Literacy Assessment and Literacy Assessment and Monitoring Programme Monitoring Programme
(LAMP) (LAMP)
UNESCO Institute UNESCO Institute forfor Statistics Statistics
Literacy and EFALiteracy and EFAGoal 4: ‘Achieving a 50% improvement in
levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults’
Goal 6: ‘…ensuring… learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills’
Goal 3: ‘Ensuring that the learning needs… are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life skills programmes’
Data availableData available
Data source for EFA monitoring: countries via UIS and UN Statistical Division (UN Population Division for population figures)
Definition: “the ability to read and write, with understanding, a short simple sentence about one’s daily life”
Data qualityData quality
What is really collected: self-report, educational attainment (in various ways)
Limited value within country, and no comparability
Data gaps: years, countries, factors
ExamplesExamplesAlgeria (1998): an illiterate is a person who
never attended an educational establishment Brazil (1998): an illiterate is a person who
says that they do not know how to read and write or learnt how to read and write but forgot or only knows how to sign their name
More than 1 in 5 countries with no data since 1975; and more than 2 in 5 since 1985
Example (WB)Example (WB)
Literacy and years of schooling, Togo, 2000
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Years of schooling
Pro
bail
ity o
f b
ein
g l
itera
te
Overall aim of LAMPOverall aim of LAMP
“to improve the quality of literacy data, especially at national level but also for international policy development and monitoring, and for the design of improved literacy programmes”
Montreal, January 2003
Three objectivesThree objectivesDevelop a methodology for assessing literacy in
developing countriesProvide literacy data to inform the participating
countries’ policy-making and literacy programme design, and to help international monitoring and policy-making;
Literacy distribution at national and international levels; Estimates by eg age, gender, education, influence of other factors; Estimates for years with no assessment
Build statistical capacity in the areas of surveys and of literacy assessment
Main featuresMain features
Assessment – adapt IALS methodologyContinuum/levelsReading, writing, numeracySurveyAdults (15+?)Pilot in/by 4 or 5 countriesIn partnership with countries
Example of a taskExample of a task
1. What is the maximum number of days you should take this medicine?
2. List three situations for which you should consult a doctor.
Interview processInterview process
T est ACom ponents
T est BH igher levels
Locator test
Survey qu estionnaire
Survey questionnaireSurvey questionnaireIndicative list of topics:Educational background (incl. FE, NFE)Use of literacySocial contextEconomic contextLiterate environmentPerceived abilities and needsLanguages used…
ActorsActors
National Project TeamsMinistersLocal and regional organisationsTechnical specialists‘Experts’ and ‘reviewers’International organisations UIS
Main project activitiesMain project activitiesLaunching meeting
Assessment methodology;
software
Def & conceptual framework
Sampling & estimation
methodReview experiences
Design tests & survey instruments; country adaptation; manuals
Field workAnalyses Review
Analytical plan
Countries
Capacity building
Concept paper
Proposed definitionProposed definition“Literacy is the ability to identify,
understand, interpret, create, communicate and compute, using printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning to enable an individual to achieve his or her goals, to develop his or her knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in the wider society.”
ED/BAS/LIT - UIE - expert meeting
Proposed componentsProposed components
Listening comprehension (in the language of assessment)
Recognition of grapheme (letter or other depending on the writing system)
Word recognitionSentence readingPassage reading
Proposed components (cont.)Proposed components (cont.)Accuracy, understanding, speedAim for comparability in construct - not
always possible to ensure equivalence of the tests at the lowest levels
For reading, writing, and numeracyEg word - speed: read aloud a series of words
appearing one after the other, or a list…
GroundworkGroundworkConcept paperLiterature reviewUse of technologyDatabase of questions built for referenceAnalytical plan Investigating model-based estimation methods Countries (Mongolia, Morocco, Niger,
Jamaica)
FinancesFinances
USD 1 million required for development and support to 4 countries
UK via DFID (core funding)EFA extra-budgetaryWB assistance with meetingNon-financial assistance (eg reviewers, IRA)Still require USD 700,000 funding
Issues LAMP is addressingIssues LAMP is addressingAdapt items to context (linguistic, socio-cultural) Methodology details especially re components;
re higher levels adaptation of IALS In what languages?Length of interviewsNational ownership; appropriation of know-howAvailability and quality of population dataDefining categories…
ConclusionConclusionLAMP and EFA / UNLDLAMP and EFA / UNLD
Presentation: concept of continuum, new figures much lower (affects trend analyses in particular)
Reduce a data gapFocus attention, stimulate reflectionsLead to improvements in literacy interventions Increased capacity to measure literacy goals and
related matters