Assessment & Evaluation (S5)
Presenter: C J Daswani
Session Summary
Professor Daswani discussed the distinction between assessment (measuring literacy skills), evaluation (measuring the intended impact of a literacy program), and monitoring (gathering data during the program to find out if the program is proceeding according to the plan). Quite often, Daswani says, the way in which assessment, evaluation and monitoring are conceived and conducted in measuring the effects of literacy programs does not adequately convey the true value of most programs.
Much of the time, assessment is conducted at the request of donor agencies or governments funding literacy programs. Political and financial expectations dictate the interests of these institutions, which are more directly linked to whether they should continue to fund such programs, rather than to a genuine interest in the long-term benefits delivered to learner communities. Consequently, literacy programs are often treated as short-term projects that are expected to yield immediate favorable results.
Additionally, the parameters for assessment and evaluation of literacy programs are not always appropriately linked to the programs themselves. Instead, assessment and evaluation frameworks are established by the international community of scholars and academics or from models in other countries. Sometimes, non-formal educational programs for adults are measured in terms of the norms for formal schooling for children. Too often, assessment and evaluation tools are not adequately designed or adapted to measure the specific programs to which they are applied.
Another area of concern is the methodologies used for carrying out assessment. Many evaluations of literacy programs are not satisfactory because they rely on inadequate tools, such as, observations (not very scientific), census surveys (which do not adequately test literacy skills), or "sample household surveys" (which are not effective ways of measuring a large population and do not provide much detail).
Finally, the cost of conducting assessment is often overlooked and is not budgeted into overall program costs.
One thing to keep in mind in terms of adequate assessment of literacy programs, according to Professor Daswani, is that it has been demonstrated that the participants in literacy programs, regardless of their levels of success, insist that their children become educated. If it takes two generations for an illiterate family to become literate, he suggests, it is imperative that we consider a long-term approach to assessment and evaluation of literacy programs. Literacy programs are not projects to be completed within a short period of time but should be an integral part of overall education plans.
INTERNATIONAL LITERACY
INSTITUTE