RTI’s latest mobile EdTech product, "Loquat", uses language-agnostic speech activity detection to determine when someone is talking. It then passes the detected speech to a voice type classifier to establish who is currently speaking. This allows the app to be used in different countries and settings, regardless of the instructional language. The mobile app, built for Android devices, is designed to be easy and intuitive. It provides timely classroom support for teachers located in rural or urban areas who may not have access to a mentor or coach. The app can also be used as part of a standard coaching session where the coach helps the teacher with techniques in improving their talk time balance in the classroom.  To use Loquat, the teacher records the audio of the entire lesson or choses a particular activity to be recorded. Then, they upload the recording through the app, to the Loquat server. After the audio recording of a lesson or activity is fully processed and analyzed, there are various reports available to the teacher. Each of these reports aims to aid the teacher in initiating self-reflection, applying immediate corrective actions, and improving talk time balance in their classroom (e.g., proportion of teacher talk time versus student talk time, individual talk time versus group talk time). Loquat is designed as a tool that empowers the teacher to take immediate action thus allowing students to grow and improve their learning outcomes. The app uses modern cloud architecture and serverless, scalable infrastructure, to process the audio. It only saves the data files used for building the graphs and charts used on the device reports. All classroom recordings are removed from the servers after analysis. There is no identification of voice or voice to text transcription. We have the Loquat application interface and user documentation in 3 languages, English, French, and Spanish. We want to present results and summary of the collected feedback from user testing in Guatemala and Senegal. There are three other pilots scheduled for 2023. Those include testing pilots in Ghana, Bangladesh, and Tanzania. Our vision for Loquat is that it experiences future iterations to include language detection but also provide additional functionality, like voice models identification or affective models that help not only assess talk time but also time on task, classroom climate, language, and content. We are also interested in exploring other uses of the application with emphasis on inclusivity in parent teacher meetings and communities of practice.

The challenges of conducting educational assessments in low- and middle-income environments during the pandemic can be eased by AI-powered speech recognition technology that offers a promising solution to enhance assessments. By utilizing advanced algorithms and machine learning techniques, this technology accurately transcribes spoken language into written text. Reading fluency and comprehension can be efficiently measured by integrating AI speech recognition into assessments, without the need for physical presence. From the safety of their homes, students can perform the assessments using their smartphones or computers, assisting schools in organizing complex logistics. AI speech recognition technology has a great edge in providing instant feedback, which is one of its main benefits. While students are speaking out loud, the AI system can swiftly assess their intonation, pronunciation, and tempo, rendering quick guidance and identifying areas for refinement. This personalized feedback effortlessly assists students in boosting their reading abilities, even in the absence of in-person teacher interactions. Moreover, AI-backed evaluations can be carried out on a wider scale, enabling educators to collect extensive data on reading patterns and tackle specific issues that are commonly seen among students. The objective of this presentation is to feature the self-administered AI Speech recognition Computer-based reading assessment that RTI developed at the request of the Philippines Department of Education (DepEd), under the USAID All Children Reading (ACR). Throughout the school years of 2020-2022, the COVID-19 pandemic posed significant challenges to conducting face-to-face assessments, particularly in remote learning environments. As a result, teachers faced constraints in terms of time and resources to individually assess learners' reading skills against crucial learning competencies. The proposed automated assessment technology offered a potential solution to alleviate this burden and streamline the evaluation process, allowing educators to efficiently gauge students' reading abilities remotely. In February 2022, ACR-Philippines initiated discussions with USAID and the Philippines Department of Education (DepEd) to produce a ‘proof of concept’ that explores the feasibility of a self-administered computer-based reading assessment (CoBRA) in English and Filipino for students in the Philippines. The concept found resonance with the DepEd leadership as the adoption of a computer-based format for assessments aligns with international practices and provides an excellent opportunity to ascertain students' preparedness to take computer-based tests, such as the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). The result of this intervention generated a prototype solution piloted and tailored to fit DepED's existing platforms for supporting remote learning and delivery. The pilot provided insights on the feasibility of a computer-based assessment in the context of the Philippines for students in grades 4 -6. The research findings examined the performance, reliability, and results of the AI Speech recognition technology reading assessment, compared to the assessor-administered approach of the assessment. The research generated key design considerations, feedback from end users, recommendations regarding implementing similar approaches, and the future development of similar technology for other languages within and outside the Philippines.

This success story highlights a English as a foreign language teacher's experience piloting the new ELF textbooks launched by the Ministry of Public Education, with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID. As a master training, she recognized that some teachers needed time to switch from their unusual approach and adjust their teaching to use the new materials, and she wanted to support them in this process. As part of her preparation to become a master trainer, she met with English as a foreign language experts from the Uzbekistan Education for Excellence Program to discuss each section of the new textbooks, workbooks, and teacher guides and explore all the new supplementary materials available to teachers, including video and audio files, word cards, and a test generator. She found that the new content and the approach to teaching English were drastically different from those she had used in the past. She found the teacher guide easy to follow and noted that the steps included in the guide helped her to implement each lesson.

The Ministry of Public Education (MPE) with the support of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Uzbekistan Ministry of Public Education, initiated a reform to enhance ICT education to produce graduates with computer and programming skills that will contribute to youth employability. Under the USAID-funded Uzbekistan Education for Excellence Program, the Republican Education Center and Abdulla Avloni Institute collaborated with RTI International and Mississippi State University to update Uzbekistan’s ICT educational standards and goals, scopes and sequences, teacher guides, student textbooks, student evaluations, and teacher professional development. The Program and MPE piloted an ICT program for grades 5–11.

The information and communication technology (ICT) baseline assessment measured current competency of grades 9, 10, and 11 students on the Program-developed materials that include standards, teacher guides, and use of the ICT student textbooks (STB). The Program customized the STB for Uzbekistan from an internationally sourced series of ICT materials originating from Cambridge University Press. The assessment was conducted with students across these three grades in two distinct regions (Namangan and Sirdaryo) of Uzbekistan.

This report summarizes the findings of additional analyses conducted to delve deeper and develop more insight into the piloting of the Self-Administered Early Grade Reading Assessment (SA-EGRA) and the Self-Administered Early Grade Mathematics Assessment (SA-EGMA). These tools were developed and tested by RTI International with the support and direction of Imagine Worldwide. Children complete these assessments independently on tablet-based software while in a classroom with their peers. An adult supervises the process.

This report summarizes the findings of an effort to develop and validate tablet-based, self-administered assessments of Chichewa-language foundational literacy and numeracy in the early grades in Malawi. RTI International developed the two assessments, known respectively as the Self-Administered Early Grade Reading Assessment (SA-EGRA) and the Self-Administered Early Grade Mathematics Assessment (SA-EGMA), with the support and at the direction of Imagine Worldwide. The assessments are deemed “self-administered,” because children complete the assessments independently in response to instructions and stimuli embedded in the tablet-based software. However, adults typically supervise the organization and conduct of the assessment as well as the collection of individual data from the tablets for analysis.

This information and communication technology (ICT) assessment measured the competency of 1,244 grade 9, 10, and 11 students from the beginning to the end of the 2022–2023 school year in two regions. This longitudinal study measured the impact of student learning outcomes over the course of a year. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Uzbekistan Education for Excellence Program conducted a baseline assessment at the beginning of the school year in September 2022 and an endline assessment at the end of the school year in May 2023. These assessments included a knowledge examination of the content of newly introduced ICT standards and textbooks. The examination was based on standards and proficiency was defined as 78%, 79%, and 77% correct responses in the assessment for grades 9, 10, and 11 respectively by the subject matter specialists in ICT. Additionally, to better measure the progress during the early years of implementation of the new curriculum, the Program also set intermediate proficiency levels at 50%, 40%, and 40% for grades 9, 10, and 11 respectively.

In November 2018, the Republic of Uzbekistan Ministry of Preschool and School Education (MoPSE) announced its Information Technology Nation initiative, which is aimed at producing graduates with the ability to work in cyber security, software development and testing, network administration, graphic design, animation, and game design. To achieve these outcomes, the public education system began addressing a series of critical constraints, including access to information and communication technology (ICT) hardware and broadband access at the school level, time allocated to ICT classes, and outdated standards and curriculum for ICT education, which should better reflect assessments of ICT skills and current labor market and university demands.

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.