Luna-Bazaldua, Diego

Person:
Luna-Bazaldua, Diego

Education Global Practice

Author Name Variants

Luna-Bazaldua, Diego, Luna Bazaldua, Diego, Luna-Bazaldua, Diego Armando, Luna Bazaldua, Diego Armando

Fields of Specialization

EDUCATION, LEARNING ASSESSMENT, EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT

ORCID

0000-0002-8535-7775

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Education Global Practice

Last updated:March 21, 2025

Biography

Diego Luna-Bazaldua is an Education Specialist in the Education Global Practice, where he supports World Bank staff and clients in building capacity in technical processes linked to the development of psychological and educational assessments. His areas of expertise are focused on Psychometrics and Assessment in psychology and education. Prior to joining the Bank, Diego taught at universities in Mexico and the United States. He also worked at the university entrance examinations department of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He has received awards, grants, and honors from organizations such as the Psychometric Society, the National Council for Research and Technology of Mexico, the Fulbright Program, and Teachers College, Columbia University.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/10986/39216

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Publication Search Results

Now showing1 - 10 of 11

Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21) Luna-Bazaldua, Diego; Levin, Victoria; Liberman, Julia; Gala, Priyal Mukesh
This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.
Review and Guidance on ECD Assessment Tools in FCV Contexts
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-01-14) Arnold, Tamara; Hentschel, Elizabeth Lauren; Luna-Bazaldua, Diego; Chen Peraza, Juliana; Guedira, Fatine
By 2030, an estimated two-thirds of the world's extremely poor could be concentrated in countries and contexts characterized by fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV) (World Bank Group, 2020). FCV contexts, affected by humanitarian crises, prolonged emergencies, and armed conflicts, are significant hindrances to poverty reduction and sustainable development. The cycle of instability and violence in these contexts often leads to the destruction of infrastructure and a strain on resources, making it difficult for communities to lift themselves out of poverty and achieve sustainable development goals. The list of FCV contexts includes the World Bank list of countries and territories affected by fragility and conflict situations (FCS), as well as countries suffering from violence and those with large-forcibly displaced populations that are not included in the FCS list. This review aims to describe which early childhood development (ECD) measurement tools have been used in FCV contexts and to serve as a guide for tool selection in these settings. This guidance is intended to assist country teams in identifying appropriate tools for ECD measurement activities, provided that such activities are already recognized as priorities. While parents and caregivers are essential to ECD, particularly in FCV environments, this review does not concern tools that measure adults' well-being or parenting-related outcomes. Instead, it measures children's developmental outcomes and other child-related constructs relevant to FCV contexts. The authors briefly describe the situation of children living in FCV contexts and how it can affect their development. We then make a case for the importance of ECD measurement, the lack of data on ECD in FCV contexts, and the data collection challenges. After that, we provide a deep dive into what was found in the desk review and provide a framework for tool selection. Finally, we present policy recommendations.
Early Learning in South Punjab, Pakistan: Investigating Child Development and Classroom Quality
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-05-07) Seiden, Jonathan; Hasan, Amer; Luna-Bazaldua, Diego
In Pakistan, learning poverty among primary school aged children is estimated to be as high as 77 percent, but little data exist on early learning experiences. This paper describes the state of classroom quality in 1,395 classrooms and the early childhood development status of 8,249 children in a representative sample of 894 public schools in South Punjab, using two measurement tools: The Teach ECE classroom observation tool, which describes the structural and process quality features of classrooms, and the Anchor Items for the Measurement of Early Childhood Development Direct Assessment which reports on early learning and developmental outcomes of children aged 4 to 6 years. The paper finds key gaps in the foundational skills of young children and areas for improvement in both the physical classroom and teaching practices. In examining the relationships between teaching practices and early childhood development outcomes, the analysis finds a strong positive relationship across the areas of process quality and domains of childhood development. Children studying in a high-quality classroom have outcomes that are equivalent to having been in school nine months longer than children of similar ages in an average quality classroom, suggesting that a sharper focus on teaching quality may improve early childhood development outcomes and school readiness. The findings also show that after accounting for teaching quality, degrees and certification are not associated with early childhood development outcomes, but that classes taught by female teachers have better early childhood development outcomes.
Guiding Questions for Choosing the Right Tools to Measure Early Childhood Outcomes: Why, What, Who, and How
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-02-18) Pushparatnam, Adelle; Seiden, Jonathan Michael; Luna Bazaldua, Diego Armando
A growing understanding of the importance of children’s earliest years has led to an increasing desire to measure early childhood development (ECD) outcomes. There are now nearly 150 tools for measuring ECD outcomes internationally, which can make it challenging to choose an appropriate measurement tool for a given measurement effort. This document guides the user through the why, who, what, and how questions that must be considered prior to selecting tools for measuring ECD outcomes. Users should document their responses at each step to collate the information needed to identify and select an appropriate ECD measurement tool.
Primer on Large-Scale Assessments of Educational Achievement
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2021-04-26) Clarke, Marguerite; Luna-Bazaldua, Diego
To improve their education systems, countries around the world have increasingly initiated national largescale assessment programs or participated in international or regional large-scale assessment studies for the first time. Well-constructed large-scale assessments can provide credible information on student achievement levels, which, in turn, can promote better resource allocation to schools, stronger education service delivery, and improved learning outcomes. The World Bank developed this Primer on Large-Scale Assessments of Educational Achievement as a firststop resource for those wanting to understand how to design, administer, analyze, and use the results from these assessments of student achievement. The book addresses frequently asked questions from people working on large-scale assessment projects and those interested in making informed decisions about them. Each chapter introduces a stage in the assessment process and offers advice, guidelines, and country examples. This book also reports on emerging trends in large-scale assessment and provides updated information on regional and international large-scale assessment programs.
Planning a Large-scale Assessment of Student Achievement: What are Essential Elements of the Assessment Framework?
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-06-27) Clarke, Margaret M.; Luna Bazaldua, Diego Armando
An important part of planning a large-scale assessment of student achievement is developing the framework for the assessment. In many education projects financed by the World Bank and other international organizations, the development of an assessment framework is included as one of the results indicators for the project. This note addresses frequently asked questions about the contents of an assessment framework. Examples of assessment frameworks are included at the end. An assessment framework describes what is being assessed, why it is being assessed, how it is being assessed, and who is being assessed. A well thought-through assessment framework supports the development of appropriate assessment instruments, sample designs, implementation strategies, analytical approaches, and reporting structures. Indeed, assessment frameworks are one of the building blocks for strengthening national assessment systems. At the same time, frameworks are only guiding documents and should be flexible enough to allow for necessary changes to the design, conduct, or analysis of the assessment in response to conditions on the ground. This guidance note discusses how to develop an assessment framework for a large-scale assessment exercise that will provide information on overall learning levels in an education system. Typically, such assessments are national in scope, but they may also be sub-national or international.
How Do We Know Teacher Professional Development Is Working?: Measuring Changes in Teaching Practices in the Classroom
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-12-10) del Toro Mijares, Ana Teresa; Luna-Bazaldua, Diego; Molina, Ezequiel; Pushparatnam, Adelle
The teaching that students receive in the classroom is the most important school-based determinant of student learning. The objective of this note is to provide guidance on how to: (1) establish a numerical indicator to measure changes in teaching practices through the use of classroom observation tools for use in education projects, and (2) produce a benchmark to compare changes in teaching practices through this indicator. The way that teachers interact with their students in the classroom makes all the difference in ensuring students’ academic and socioemotional learning. For this reason, education projects that seek to improve student learning frequently include components focused on improving teaching practices through interventions such as modifying the curriculum, improving pre-service or in-service teacher training, and integrating additional instructional support to the classroom through the use of structured instructional material or technology. This note provides guidance on how to establish a numerical indicator to measure teaching practices through classroom observation tools, and how to benchmark this indicator to track changes in teaching practices over time for use in educational interventions. This guidance is structured through a three-step process: step 1, selecting an appropriate classroom observation tool; step 2, selecting an indicator to track teaching practices using that tool; and step 3, establishing a reasonable benchmarking target for the chosen indicator.
A Synthesis Report on Piloting of Remote Phone-Based Formative Assessment Solutions in Ghana, Nepal, and Pakistan
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022) Khurana, Aishwarya; Levin, Victoria; Luna-Bazaldua, Diego; Liberman, Julia
School closures related to Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) not only disrupted education but also impacted teachers’ ability to know whether and what their students were learning. This information gap was most challenging in contexts with limited internet connectivity and low access to smart digital devices. In such circumstances, conducting formative assessments remotely using basic phones was seen as a means to provide timely information to teachers, parents, and students and support learning continuity outside the classroom. As students return to school, the same solutions can be used to complement in-person instruction to accelerate learning recovery, expand the use of formative assessment in hard-to-reach schools, and improve the resilience of education systems when confronted by future shocks. This report describes the three pilot studies that aimed to test the logistical and technological feasibility of using short message service (SMS), interactive voice recording (IVR), and live phone calls (LPC) to conduct formative assessment of foundational math and literacy skills for primary-grade students. These pilot studies were conducted in Ghana, Nepal, and Pakistan between October 2020 and January 2022.
Guidance Note on Phone-based Formative Assessment: Guidance for Evaluating Implementation Feasibility of Phone-Based Formative Assessments in Low-Resource Settings
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022) Khurana, Aishwarya; Kruske, Lucy; Levin, Victoria; Liberman, Julia; Luna-Bazaldua, Diego
Phone-Based Formative Assessment refers to the use of mobile phone technology to engage students outside the classroom, assess their learning in real time, and provide timely, constructive feedback. Such assessment is particularly critical to promote learning continuity in the context of COVID-19-related school closures, which have led to the expansion and availability of remote teaching and learning resources.
Guidance Note on Using Learning Assessment in the Process of School Reopening
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-11-21) Levin, Victoria; Luna Bazaldua, Diego; Liberman, Julia
As countries consider how to reopen schools safely in the context of COVID-19 (coronavirus), one key question is how to assess students' learning to support learning recovery. The expected magnitude of learning losses, particularly among students with the highest needs, makes it essential for key stakeholders in the education process — policymakers, teachers, school principals, students, and their parents — to determine where students are in their learning trajectory relative to what had been expected prior to the pandemic, so they can adjust instruction and allocate resources accordingly. To collect this information, stakeholders can rely on student learning assessment, which is an essential feedback mechanism in the education system. This note provides key steps that countries with different availability of resources should consider in developing their plans for learning assessment activities to support learning recovery in the context of school reopening. Throughout this note, assessment of student learning is defined as gathering and evaluating information on what students know, understand, and can do to make informed decisions about the next steps in the educational process. In addition, some considerations and country examples for the implementation of high-stakes examinations are discussed. This note concludes with examples of learning assessment activities that countries around the world are planning or implementing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Likewise, this note highlights important lessons that can support resilience to future emergencies and crises.