USAID's Education Data for Decision Making (EdData II) was implemented over a 12 year period beginning in 2004. EdData II had at its core the goal of improving access to data for USAID Missions and host country ministries, to use for making informed policy decisions. The tools and research developed under EdData II whelped to inform the development of learning metrics under the Sustainable Development Goals (2015); provide evidence to support the design and monitor the implementation of USAID's 2011-2017 Education strategy, and provide actionable, high-quality data to inform policy and practice in around 35 countries. The report reflects on EdData II and the project's impact, providing a summary of the most salient and impactful project activities, and drawing key lessons from their development and implementation.

Presentation delivered at CIES 2017 (Atlanta). A systematic way to use baseline evaluation studies to help define and identify disadvantaged schools in an intervention program.

This report summarizes main findings and lessons learned from the piloting of the lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) methodology in the education sector in Ethiopia. It also suggests next steps for applying the LQAS methodology more broadly for education program monitoring.

This manual was created at the request of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). It is a tool to guide individuals who are implementing a pilot application in locations that have not previously tested it. The assumption is that they will be gauging the appropriateness and effectiveness of using the method within that context as a routine monitoring tool. LEMA is an adaptation of a monitoring approach known as Lot Quality Assurance Sampling. (LQAS). LQAS uses small sample sizes and binary indicators to classify local areas as meeting or not meeting minimum performance standards. This approach was first developed in the 1920s as a way to monitor the quality of manufacturing production. A small sample of items would be randomly selected from a production lot and examined for any imperfections. If the number of defective items within the lot was greater than a pre-set threshold level, then the entire lot was rejected (Robertson et al., 1997, p. 199). Rejected lots were then “examined more closely and either repaired or discarded” (MEASURE Evaluation Project 1998, p. 5). The downloads link to the toolkit (3000 kb) and a related presentation (7000 kb).

This report summarizes main findings and lessons learned from the piloting of lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) in the education sector in Ghana. It also suggests next steps for applying LQAS more broadly for education program monitoring.

This analysis report was written to gain insight into both student facility with foundational skills and to better understand characteristics among Iraqi schools associated with this performance. In 2012, USAID/Iraq, in partnership with the Ministry of Education (MoED), contracted with RTI International under the Education Data for Decision Making (EdData II) project to conduct an EGRA, EGMA, and SSME in a sample of primary schools in Iraq.

This final report summarizes main findings and lessons learned from the piloting of lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) in the education sector in Tanzania. It also suggests next steps for applying LQAS more broadly for education program monitoring.

In classrooms, teachers use a variety of assessments. Formative and summative assessments provide them information on the effectiveness of the instruction they are providing during and after a lesson. Assessments also differ in the type of information they provide. Criterion-referenced assessments measure what students know against a set of skills or knowledge. Results from norm-referenced assessments indicate how well a student did in relation to a group of similar students. Each type of assessment has a function and provides unique information to the system.

Assessments of student learning in the primary grades, such as the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) and Early Grade Mathematics Assessment (EGMA), offer an opportunity to determine whether children are developing the fundamental skills upon which all other literacy and mathematical skills build, and, if not, where efforts might be best directed. To answer these questions about learning and the factors influencing it in Morocco, a study was carried out in a sample of schools in the Doukkala Abda region. The study investigated early grade reading and math skills and the learning environments that support them. It was completed as part of the Education Data for Decision Making (EdData II) project, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), in partnership with USAID/Morocco and with the national and regional (AREF Doukkala Abda) levels of Morocco’s Ministry of Education (MOE). Student assessment and school survey protocols developed under the EdData II project were tailored to the Moroccan context during an adaptation workshop with national and regional MOE staff. Reading and math assessments (EGRA/EGMA) were administered to a total of 773 grade 2 and grade 3 students randomly selected from within 40 schools. The 40 participating schools had been randomly selected from within the 1400 schools located in the Doukkala Abda region. In addition to student assessments, researchers interviewed Headteachers, teachers, students, and parents; conducted classroom and school inventories; and observed reading and math lessons. The fieldwork was carried out by MOE data collection teams under the supervision of RTI’s partner ETM in May 2011.

This report discusses the impact and results of the pilot intervention that was implemented during the 2013-2014 school year across 43 schools reaching more than 400 teachers and approximately 12,000 students in Jordan.