EnglishPAL Network
The exam based assessment system is said to have been over emphasized in the recent years in Bangladesh that has inspired memorizing texts rather than learning the basics. In order to assess children’s basic learning competencies in reading (native language and English) and arithmetic, BRAC and IID jointly conducted a household based survey. Simple tests at the household level were conducted for the assessment. The results were then matched against the competencies set in the national curriculum for different grades to make appropriate assessment against the benchmarks.
The assessment was done among 791 primary school going children (aged 5 to 15 years) in the rural areas of 2 districts (Sylhet and Sunamganj) in Bangladesh during the month of May, 2015. About 50% respondents were selected from the hard to reach areas to facilitate a comparative assessment between areas with different level of geographic accessibility. The ASER format was used during this assessment.
Highlights from the results of the assessment
Bangla reading
Bangla story reading is a competency to be attained by the end of class-1, according to the national curriculum. Since the assessment was done during the first half of the academic year, class-2 students were expected to be competitive at this stage. The results of the assessment shows that about 30% students of class-2 and about 85% students of class-5 can read a story in Bangla.
English reading
Simple English sentence reading is the attainable competency for students of class-2 in the curriculum. Hence, due to the timing issue, class 3 students were expected to be competitive at this stage. Results of the household level assessment reveals particular weakness of the children in basic English competencies. Only 6.1% students of class-3 could read simple English sentences. Even in class-5, only about 39% student could read such sentences.
Basic arithmetic
Dividing 3 digit numbers by 2 digit numbers is the attainable competency for student of class-3 according to the curriculum. Therefore, this assessment expected class-4 students to be able to compute such divisions. The results showed that about 27.6% students of class-4 and about 41.4% students of class-5 can compute this type of divisions. On the other hand, some students of class 1, 2 and 3 were found competent at this stage.
Factors affecting children’s basic competencies
From the survey results, children’s basic learning competencies appeared to be linked with some socio-economic factors. As the results suggest, children from households of higher per capita income tends to have better competencies. Interestingly, percentage of children meeting the competencies as set by the curriculum was found to be higher for those from households with electricity connection. Also, some children help their parents in their livelihood activities. These children were found to be lagging behind in terms of basic learning competencies in comparison to those who are not engaged in such activities.