The UIS and national partners have launched the main survey of the Literacy Assessment and Monitoring Programme (LAMP) in Jordan, the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Paraguay. Mongolia completed the assessment last December and results are currently being processed.
Another three countries –Morocco, Niger and Viet Nam – are also preparing to begin the main assessment. The UIS will release the results of these surveys in 2012.
LAMP is uniquely designed to measure the full spectrum of literacy skills in countries at all stages of development. It is the only adult literacy assessment that has been tested and validated in ten languages belonging to six linguistic families. This is essential to yield data that can be compared across time, countries and cultures.
Given the complexity involved in this assessment, the UIS works closely with local teams comprised of assessment experts from ministries of education and national statistical offices. This collaboration is essential to ensure that policymakers and planners are able to effectively use the resulting data. The national teams are critical partners in conducting field tests before launching the main survey. This preliminary work is currently underway in Afghanistan, Anguilla, India, Jamaica, Lao PDR and Namibia.
Many of these countries will be undertaking the survey in several languages. Namibia, for example, is seeking to conduct the assessment in seven to nine languages. The aim is to provide policymakers with the information required to effectively plan and implement literacy policies for all citizens in linguistically diverse societies.
Learn more:
Alphabétisme Assessment and Monitoring Programme