© UNESCO
Carrying out an international evaluation of literacy achievement among youth and adults implies knowing which skills to evaluate.
The methodology used within the framework of the second phase of RAMAA II (Recherche-action sur la mesure des apprentissages des bénéficiaires des programmes / Action Research: Measuring Literacy Programme Participants’ Learning Outcomes) consisted of first analysing skills benchmarks for literacy programmes in order to establish a shared standard frame of reference for the twelve participating countries, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Ivory Coast, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Senegal and Togo. This tool, which was validated in November, 2017, has enabled progress to be made towards implementing the RAMAA II evaluation framework in collaboration with members of national teams led by the respective minister of education in charge of literacy; university staff and civil society representatives.
From 3 to 5 December, 2018, the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) held a workshop in Fez, Morocco, to validate the evaluation framework in cooperation with IFEF (Institut de la francophonie pour l’éducation et la formation / Francophone Countries’ Institute of Education and Training), ANLCA Morocco (Agence nationale de lutte contre l’analphabétisme / National Agency for the Fight Against Illiteracy), Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University and the UNESCO Office in Rabat. The workshop brought together around 70 participants, including members of national teams; experts from the universities of Paris III and Luxembourg; and representatives from PASEC (Programme d'analyse des systèmes éducatifs de la CONFEMEN / Programme for the Analysis of Education Systems in CONFEMEN Countries), the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), DEPP (Direction de l’évaluation, de la prospective et de la performance du ministère de l’Éducation nationale en France / French National Education Ministry’s Evaluation, Forecasting and Performance Directorate), ADEA (Association pour le développement de l’éducation en Afrique / Association for the Development of Education in Africa), and the TOP EDUQ Programme; as well as the UNESCO Offices in Abidjan, Abuja, Bamako and Dakar.
The workshop enabled participants to validate the RAMAA II evaluation framework and to discuss the methodology used to develop related elements. In addition, the calendar of activities for 2019 was adopted.
The skills and knowledge to be measured within the framework of RAMAA II were defined as follows:
- language skills: oral vocabulary, reading comprehension and spelling;
- numeracy skills: arithmetic, ability to assess and solve problems; and
- socio-educational and professional knowledge: welfare and health, citizenship, the environment and socio-economic development.
The same skills will be evaluated at the beginning and end of each literacy programme, while ensuring that the complexity of all elements involved is taken into account. A collective approach (literacy classes) has been maintained.
In the months to come, UIL will support participating countries in developing elements of the evaluation framework and a questionnaire.
