Our Citizen-led Assessment approach originated in 2005 in India, where it is known as the Annual Status of Education Report – ASER (which means impact). In 2008, ASER Pakistan adopted this approach. In 2009, Uwezo Kenya, Uwezo Tanzania, and Uwezo Uganda joined the PAL Network. Uwezo means capability. In 2011, Bɛɛkunko (meaning we are in it together) , a Malian organisation joined the network. A Senegalese organisation, Jàngandoo (meaning learn together), followed shortly afterwards.
Medición Independiente de Aprendizajes (MIA), meaning independent measurement of learning, initiated their assessments in Mexico in 2014. In 2015, LEARNigeria (Let’s Assess, Engage, and Report Nigeria) joined the PAL family. In 2015, the Institute of Informatics and Development (IID), in partnership with BRAC, piloted their Citizen-led Assessment in Bangladesh. This was followed by Todos Pelas Crianças (TPC) em Moçambique (meaning All for the Children in Mozambique) in 2016. TPC Mozambique was then granted full membership in March 2017.
In December 2016, ASER Nepal followed in the footsteps of ASER India by partnering with local organisations and conducting their citizen-led assessment pilot in Nepal. As a result, ASER Nepal officially joined the network in March 2017 and then gained full membership status in January 2019. In April 2018, Youth Impact, a Botswana-based learning intervention (action) organisation was admitted to the PAL Network. Youth Impact was earlier known as Young 1ove.
In January 2019, two more members joined the network: Zizi Afrique Foundation (Kenya) and ÁBACOenRED (Nicaragua) under the projects Accelerated Learning Program (ALP) and VIdA, respectively. While ÁBACOenRED had earlier piloted Citizen-led Assessments, Zizi Afrique Foundation was implementing the ALP in three counties in Kenya.
The ALP borrowed from Pratham’s Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) approach. On March 29, 2022, the PAL Network Annual General Assembly approved the GLOT Foundation (Colombia) and Movilizar, Innovar y Aprender (MIA. A.C, Mexico) as new members of the Network.