The U.S. Agency for International Development’s Uzbekistan Education for Excellence Program supported the Ministry to review the standards and curriculum, a supportive teacher professional approach, and piloting to enhance ICT instruction. The Program mobilized local experts from the Republican Education Center and international experts from Mississippi State University’s International Institute and Center for Cyber Education to begin the process by developing standards for grades 1–11 for ICT education. ICT standards development is a major step toward Uzbekistan’s vision of producing graduates with critical thinking, problem-solving, and practical skills that will enable them to succeed. This brief provides an overview of the development and review of ICT student learning standards and scopes and sequences.

With a modern, robust new curriculum carefully prepared by local and international experts to meet the needs of Uzbekistan’s students, how would the Ministry of Preschool and School Education (MoPSE) ensure the effectiveness of textbooks and teacher guides in the classroom? The new teaching and learning materials (TLMs) created and customized by the USAID-funded Uzbekistan Education for Excellence Program in partnership with the MoPSE were developed through a multi-step, participatory process. Input from international experts and Uzbekistan primary teachers and academics grounded the modern methods and practices in the local context. To evaluate the use and value of these TLMs for students and educators, the Program led an extensive pilot initiative.

The Uzbekistan Education for Excellence Program led the development of a groundbreaking curriculum based on international best practices and contributions from local experts. The approach was rooted in a theory of change that identified long-term goals (outcomes) and the interconnecting outputs and conditions to achieve them. In collaboration with the Uzbekistan Ministry of Preschool and School Education (MoPSE), the Program developed education standards, scope and sequences, new textbooks and teacher guides, and continuous professional development training for educators in pilot schools among other activities and products. Throughout this process, the Program sought to test the theory of change, fill critical gaps in knowledge about the Uzbek educational system, and determine what kind of research would be most responsive to this breadth of interventions and the complex nature of classroom dynamics.

The Uzbekistan Ministry of Preschool and School Education (MoPSE) spearheaded an initiative to reform its curricula based on international best practices. The USAID-funded Uzbekistan Education for Excellence Program brought together a diverse cohort of international and local experts to help revitalize the country’s public school curricula under the leadership of RTI International. Together with MoPSE staff, the Program addressed the challenges of increasing student engagement and critical thinking by developing standards-based textbooks and teacher guides for Uzbek Language Arts (ULA) and mathematics.

Educators are the critical link between learning materials and students. Their approach to instruction influences learning and classroom dynamics every day. While the Government of Uzbekistan has made significant investments in regular professional development opportunities for teachers, the trainings reinforced a teachercentered instruction style. In the classroom, teachers struggled to practically address diverse student needs. While some students excelled in this environment, many fell behind.

A national curriculum and its learning materials are the backbone of an education system. At their best, they reflect student needs, a country’s aspirations for its youth, and a realistic path to gaining the knowledge that will bridge them. The Government of Uzbekistan Ministry of Preschool and School Education (MoPSE) is investing in a strong education system for the long-term success of students and the nation. Uzbekistan boasts an impressive adult literacy rate of over 99 percent and the country’s support for education is evidenced in the policies and executive decrees of recent years. Yet, challenges persisted in the national curriculum and educational materials,which were not well integrated and did not consistently reflect current evidence on how children learn nor the unique context of Uzbek youth.