Publication: Guidance Note on Using Learning Assessment in the Process of School Reopening
Loading...
Files in English
223 downloads
Other Files
180 downloads
90 downloads
179 downloads
235 downloads
Published
2020-11-21
ISSN
Date
2022-01-31
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
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.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Levin, Victoria; Luna Bazaldua, Diego; Liberman, Julia. 2020. Guidance Note on Using Learning Assessment in the Process of School Reopening. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/36892 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Guidance Note on Phone-based Formative Assessment(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022)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.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)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.Publication Psychometric Considerations for Implementing Phone-Based Learning Assessments(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022)The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant impact on education worldwide, affecting whether and how students learn. World Bank estimates and initial analysis at the country level indicate that school closures and interruptions to in-person education are likely to negatively impact student learning. Moreover, these estimates predict that students in low- and middle-income countries will suffer from more significant learning losses than students in high-income countries, worsening the existing global learning crisis. As part of their education response to the pandemic, many countries have provided learning content to students at home through various means, including through the internet via devices such as computers, tablets, and smartphones, as well as through television, radio, printed materials, and feature (basic) phones. With schools closed, teachers have also had to adapt to using these different media to continue their teaching. So, phone-based assessment solutions can be used for at least two purposes. The first purpose is to conduct formative assessment, for example to gauge how well students have absorbed the learning content, identify any misconceptions in understanding, provide constructive feedback to students or caregivers, and offer additional learning resources and activities to support learning. The second purpose is to conduct impact evaluations, for example analyzing the effect on student learning outcomes of interventions introduced in response to the pandemic.Publication A Synthesis Report on Piloting of Remote Phone-Based Formative Assessment Solutions in Ghana, Nepal, and Pakistan(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022)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.Publication Guiding Questions for Choosing the Right Tools to Measure Early Childhood Outcomes(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2022-02-18)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.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Europe and Central Asia Economic Update, Spring 2025: Accelerating Growth through Entrepreneurship, Technology Adoption, and Innovation(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-04-23)Business dynamism and economic growth in Europe and Central Asia have weakened since the late 2000s, with productivity growth driven largely by resource reallocation between firms and sectors rather than innovation. To move up the value chain, countries need to facilitate technology adoption, stronger domestic competition, and firm-level innovation to build a more dynamic private sector. Governments should move beyond broad support for small- and medium-sized enterprises and focus on enabling the most productive firms to expand and compete globally. Strengthening competition policies, reducing the presence of state-owned enterprises, and ensuring fair market access are crucial. Limited availability of long-term financing and risk capital hinders firm growth and innovation. Economic disruptions are a shock in the short term, but they provide an opportunity for implementing enterprise and structural reforms, all of which are essential for creating better-paying jobs and helping countries in the region to achieve high-income status.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)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.Publication Morocco Economic Update, Winter 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-04-03)Despite the drought causing a modest deceleration of overall GDP growth to 3.2 percent, the Moroccan economy has exhibited some encouraging trends in 2024. Non-agricultural growth has accelerated to an estimated 3.8 percent, driven by a revitalized industrial sector and a rebound in gross capital formation. Inflation has dropped below 1 percent, allowing Bank al-Maghrib to begin easing its monetary policy. While rural labor markets remain depressed, the economy has added close to 162,000 jobs in urban areas. Morocco’s external position remains strong overall, with a moderate current account deficit largely financed by growing foreign direct investment inflows, underpinned by solid investor confidence indicators. Despite significant spending pressures, the debt-to-GDP ratio is slowly declining.Publication World Development Report 2006(Washington, DC, 2005)This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.Publication The Journey Ahead(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-31)The Journey Ahead: Supporting Successful Migration in Europe and Central Asia provides an in-depth analysis of international migration in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) and the implications for policy making. By identifying challenges and opportunities associated with migration in the region, it aims to inform a more nuanced, evidencebased debate on the costs and benefits of cross-border mobility. Using data-driven insights and new analysis, the report shows that migration has been an engine of prosperity and has helped address some of ECA’s demographic and socioeconomic disparities. Yet, migration’s full economic potential remains untapped. The report identifies multiple barriers keeping migration from achieving its full potential. Crucially, it argues that policies in both origin and destination countries can help maximize the development impacts of migration and effectively manage the economic, social, and political costs. Drawing from a wide range of literature, country experiences, and novel analysis, The Journey Ahead presents actionable policy options to enhance the benefits of migration for destination and origin countries and migrants themselves. Some measures can be taken unilaterally by countries, whereas others require close bilateral or regional coordination. The recommendations are tailored to different types of migration— forced displacement as well as high-skilled and low-skilled economic migration—and from the perspectives of both sending and receiving countries. This report serves as a comprehensive resource for governments, development partners, and other stakeholders throughout Europe and Central Asia, where the richness and diversity of migration experiences provide valuable insights for policy makers in other regions of the world.