ERIC Number: ED671965
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2022-Jan
Pages: 48
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Can Learning Be Measured by Phone? Evidence from Kenya. EdWorkingPaper No. 22-517
Daniel Rodriguez-Segura; Beth E. Schueler
Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University
School closures induced by COVID-19 placed heightened emphasis on alternative ways to measure student learning besides in-person exams. We leverage the administration of phone-based assessments (PBAs) measuring numeracy and literacy for primary school children in Kenya, along with in-person standardized tests administered to the same students prior to school shutdowns, to assess the validity of PBAs. Compared to repeated in-person assessments, PBAs did not severely misclassify students' relative performance, but PBA scores did tend to be further from baseline in-person scores than repeated in-person assessments from each other. As such, PBAs performed well at measuring aggregate but not individual learning levels. Administrators can therefore use these tools for aggregate measurement, such as in the context of impact evaluation, but be wary of PBAs for individual-level tracking or high-stakes decisions. Results also reveal the importance of making deliberate efforts to reach a representative sample and selecting items that provide discriminating power. [Funding for this report was provided by Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) and Center for Reinventing Public Education (CRPE).]
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, School Closing, COVID-19, Pandemics, Student Evaluation, Telecommunications, Handheld Devices, Computer Assisted Testing, Scores, Evaluation Methods, Literacy, Numeracy, Academic Achievement, Reading Skills, Mathematics Skills, Elementary School Students, Grade 3, Grade 5, Grade 6, Program Effectiveness, Test Validity, Test Reliability
Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. Brown University Box 1985, Providence, RI 02912. Tel: 401-863-7990; Fax: 401-863-1290; e-mail: annenberg@brown.edu; Web site: https://annenberg.brown.edu/
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Elementary Education; Early Childhood Education; Grade 3; Primary Education; Grade 5; Intermediate Grades; Middle Schools; Grade 6
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University
Identifiers - Location: Kenya
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A


