56%

44%

98%

2%

Large-scale learning assessments can beused to generate performance andcontextual data on student learningoutcomes. They can be national, regional,or international; school based orhousehold based. The UNESCOInternational Institute for EducationalPlanning (IIEP-UNESCO) has conducted aqualitative study to explore both how andwhy learning assessment data are used insix sub-Saharan African countries.

This Information Sheet providesbackground details for IIEP's Policy Briefon Zambia. It looks at the characteristicsand setting of student assessments,presents the roles and responsibilities ofthe different actors, and sets out thedocumented uses of learning data.

Learning assessmentsin Zambia

Zambia conducts five large-scaleassessments: the National AssessmentSurvey (NAS), the Early GradeReading Assessment (EGRA), the EarlyGrade Mathematics Assessment (EGMA),the Southern and Eastern AfricaConsortium for Monitoring EducationalQuality Survey (SEACMEQ), and theProgramme for International StudentAssessment for Development (PISA-D).

The NAS is mainly funded by Zambia’sMinistry of General Education (MoGE); theEGRA and EGMA by DFID and GPE; theSEACMEQ by the MoGE, SEACMEQ HQ,and the Netherlands’ Ministry of ForeignAffairs; and PISA-D by the World BankGroup.

BACKGROUND

2 0 2 1

I I EP I NFORMATI ON SHEET

INTRODUCTION

I I E P . U N E S C O . O R G

17 352 000 POPULATION

AGED 14 YEARS AND YOUNGER

45%

PRIMARY GROSSENROLMENT

99%

5 612 494SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN

(PRIMARY & SECONDARY)

KEY FIGURES (UIS, 2018)

NAS EGRA EGMASEACMEQASSESSMENT FREQUENCY

ACTORS, ROLES, AND RESPONSIBILITIES

National Assessment TechnicalCommittee (NATC)

Cen

tral

ized

leve

l

Department of Planning and Information (DPI)

Examinations Council of Zambia (ECZ; part of the DSC)

Department of Standards and Curriculum (DSC)

Central Statistics Office

Provincial resource centres (PRCs) and district resource centres (DRCs)

Coordinates the SEACMEQ in ZambiaMonitors and evaluates the implementation of educationprogrammesAllocates funding to learning assessment programmes according to the ministerial budget

Develops and conducts examinations and large-scaleassessments at the national levelLeads the design, implementation, data analysis, anddissemination of NAS and the implementation of the EGRA,the EGMA, and PISA-DMonitors PRCs and DRCs

Revises the curriculum and ensures education qualityUses an inspection tool for collecting school, teacher,

Leads development of data collection instruments for the and learner data

NAS, with ECZ

In charge of statistics across all areasResponsible for the sampling of large-scalelearning assessments

Composed of ECZ and DSC staffReviews NAS data collection procedures and tools andmonitors data collection processHandles technical NAS execution

Lead local NAS implementation

PISA-D

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

Dec

entr

aliz

ed le

vel

NAS

EGRA

EGMA

Learners: background andinteractions with teachersTeachers: characteristics,

practices, pedagogical oversightPrincipals: leadership, teacher

characteristics and attendance,infrastructure, school closings

School inventories

Learners: background andlearning conditions

Teachers: qualifications andcharacteristics

Principals: management andinfrastructure

Not administered in everyassessment cycle

Learners: background andinteractions with teachers

Teachers: characteristics, prac-tices, pedagogical oversight

Principals: leadership, teachercharacteristics and attendance,infrastructure, school closings

School inventories

Grade 5: English and nationallanguages; Life skills; Maths

Grade 9: Maths; English;Environmental sciences

Local languages (letter soundidentification, oral reading

fluency, reading comprehension,invented [non-word] reading);

English (letter name identification,listening comprehension,

vocabulary)

Procedural knowledge(number identification,

addition and subtraction);conceptual knowledge(number comparison,

patterns, word problems)

Grade 2

Grade 2

Grades 5 & 9Curriculum

based

Competencybased

Competencybased

ASSESSMENT DETAILS

TESTPOPULATION

TESTFRAMEWORK

SUBJECTSASSESSED

BACKGROUNDQUESTIONNAIRES

SEACMEQ

PISA-D

Learners: characteristics, homeand learning environmentsTeachers: characteristics,

classroom resources,professional support

Principals: characteristics,infrastructure, school

operation and problems

Learners: home background,approaches to learning,

family/community support, in-classlearning time, inclusivity

Teachers: parental involvement withschools, family/community support,

inclusivity Principals: learning time, absenteeism,

inclusivitySchool resources, buildings,

and equipment

Reading; Maths; Healthknowledge (HIV/AIDS:

teachers also assessed on this)

Reading; Maths; Science

15-year-olds inGrade 7 or higher

Grade 6

Competencybased

Competencybased

@IIEP_UNESCO /IIEPUNESCO /IIEPUNESCO /IIEPUNESCO

PROGRAMMES AND TOOLSINFORMED BY LEARNINGASSESSEMENTS

POLICY DOCUMENTS

The National Learning Assessment Framework (NLAF, 2017) is an overarchingdocument that defines principles applying toall student assessments in Zambia, showinghow the assessments articulate with oneanother. It presents the intended use oflearning assessment data in general as well asfor specific actor groups, and outlines the roles and responsibilities of actors in managing and using learning data. It also sets out theconditions necessary for the effective use oflearning data.

The results of NAS highlighted the benefits of ECE and encouraged the creation of the directorate. Assessment results showed that pupils who were enrolled in ECEperformed better than those who have never attended ECE.

Prepared by Mathieu Bodin under the supervisionand guidance of Hugues Moussy, Head of R&D at IIEP-UNESCO, and Ieva Raudonytė, AssociateResearch Officer at IIEP-UNESCO. For further information, please contacti.raudonyte@iiep.unesco.org This publication is available in Open Access underthe AttributionShareAlike 3.0 IGO (CC-BY-SA 3.0IGO) licence. By using the content of thispublication, you accept to be bound by the termsof use of the UNESCO Open Access Repository. © IIEP-UNESCO 2021

CONTACT

Learning assessment data were used to informcurriculum revisions for STEM schools.

A response to low EGRA and EGMA testscores, aiming to enable teachers to targetstruggling pupils and support them withspecific tasks using the ‘targeted learning’approach. Implemented by VVOB andfinanced by USAID, the programme reached1640 schools.

Launched by the MoGE in cooperation withUSAID to strengthen early-grade literacy, itfocused on making local stakeholders (e.g.education officials, parents, communities, the private sector) aware of literacy resourcesand school accountability.

Teacher training programmes

Catch Up

Let's Read

Directorate of Early ChildhoodEducation (ECE)

The EGMA and EGRA were used to adopt moreeffective pedagogical approaches in early grades.The NAS and SEACMEQ highlighted the need totrain teachers in STEM subjects. Finally, Zambia's‘Fast Track’ policy for upgrading teachers’ skillswas informed by assessment findings on teacherqualifications.

Curriculum revisions