publically available materials needed to prepare for the examination include examples of the types of questions contained on the UACE examination, whicharepublishedinUNEBpastpaperpublicationsforallsubjects.ThesepublicationscanbepurchasedfromUNEBandfrombookstores.  The UACE Regulations and Syllabuses document explains what is measured on the examination. Each examination center, which regularly enters candidates for UACE,receivesafreecopyoftheRegulationsdirectlyfromUNEB.AdditionalcopiescanbepurchasedfromUNEBandinbookstores.  Additionally, UNEB releases an annual report on the strengths and weaknesses in student performance on the UACE, which is made available to the Ministry of EducationandSports.TheMinisterofEducationthenofficiallyreleasestheUACEresultstothepublic.  The materials needed to prepare for the examination are accessible by most students. Schools, students, and the general public can purchase UNEB syllabuses, regulations, and past papers from UNEB and from the leading bookstores in the country. Schools can also hold copies in their libraries. However, certain subgroups,especiallycandidatesinurbanschools,havegreateraccesstothematerialsthantheirruralcounterparts.  20. There are no courses or workshops on the examination available to teachers. The only workshops available are for teachers who are involved in testͲitem developmentandmarkingoftheexamination.  21.Everyyear,UNEBselectsteacherstoparticipateincreatingexaminationquestions,creatingmarkingguides,administeringtheexamination,actingasajudge inorals,andsupervisingexaminationprocedures.  22. There is some documentation about the technical aspects of the examination, but it is not in a formal report format. This documentation is included in the 2012 UNEB Regulations on the Conduct and Supervision of UCE and UACE Examinations document. The broad areas covered by the document include:  SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      31 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012  categories of examination supervisors, general rules and regulations on the conduct and supervision of examinations, and general arrangements and measures againstmalpractice.  23. To ensure the quality of the examination, UNEB conducts a pilot or filed testing (where sample examination questions are tested in a sample of UACE schools), and analyzes the results. The sample includes candidates in the top, middle, and low achievement subgroups. UNEB also conducts translation verificationbeforethefinalexaminationisset.Duringtheadministrationofthe examination,UNEBsendsscoutstoUACEexaminationcenterswhomonitorthe runningoftheexaminations.Externalreviewsorobserverscomefromsisterinstitutionssuchasthe NationalCurriculumDevelopmentCentre,Teacher Training Institutions,andtheDirectorateofEducationStandards.  24.There are various inappropriate behaviors surrounding the examination. However, certain mechanisms have been put in place to address each type of inappropriatebehavior:  a. Leakage of the content of an examination paper or part of a paper prior to the examination. To address this issue, UNEB has increased examinations scouts. In the event of evidence of cheating, UNEB cancels the results of the cheating students and schools. The police also arrest students involved in cheating.  b. Impersonation (when an individual other than the registered candidate takes the examination). To address this issue, UNEB has instituted the use of photoalbums.  c. Copying from other candidates. To address this issue, UNEB has specified a minimum distance that should be permitted between candidates during theexamination.  d. Using unauthorized materials such as prepared answers and notes. To address this issue, candidates are checked thoroughly before entering the examinationroom/hall.  e. Collusion among candidates via mobile phones, passing of paper, or equivalent. To address this issue, mobile phones are strictly prohibited from the examinationroom.UNEBalsodeploysexternalsupervisorstocheckonstudentconductduringtheexamination.  f. Issuing forged certificates or altering results. To address this issue, the results certificates have added security features, such as student photographs. Certificates also have a hologram with the UNEB Court of Arms embedded inside. There is an embedded thread that is not visible to the naked eye (an ultraͲvioletfeature)anduniquelinesonthecertificate.   g.Provisionofexternalassistanceviathesupervisor,mobilephone,etc.Toaddressthisissue,UNEBsendsoutscoutstoexaminationcenterstomonitor the conduct during the examination. Supervisors and invigilators come from outside the center. Mobile phones are also not allowed into the examinationroom.   SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      32 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012  h. There is also an occasional substitution of student’s scripts with others done outside the examination room by someone else. Tamper evident plastic scriptenvelopesareusedtoaddressthisissue.  25.Allstakeholdergroupsaccepttheexaminationresultsand,asappropriate,usethemforselection,placement,andemploymentpurposes.  26. Some students who attend private schools but are unable to pay the examination fees cannot take the examination. Some students in private schools pay theexaminationregistrationfeestotheirschools,yettheschoolauthoritiestakethemoneyandstudentscannotsittheexamination.UNEBnormallyappealsto schoolstoletstudentssitfortheexaminationandpaylater.  27.SomeDistrictEducationOfficers(policymakers)threatentofireheadteacherswhoseschoolsdonotachieveacertainpasslevelontheexamination.Thishas encouraged cheating and malpractice. The media has carried out the ranking of candidates and schools inappropriately, which has encouraged unfair competitionandmalpractice.  28. From UNEB’s side, only the student and persons with a legitimate, professional interest in the testͲtaker can know the results. Thus, UNEB has instituted an SMS service where students can receive their results immediately after they are released. However, schools make the results public by releasing them to the media which publish students’ names and examination results. This practice is not in line with the guidelines of communicating examinations results and is something that the schools and the media do without formal authority. Some of the results that have been published in the press are not authentic. The media alsomakesunfairrankingsbasedontheexaminationresults.  29. Students who do not perform well on the examination have the option of retaking the examination, attending remedial courses to prepare for the examination and/or repeating the grade. Students can also opt for less selective schools such as technical, vocational training institutions, farm schools and nursingschools.  30. The mechanisms in place to monitor the consequences of the examination are mainly a permanent oversight committee and studies that are regularly updated.    SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      33 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012  .            UGANDA National(orSystemǦLevel)LargeǦScaleAssessment(NLSA)    SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      34 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012  ENABLINGCONTEXT Overallframeworkofpolicies,leadership,organizationalstructures,fiscalandhumanresourcesinwhichNLSAactivitytakesplaceinacountryorsystemandthe extenttowhichthatframeworkisconduciveto,orsupportiveof,theNLSAactivity. LATENT EMERGING ESTABLISHED ADVANCED ENABLINGCONTEXT1: SettingclearpoliciesforNLSA NoNLSAexercisehastakenplace. The NLSA has been operating on an The NLSA is a stable program that has This option does not apply to this irregularbasis. beenoperatingregularly.1 dimension. * There is no policy document pertaining There is an informal or draft policy There is a formal policy document that This option does not apply to this toNLSA. documentthatauthorizestheNLSA. authorizestheNLSA.2 dimension. * This option does not apply to this The policy document is not available to The policy document is available to the This option does not apply to this dimension. thepublic. public.3 dimension. * ThereisnoplanforNLSAactivity. This option does not apply to this Thereisageneralunderstandingthatthe There is a written NLSA plan for the dimension. NLSAwilltakeplace.4 comingyears. * ENABLINGCONTEXT2: HavingstrongpublicengagementforNLSA All stakeholder groups strongly oppose Some stakeholder groups oppose the Most stakeholders groups support the All stakeholder groups support the NLSA. 5 theNLSAorareindifferenttoit. NLSA. NLSA.  *                   (CONTINUED)          SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      35 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012     LATENT EMERGING ESTABLISHED ADVANCED ENABLINGCONTEXT3: HavingregularfundingforNLSA There is no funding allocated to the There is irregular funding allocated to There is regular funding allocated to the This option does not apply to this NLSA. theNLSA. NLSA.6 dimension. * This option does not apply to this Funding covers some core NLSA Funding covers all core NLSA activities: This option does not apply to this dimension. activities:design,administration,analysis design, administration, analysis and dimension. andreporting. reporting.7 * This option does not apply to this Funding does not cover research and This option does not apply to this Funding covers research and dimension. developmentactivities.8 dimension. developmentactivities. * ENABLINGCONTEXT4: HavingstrongorganizationalstructuresforNLSA There is no NLSA office, ad hoc unit or The NLSA office is a temporary agency or The NLSA office is a permanent agency, This option does not apply to this team. groupofpeople. institutionorunit.9 dimension. * This option does not apply to this Political considerations regularly hamper Political considerations sometimes Political considerations never hamper dimension. technicalconsiderations. hampertechnicalconsiderations.10 technicalconsiderations. * This option does not apply to this The NLSA office is not accountable to a The NLSA office is accountable to a This option does not apply to this dimension. clearlyrecognizedbody. clearlyrecognizedbody.11 dimension. *                   (CONTINUED)      SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      36 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012     LATENT EMERGING ESTABLISHED ADVANCED ENABLINGCONTEXT5: HavingeffectivehumanresourcesforNLSA There is no staff allocated for running an The NLSA office is inadequately staffed The NLSA office is adequately staffed to The NLSA office is adequately staffed to NLSA. toeffectivelycarryouttheassessment.12 carry out the NLSA effectively, with carry out the NLSA effectively, with no minimalissues. issues. * The country does not offer opportunities This option does not apply to this Thecountryofferssomeopportunitiesto The country offers a wide range of that prepare individuals for work on dimension. prepare individuals for work on the opportunities to prepare individuals for NLSA.13 NLSA. workontheNLSA. *     SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      37 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012  SYSTEMALIGNMENT DegreetowhichtheNLSAiscoherentwithothercomponentsoftheeducationsystem. LATENT EMERGING ESTABLISHED ADVANCED SYSTEMALIGNMENT1: AligningtheNLSAwithlearninggoals It is not clear if the NLSA is based on This option does not apply to this The NLSA measures performance against This option does not apply to this curriculumorlearningstandards. dimension. curriculumorlearningstandards.14 dimension. * What the NLSA measures is generally This option does not apply to this What the NLSA measures is questioned What the NLSA measures is largely questionedbystakeholdergroups. dimension. bysomestakeholdergroups. acceptedbystakeholdergroups.15 * There are no mechanisms in place to There are ad hoc reviews of the NLSA to There are regular internal reviews of the This option does not apply to this ensure that the NLSA accurately ensure that it measures what it is NLSA to ensure that it measures what it dimension. measures what it is supposed to intendedtomeasure. isintendedtomeasure.16 measure. * SYSTEMALIGNMENT2: ProvidingteacherswithopportunitiestolearnabouttheNLSA There are no courses or workshops on There are occasional courses or Therearesomecoursesorworkshopson There are widely available high quality theNLSA. workshopsontheNLSA.17 theNLSAofferedonaregularbasis. courses or workshops on the NLSA offeredonaregularbasis. *     SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      38 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012  ASSESSMENTQUALITY DegreetowhichtheNLSAmeetstechnicalstandards,isfair,andisusedinaneffectiveway. LATENT EMERGING ESTABLISHED ADVANCED ASSESSMENTQUALITY1: EnsuringthequalityoftheNLSA No options are offered to include all This option does not apply to this At least one option is offered to include Different options are offered to include groupsofstudentsintheNLSA. dimension. allgroupsofstudentsintheNLSA. allgroupsofstudentsintheNLSA.18 * There are no mechanisms in place to This option does not apply to this There are some mechanisms in place to There are a variety of mechanisms in ensurethequalityoftheNLSA. dimension. ensurethequalityoftheNLSA. placetoensurethequalityoftheNLSA.19 * There is no technical report or other There is some documentation about the There is a comprehensive technical There is a comprehensive, high quality documentationabouttheNLSA. technical aspects of the NLSA, but it is reportbutwithrestrictedcirculation. technical report available to the general notinaformalreportformat. public.20 * ASSESSMENTQUALITY2: EnsuringeffectiveusesoftheNLSA NLSAresultsarenotdisseminated. NLSAresultsarepoorlydisseminated. NLSA results are disseminated in an This option does not apply to this effectiveway.21 dimension. * NLSA information is not used or is used This option does not apply to this NLSA results are used by some NLSA information is used by all in ways inconsistent with the purposes dimension. stakeholder groups in a way that is stakeholder groups in a way that is or the technical characteristics of the consistent with the purposes and consistent with the purposes and assessment. technical characteristics of the technical characteristics of the assessment. assessment.22 * There are no mechanisms in place to This option does not apply to this There are some mechanisms in place to There are a variety of mechanisms in monitortheconsequencesoftheNLSA. dimension. monitortheconsequencesoftheNLSA.23 place to monitor the consequences of theNLSA. *                       SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      39 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012  National(orSystemǦLevel)LargeScaleAssessment(NLSA)ǣ‡˜‡Ž‘’‡–Ž‡˜‡Ž”ƒ–‹‰Œ—•–‹ˆ‹…ƒ–‹‘•  1. To monitor the effectiveness of the teachingͲlearning process, the Government of Uganda, through the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB), embarked on carrying out the National Assessment of Progress in Education (NAPE) at the primary level since 1996 and at the secondary level since 2008. The mainobjectivesofNAPEareto:  •Determineandmonitorthelevelofachievementofpupilsovertime. •Generateinformationonwhatpupilsknowandcandoindifferentareasofthecurriculum. •Evaluatetheeffectivenessofreformsintheeducationsystem. •Provideinformationonvariablesthataffectlearningachievement. •Suggestmeasuresfortheimprovementofteachingandlearninginschools.  The assessment is done annually in grades 3 and 6 in the subject areas of Literacy and Numeracy. Oral Skills in English are assessed every three years. The Seniorgrade2assessmentfocusesonEnglish,Mathematics,andBiology.Asampleofteachersisalsoassessed.  2. The Government White Paper on Education (Ministry of Education and Sports, 1992) is the formal policy document that authorizes NAPE. The Government White Paper on Educationrecommended the review and diversification of the assessments used by the Uganda National Examinations Board,which led to the formationofNationalAssessmentofProgressinEducation.  3. The Government White Paper on the Education Policy Review Commission Report is available in the Ministry of Education Resource Centre and university libraries,andcopiescanbepurchasedfromthegovernmentbookshopandotherbookstores.  4. The national largeͲscale assessment plan for the coming years exists in official communications and minutes of meetings. Thus, while there is a common understandingthatNAPEwilltakeplace,thereisnoformallywrittenplan.  5. There is strong support for the NAPE largeͲscale assessment program from all stakeholder groups. Many stakeholders are now conscious of the need to obtaininformationonwhatchildrenactuallylearninschool.Theuseofnationalassessmentresultshasrangedfromreformingthecurriculumtoimprovingand reallocatingresources.  6. There is regular (continuous and predictable) funding allocated by the government and by nonͲgovernment sources, such as the World Bank. However, the fundingisnotsufficienttoenablealargersamplesizetobeusedtoreducesamplingerrors.  7. The activities covered by the funding allocated for NAPE are assessment design and administration, and data analysis and reporting. Due to the small resource envelope allocated for the assessment program from both government and nonͲgovernment sources, some activities are suppressed and others are squeezed. The activities that are suppressed and squeezed are mainly at the level of dissemination of the NAPE findings. For example, due to limited funding, onlytheHeadTeachersofthesampled schoolsineachdistrictwereinvitedtothedisseminationworkshopsofthelatestNAPEfindingsforprimaryschool.The  SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      40 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012  Head Teachers were given copies of the NAPE assessment report at the end of the workshop. All schools, including those that did not participate in the NAPE assessmentreceivedcopiesoftheassessmentreports.  8.Fundingdoesnotcoverresearchanddevelopmentactivities.  9. The group in charge of NAPE is a permanent unit within the Uganda National Examinations Board. There are 11 fullͲtime staff members working on NAPE. Five of these are senior staff, and six are junior staff and clerical officers. However, when the need arises, staff members are called upon to work on other assessmentactivitiesaswell.  10. Some stakeholders sometimes hold reservations regarding NAPE findings due to political considerations. However, these reservations have never affected thequalityoftheNAPEassessment,andtheNAPEassessmentresultshaveneverbeenwithheldfrompublicationbecauseofpoliticalreasons.  11. The group responsible for carrying out the NAPE assessment is accountable to the Executive Secretary, Uganda National Examinations Board. UNEB is a semiͲautonomousbodyundertheMinistryofEducationandSports.  12. There is permanent fullͲtime staff responsible for NAPE. However, there is not enough staff to meet the needs of the assessment. There are only 11 NAPE staffmemberstorunassessmentsforPrimary3and6inNumeracy,LiteracyandOralSkillsinEnglish.Thesamestaffrunstheassessmentsinthesubjectareas ofEnglish,MathematicsandBiologyforSenior2.  13. There are university courses (graduate and undergraduate) on educational measurement and evaluation that are available in the country on an annual basis. For instance, Makerere University’s School of Education offers undergraduate and master’s courses on educational measurement and evaluation. However, there are no opportunities in the country to prepare individuals for work on NAPE. There are also no opportunities offered in the system for NAPE staffperse.AllfiveNAPEseniorstaffhavepostgraduatedegrees.Ofthese,onestaffmemberhasrecentlyacquiredadoctorate(PhD)degreeinstatistics,three staff members have master’s degrees in statistics and one staff member has a master’s degree in language education. Of the six NAPE junior and clerical staff members,onehasamaster’sdegreeineducation,twostaffmembershavebachelor’sdegreesineducation,onestaffmembercompletedAͲLevel,andthetwo secretarieshavequalificationsinsecretarialstudies.  14. NAPE measures performance against national curriculum guidelines and learning standards. At the primary level, the assessment measures pupils’ achievement in Numeracy, Literacy, and, more recently, in Oral Skills in English. At the secondary level, pupils’ achievement is measured in English, Mathematics,andBiology.  15. What is measured by NAPE is largely accepted by various stakeholder groups. These include, among others, policymakers, educators, teachers, district educationofficials,inspectors,teachereducators,curriculumdevelopers,students,parents,andemployers.  16. NAPE is based on the national curriculum which outlines the competencies that learners are expected to acquire at each grade level. Quality assurance measures are applied at every stage of the assessment exercise to ensure validity and reliability. For example, there are regular independent and internal  SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      41 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012  reviews by qualified experts of the alignment between the assessment instrument and what the assessment is supposed to measure. These experts are from withinandoutsideofUNEB.TheyusuallyincludeofficialsfromNAPE,NCDC,teachers,andteachertrainers.  17. There are teacherͲtraining courses, workshops, and presentations on NAPE, which are offered primarily to teachers, Head Teachers and District Education Officers.AllDistrictEducationOfficersattendtheNAPEdisseminationworkshopsastheyareresponsibleforallmattersconcerningeducationinthedistrict.For theprimaryschools,theparticipantsaretheteachersofNumeracyandLiteracyandallHeadTeachersfromthesampledschoolswhichparticipatedintheNAPE assessment.Forthesecondaryschools,theparticipantsareteachersofEnglish,Mathematics,andBiologyandallHeadTeachersfromthesampledschoolsthat participatedinthesurvey. WhileNAPEisconductedinalldistricts inUganda,onlyasample isselectedfromeachdistrict. NAPEstaffhasnotbeenabletotrain a large number of teachers due to limited funding. However, some schools and teachers have organized their own workshops and have invited NAPE staff to disseminateNAPEfindingstoimproveteachingandlearning.WhileNAPEidentifiedthelackofteachertraininginbasicassessmenttechniquesasamajorblock toeffectiveteaching,attemptstohelptheteachersinthisareahavenottakenplaceduetofinancialconstraints.AlthoughUNEBandNAPEhaverecognizedthe need to train teachers in assessment techniques, they are not mandated to give this training, and UNEB and NAPE do not have a budget to offer teachers training in assessment techniques. The government of Uganda, through the Ministry of Education and Sports, has the mandate to train teachers for both primaryandsecondaryschools.ThistrainingisofferedinPrimaryTeacher’sColleges(PTCs)anduniversities.AlthoughthePTCsanduniversitiesoffercoursesin assessmentandevaluation,UNEBandNAPEareoftheviewthatthistrainingneedstobefurtherstrengthened.  18. A twoͲstage stratified sampling design is used. The first stage involves selecting a random sample of schools, stratified by district. Schools in the districts of Ugandaareincludedinthesamplingframe.Inthesecondstage,arandomsampleofpupilspresentintheschoolonthedayofthesurveyisselectedfromeach of the Primary 3, Primary 6, and Senior 2 classes. Random selection of schools, and pupils within a school, is done to minimize selection bias. Accommodations are provided for students with disabilities, special plans are made to ensure that the NAPE is administered to students in hardͲtoͲreach areas, and the assessmentisofferedinEnglish,whichisthelanguageofinstructioninUganda.  19.AnumberofmeasuresaretakentoensurethequalityoftheNAPEassessmentinstrument.Alladministratorsaretrainedaccordingtoaprotocol,thereisa standardizedmanualforadministrators,andapilotisconductedbeforethemaindatacollectiontakesplace.Inaddition,allbookletsarenumbered,scorersare trainedtoensurehighinterͲraterreliability,andthereareinternalandexternalobserversduringtheassessmentexercise.  20.Thereisacomprehensive,highͲqualitytechnicalreportavailabletothegeneralpublic.Thereportbroadlycoversanintroductiontotheassessment,survey procedures, the achievement of pupils in numeracy and literacy at different grade levels, and the challenges faced by the schools. The report ends with a conclusion,discussion,andrecommendations.  21. NAPE results are disseminated within 12 months after the assessment is administered. The main reports on the results contain information on the overall achievement levels and by subgroups, as well as trends over time and for subgroups. The main reports on the results also contain standard errors. There are workshopsandPowerPointpresentationsforkeystakeholdersontheresults.Resultsarefeaturedinthemedia,andreportswiththeresultsaremadeavailable forallstakeholdergroups.Inaddition,customizedreportsarealsopreparedforspecificstakeholderswheneverfundsareavailable.  22. Assessment information is used by most stakeholder groups such as policymakers, educators, teachers, student, teacher trainers, curriculum developers,  SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      42 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012  employers,andparentsinawaythatisconsistentwiththestatedpurposesoftheassessment.Morerecently,teachershavestronglyembracedtheassessment informationtoimprovetheirteaching.Otherstakeholdersareusingtheinformationtoinfluencetheiractivities,althoughataslowpace.  23. The mechanisms in place to monitor the consequences of NAPE include a permanent advisory committee, regular focus groups and surveys of key stakeholders,andexpertreviewgroups.                    SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      43 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012          UGANDA InternationalLargeǦScaleAssessment(ILSA)  SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      44 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012  ENABLINGCONTEXT Overallframeworkofpolicies,leadership,organizationalstructures,fiscalandhumanresourcesinwhichILSAtakesplaceinacountryorsystemandtheextentto whichthatframeworkisconduciveto,orsupportiveof,ILSAactivity. LATENT EMERGING ESTABLISHED ADVANCED ENABLINGCONTEXT1: SettingclearpoliciesforILSA The country/system has not participated This option does not apply to this The country/system has participated in The country/system has participated in inanILSAinthelast10years. dimension. atleastoneILSAinthelast10years. twoormoreILSAinthelast10years.1 * The country/system has not taken This option does not apply to this The country/system has taken concrete This option does not apply to this concretestepstoparticipateinanILSAin dimension. stepstoparticipateinatleastoneILSAin dimension. thenext5years. thenext5years.2 * There is no policy document that There is an informal or draft policy There is a formal policy document that This option does not apply to this addressesparticipationinILSA. documentthataddressesparticipationin addressesparticipationinILSA.3 dimension. ILSA. * This option does not apply to this The policy document is not available to The policy document is available to the This option does not apply to this dimension. thepublic. public.4 dimension. * ENABLINGCONTEXT2: HavingregularfundingforILSA There is no funding for participation in There is funding from loans or external There is regular funding allocated at Thereisregularfundingapprovedbylaw, ILSA. donors.5 discretion. decreeornorm. * This option does not apply to this Funding covers some core activities of Funding covers all core activities of the This option does not apply to this dimension. theILSA. ILSA.6 dimension. * Funding does not cover research and This option does not apply to this This option does not apply to this Funding covers research and developmentactivities. dimension. dimension. developmentactivities.7 *                   (CONTINUED)  SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      45 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012     LATENT EMERGING ESTABLISHED ADVANCED ENABLINGCONTEXT3: HavingeffectivehumanresourcesforILSA There is no team or national/system There is a team or national/system There is a team and national/system This option does not apply to this coordinator to carry out the ILSA coordinator to carry out the ILSA coordinator to carry out the ILSA dimension. activities. activities. activities.8 * This option does not apply to this The national/system coordinator or Thenational/systemcoordinatorisfluent This option does not apply to this dimension. other designated team member may not inthelanguageoftheassessment.9 dimension. be fluent in the language of the assessment. * This option does not apply to this The ILSA office is inadequately staffed or The ILSA office is adequately staffed or The ILSA office is adequately staffed and dimension. trained to carry out the assessment trained to carry out the ILSA effectively, trained to carry out the ILSA effectively, effectively. withminimalissues.10 withnoissues. *                       SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      46 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012  SYSTEMALIGNMENT DegreetowhichtheILSAmeetstechnicalqualitystandards,isfair,andisusedinaneffectiveway. LATENT EMERGING ESTABLISHED ADVANCED SYSTEMALIGNMENT1: ProvidingopportunitiestolearnaboutILSA The ILSA team has not attended The ILSA team attended some The ILSA team attended all international This option does not apply to this internationalworkshopsormeetings. internationalworkshopsormeetings. workshopsormeetings.11 dimension. * The country/system offers no This option does not apply to this The country/system offers some The country/system offers a wide range opportunitiestolearnaboutILSA. dimension. opportunitiestolearnaboutILSA.12 ofopportunitiestolearnaboutILSA. * This option does not apply to this This option does not apply to this Opportunities to learn about ILSA are Opportunities to learn about ILSA are dimension. dimension. available to the country's/system's ILSA available to a wide audience, in addition teammembersonly.13 to the country's/system's ILSA team members. *   SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      47 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012  ASSESSMENTQUALITY DegreetowhichtheILSAmeetstechnicalqualitystandards,isfair,andisusedinaneffectiveway. LATENT EMERGING ESTABLISHED ADVANCED ASSESSMENTQUALITY1: EnsuringthequalityofILSA Data from the ILSA has not been The country/system met sufficient The country/system met all technical The country/system met all technical published. standards to have its data presented standards required to have its data standards required to have its data beneath the main display of the presented in the main displays of the presented in the main displays of the internationalreportorinanannex. internationalreport.14 * internationalreport. The country/system has not contributed This option does not apply to this This option does not apply to this The country/system has contributed new newknowledgeonILSA. dimension. dimension. knowledgeonILSA.15 * ASSESSMENTQUALITY2: EnsuringeffectiveusesofILSA If any, country/systemͲspecific results Country/systemͲspecific results and Country/systemͲspecific results and Country/systemͲspecific results and and information are not disseminated in information are disseminated irregularly informationareregularlydisseminatedin information are regularly and widely thecountry/system. inthecountry/system.16 thecountry/system. disseminatedinthecountry/system. * Products to provide feedback to schools This option does not apply to this Products to provide feedback to schools Products to provide feedback to schools and educators about the ILSA results are dimension. and educators about the ILSA results are and educators about ILSA results are notmadeavailable. sometimesmadeavailable.17 systematicallymadeavailable. * There is no media coverage of the ILSA There is limited media coverage of the There is some media coverage of the There is wide media coverage of the ILSA results.18 ILSAresults. ILSAresults. results. * If any, country/systemͲspecific results Results from the ILSA are used in a Results from the ILSA are used in some Results from the ILSA are used in a and information from the ILSA are not limited way to inform decision making in ways to inform decision making in the variety of ways to inform decision used to inform decision making in the thecountry/system. country/system. makinginthecountry/system.19 country/system. It is not clear that decisions based on This option does not apply to this This option does not apply to this Decisions based on the ILSA results have * ILSA results have had a positive impact dimension. dimension. had a positive impact on students' onstudents'achievementlevels.20 achievementlevels.  *  SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      48 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012  InternationalLargeScaleAssessment(ILSA)ǣ‡˜‡Ž‘’‡–Ž‡˜‡Ž”ƒ–‹‰Œ—•–‹ˆ‹…ƒ–‹‘•  1.UgandahasparticipatedintwointernationallargeͲscaleassessments: ͲSACMEQII(1999Ͳ2004) ͲSACMEQIII(2005Ͳ2009)  2.UgandahastakenconcretestepstoparticipateinSACMEQIV(2010Ͳ2015).Apilotstudyhasbeenconcludedandtheresultsarebeinganalyzed.  3. The Education Policy Review Commission (1989), on which the Government White Paper on Education (1992) is based, reported a lack of reliable and upͲtoͲ date data on educational indicators. The Government White Paper on Education recommended the review and diversification of the assessments used by the Uganda National Examinations Board. The decision to incorporate Uganda into SACMEQ was made in 1998 when the Minister of Education and Sports entered intoanagreementcommittingUganda’sparticipation.  4. The Government White Paper on Education is available in the Ministry of Education Resource Center and university libraries, and copies can be purchased fromthegovernmentbookshopandotherleadingbookstores.  5. Funding for SACMEQ III was earmarked partly from the regular government budget, allocated at discretion. The Government of the Netherlands was the largest funder for SACMEQ III. Other funding was received from UNICEF. However, the Government of the Netherlands will not fund SACMEQ IV, and the GovernmentofUgandaisexpectedtomeetthecostsofadministeringSACMEQIV.  6.FundingforSACMEQIIIcoveredimplementationoftheassessmentexerciseinUganda,theprocessingandanalysisofthedatacollectedfromtheassessment exercise,andreportinganddisseminatingtheresults.Fundingwasalsoallocatedforattendanceatinternationalexpertmeetingsfortheassessmentexercise.  7.FundingforSACMEQIIIcoveredresearchanddevelopmentactivities.  8. The team responsible for carrying out SACMEQ is comprised of the National Coordinator, who is the Minister of Education and Sports, and two National ResearchCoordinators,whoaretheoperationalmanagersthatworkwithateamintheDepartmentofEducationPlanning,MinistryofEducationandSports.  9. The National Coordinator and the two National Research Coordinators are fluent in the language in which the internationalͲlevel meetings are conducted. They have attended various international workshops, meetings, and trainings. The team has previous experience working on international assessments and has thenecessarytrainingandexperiencetocarryouttherequiredassessmentactivitieseffectively.  10.Onlyminimalissueshavebeenidentifiedwiththecarryingoutoftheinternationalassessment.Forexample,theuploadedsoftwarefromSACMEQisusually in a higher version, which causes errors or delays in the printing and layout of the test booklets. These errors are minimal and mainly arise because of format control.Forexample,theuploadedMicrosoftWordandExceldocumentsfromSACMEQmaybeinanupdatedformat(2007),yetthecomputersintheStatistics unitrunapreviousversionofMicrosoftWordandExcel(2003).Theseerrorsareminimalandareusuallycorrected.  SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      49 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012   11.TheNationalCoordinatorandthetwoNationalResearchCoordinatorshaveattendedalloftheinternationalmeetingstowhichtheywereinvited.  12. Opportunities to learn about international assessments include funding to attend workshops or meetings on using international assessment databases. Funding has also been offered for attending international workshops or training on international assessments. Such opportunities are offered every year and theyareavailabletotheNationalCoordinator,theNationalResearchCoordinators,andmaster’sdegreestudentsstudyingassessmentorarelatedarea.  13.TheindividualsworkingdirectlyonSACMEQbenefitfromtheopportunitiestolearnaboutinternationalassessments.Forexample,theNationalCoordinator, thetwoNationalResearchCoordinators,andmaster’sdegreestudentsstudyingassessmentorarelatedareaareinvitedtotheinternationaltrainingworkshops. The only local workshops held are for individuals who are involved in administering the SACMEQ questionnaires. These workshops are usually held prior to the commencementofthedatacollectionexercise.Master’sdegreestudentsstudyingassessmentorarelatedareaarenotinvitedtotheseworkshops.  14.Ugandametalltechnicalstandardsrequiredtohaveitsdatapresentedinthemaindisplaysoftheinternationalreport.  15. Uganda has contributed to the global knowledge base on international assessments by generating new knowledge and making it available through publicationsandpresentations,includingthrough: a.SACMEQNationalReport b.NationalPolicyBriefs c.ResearchPapersandTheses  16. The results from SACMEQ III were disseminated in Uganda. PowerPoint presentations with the country’s results were made available to key stakeholders, including officials from the Ministry of Education and Sports, the National Curriculum Development Centre, the Uganda National Examinations Board, the DirectorateofEducationStandards,HeadTeachers,teachers,andteachertrainers.However,theSACMEQIIInationalreporthasnotbeenprintedyet.  17. The results of SACMEQ III have been fed back to schools and educators by PowerPoint presentations. No brochures with the country’s results were distributedtokeystakeholders.Disseminationofthefindingstoalargeraudienceofschoolsandeducatorshasbeenlimitedbyfunding.  18.SACMEQIIIresultshavenotbeencoveredintheUgandanmedia.  19.Theresultsoftheinternationalassessmentexercisehavebroughttheattentionofpolicymakers,teachers,andeducatorstothestrengthsandweaknessesin student achievement in reading and mathematics. The findings have been used by the Ministry of Education and Sports to address the issue of low levels of mastery of reading and mathematics subjects. The results of the international assessment exercise have been used by policymakers to inform curriculum improvement.TheNationalCurriculumDevelopmentCentre(NCDC)hasusedthefindingstoinformitseducationreformsunderthelowersecondaryeducation, examination, and assessment project. In part due to the findings of the international assessment exercise, a new OͲLevel curriculum for lower secondary will be launched in 2017 (see http://www.independent.co.ug/ugandatalks/2013/06/newͲoͲlevelͲcurriculumͲpushedͲtoͲ2017/). Additionally, the findings of the international assessment exercise have been used to inform teacherͲtraining programs. For instance, the findings have been used by the Ministry of Education  SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      50 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT    SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012  and Sports to inform the design of continuous assessment guidelines for tutors in Primary Teacher Colleges (PTCs). The findings have also been used to inform thecontentanddeliveryofpreͲandinͲserviceteachertrainingprogramstoensurethattheyaremoreresponsivetotheneedsoftheteachers.  The results of the international assessment exercise have been used to inform resource allocation. For example, the findings have been used by the Ministry of Education and Sports to inform the supply of teachers, classrooms, essential classroom resources, textbooks, and teaching aids to schools and regions with inadequatesupplyoftheseresources.  20. There is no evidence of a positive impact on student achievement levels from the uses of SACMEQ III. Evidence on student achievement levels between the SACMEQ II and SACMEQ III administrations is largely mixed. For example, comparison of SACMEQ II results (from 2000) and SACMEQ III results (from 2010) in reading for Primary 6 students show that there was an increase in the percentage of grade 6 pupils reaching competency levels 3 to 6. However, there was a decline in the percentage of grade 6 pupils reaching competency levels 1, 7 and 8. Overall, the national mean score for reading was 478.7 on SACMEQ III, down from 482.4 on SACMEQ II. Additionally, comparison of SACMEQ II results (from 2000) and SACMEQ III results (from 2010) for Primary 6 student in mathematics showthatthepercentageofgrade6pupilsreachingmathematicscompetencyincreasedforlevels2to4.Forcompetencylevels1,5,6,7,and8,thepercentage ofpupilsreachingmathematicscompetencydeclined.Overall,thenationalmeanscoreformathematicsdeclinedfrom506.3onSACMEQIIto481.9onSACMEQ III.   SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS      51 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT  SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012  Acknowledgements This report was prepared by The World Bank SABERͲ Student Assessment team in collaboration with Innocent Mulindwa, World Bank Senior Education Specialist and Task Team Leader for Education projects in Uganda, and Damalie Sentumbwe, Lecturer, MakerereUniversity.  References Clarke, M. 2012. “What Matters Most for Student Assessment Systems: A Framework Paper.” READ/SABER Working Paper Series. Washington, DC: WorldBank.  Ministry of Education and Sports. 2008. “Revised Education Sector Strategic Plan 2007Ͳ2015.” Kampala: RepublicofUganda.  United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization – Institute for Statistics. 2013. UIS Statistics in Brief. “Education Profile: Uganda.” Montreal:UNESCOͲUIS.  World Bank. Uganda Country Indicator Data. Washington, DC: World Bank. Data retrieved from http://data.worldbank.org/onJuly8,2013.    SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS 52 UGANDAۣSABERͲSTUDENTASSESSMENT  SABERCOUNTRYREPORT|2012  www.worldbank.org/education/saber The Systems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER) initiative produces comparative data and knowledge on education policies and institutions,withtheaimofhelpingcountriessystematicallystrengthen their education systems.  SABER evaluates the quality of education policies against evidenceͲbased global standards, using new diagnostic tools and detailed policy data. The SABER country reports give all parties with a stake in educational results—from administrators, teachers, and parents to policymakers and business people—an accessible, objective snapshot showing how well the policies of their country's education system are oriented toward ensuring that all childrenandyouthlearn.  This report focuses specifically on policies in the area of student assessment. ThisworkisaproductofthestaffofTheWorldBankwithexternalcontributions.Thefindings,interpretations,andconclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the partofTheWorldBankconcerningthelegalstatusofanyterritoryortheendorsementoracceptanceofsuchboundaries. THEWORLDBANK  SYSTEMSAPPROACHFORBETTEREDUCATIONRESULTS 2