How is ASER 2017 different from earlier ASER surveys? A Photo Essay

Because the target age group for Pratham’s Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) comprises children in the elementary school age group, ASER normally collects information only about sampled children’s school enrollment and basic learning abilities. As the 2017 ASER Report has chosen to target youth between the ages of 14-18, the age group is far more varied with respect to what they do, what they know, and what they want. ASER 2017 therefore attempts to capture characteristics of the target age group covering a broader set of dimensions, framed here as 1) Activity 2) Ability 3) Awareness and 4) Aspirations

Framing this more complex set of questions in ways that fit within ASER’s framework of a rapid, citizen-led, easy to understand survey has been a complex task. Eighteen months of desk research and field piloting have led the ASER team to the present ‘Beyond Basics’ package. ASER Centre believe that in its current form, ASER 2017 ‘Beyond Basics’ captures some important dimensions of the preparedness of youth in rural India with respect to their ability to lead productive lives as adults. The more detailed nature of the survey has necessitated a more complex implementation process than the usual ASER, for example more days of training and survey. Since this is the first time ASER has been implemented in this form, ASER 2017 is regarded as a large scale pilot of the ‘Beyond Basics’ package. Therefore, whereas every year ASER reaches almost all rural districts in the country and generates estimates that are representative at district, state, and national levels, ASER 2017 was conducted in a total of 28 districts spread across 24 states and generated only district level estimates.

To read the full ASER 2017 Beyond Basics Report, please click here

To download a 4-page document with further information about the ASER 2017 process, please click here

To download a 4-page document with the key findings from all Districts, please click here

To download the ASER 2017 Beyond Basics Tool, please click here