EnglishPAL Network
PAL Network organised a consultative meeting with experts familiar with citizen-led assessments and engaged in forums and advisory groups developing indicators designed to measure countries’ progress towards the SDG4. At the meeting, held on 4th September 2017, participants discussed ideas and recommendations to better position PAL Network to inform global monitoring efforts towards achieving SDG4, with a particular focus on Indicator 4.1.
SDG4 requires that ‘no education target should be considered met unless met by all’. To ensure that no child is left behind, active efforts are needed to identify the most disadvantaged children. Today, learning assessments in developing countries have the opportunity to play an important role beyond monitoring the status of the education system, to moving children’s learning to the centre of policy and practice.
At the consultative meeting, participants who included government officials, education experts and PAL Network members were challenged to ensure that they gather learning assessment data for developing countries that is relevant and appropriate not just for monitoring, but for providing information that is actionable for improving children’s learning.
Right now, school-based, pen-and-paper assessments are only relevant and useful to developed countries where they originated. Household-based, citizen-led assessments present a strong and necessary alternative to understanding progress towards achieving SDG4.