PAL Network Assessments have gone Digital with ELANA!

In 2021, the PAL Network initiated an Early Language & Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (ELANA). ELANA, a common literacy and numeracy assessment for early years, is an expansion of the Network’s first International Common Assessment of Numeracy (ICAN), which was conducted by 13 PAL Network member organisations in 2019 – 2020. ICAN focused on numeracy for children aged 5-16 years, about the same assessment age group as the conventional Citizen-Led Assessments (CLAs) that the Network was established on.

ICAN was developed by the PAL Network out of a need to generate comparable data among its members. This brought with it the realisation of a shared vision of assessing all children using similar tools across different countries and generating robust data. This robust data would be the raw material for the rich analysis that would provide deeper insights into the learning outcomes of children in Numeracy across PAL Network member organisations/countries. The uniqueness of ICAN was also in its adopted numeracy activities that tested new elements that were not featured in CLAs, including time, measurement and data reading/recording.

ELANA being an expansion of ICAN, is largely built on the Network’s experiences of conducting learning assessments over the years. Like CLAs, it assesses children’s Literacy and Numeracy, except it uses tablets. ELANA’s main aim is to link early years to children’s foundational learning to understand their progress across a broader age and the learning development continuum. Its unique aspects are covered in three areas:

• Age – unlike ICAN and CLAs, ELANA assesses children from the ages 4 to 10
• Technology – ELANA is administered using tablets that host an assessment tool designed on an android application
• Interface – the assessment tool is more visual and interactive than the conventional pen and paper tools. Other aspects of the assessment remain consistent with the CLA architecture that ICAN was also built on. ELANA has two standout features; it is conducted one-on-one in households and is implemented by local partners.

Thus far, the process of designing, developing and testing ELANA has been incredibly rigorous. The first pilot (Field Trial (FT) 0.2) was conducted in Kenya and Pakistan to primarily check the effectiveness of the ELANA tool and the efficacy of its process. Feedback from the field trial was vital in improving the tool, instructions and process. After these improvements, PAL Network participating member organisations across 12 countries (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique, Mali, Senegal, Nicaragua and Mexico) rolled out and implemented a large-scale pilot (Field Trial (FT) 1). Each country undertook comprehensive training and field trials during which the volunteers played a crucial role in not only assessing children but also collecting and sharing the feedback required to improve the ELANA tool and process.

My ELANA field experience

My field experiences of ICAN and CLAs have been replete with new insights and inspiring moments. Being part of the process as it unfolds and assessing children on the field has opened my eyes to the significance of the work that PAL Network and its members do. It has also revealed what lack of learning means to the families of children furthest left behind. These learning poverty realities in the global south represented in our data and field experiences are some of the tools we maintain in our arsenal to keep combating the learning crisis.

My ELANA field pilot experience in Kenya promised to be eventful, given the fact the trial was being conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic and administered for the first time on tablets. This being a new assessment experience, I initially had concerns: how easily the volunteers would learn, adapt to and use the tablets, the role digital literacy would play to ensure a smooth process, how the children would handle the gadgets and finally, how a digitally administered assessment would influence the children’s responses compared to the traditional paper-based assessments.

The volunteers easily got a grasp of the entire process during training, which was not sophisticated in any way. If anything, it was limited because the volunteer guidance sheets were scant. Due to restricted digital literacy, some volunteers fumbled with navigating the tablet. However, with the team’s guidance, they ultimately got the hang of it. Guided by the volunteers administering the assessment, the children also readily understood their tasks. Finally, the fact that the assessment is done on tablets elicited some excitement from the children. Its interactive nature motivated them to take the test. I felt this was a good way of encouraging them to view the assessment as playful and inviting.

It was surreal seeing ELANA come to life on the field. Watching the children comfortably taking the assessment on the tablets and volunteers having less paperwork to deal with was exciting. I’m eager to see how ELANA develops and perhaps how it could be incorporated into the Network’s Accelerated Learning Programmes to track children’s learning outcomes during learning camps. This is an exhilarating and futuristic journey the Network has embarked on in learning assessments. What a way to continue towards the vision of ensuring that every child has a foundation for lifelong learning!