1. Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) Centre of Education and Consciousness www.itacec.org Panel: Towards Universal Learning, One Country at a Time: The Results and Future of Country Led Action Venue: Grand Ballroom A Time : 09:45 AM - 11:15 AM Vancouver - March 10, 2016

2. Implementing LMTF at a country level: Lessons from Pakistan

3. Civil Society’s Role in LMTF 2.0  Advocating for robust assessment systems that demonstrate the transformative power of reliable data on learning outcomes  Numerous citizen-led movements are working to collect data on learning and hold governments accountable for providing quality education to all citizens  Actively working with governments, donors and partners to advance the agenda of ‘access plus learning’ for a coordinated, organized response to country needs  Involved in bringing together key stakeholders at national level to provide critical inputs into the design and adaptation of assessments tools aligned to LMTF domains

4. What LMTF Means for Pakistan? A BROADER BOLDER APPROACH T0 EDUCATION REFORM Child Interest at the Center Global Indicators of Learning Outcomes Sustainability of Assessments

5. LMTF Partner Institutions in Pakistan

6. Accomplishments at the System Level- Consortium of public and private assessment fraternity  A multi stakeholder platform supporting national learning assessment systems in Pakistan

7. Accomplishments at the System Level – Self Diagnosis of Strengths and Weaknesses  First-of-its-kind report of the various assessment actors and efforts in the country, reflecting on what is working well and what is not, and identification of what is being emphasized by the national learning assessment systems

8. Accomplishments at the School Level – Developed tools on 3 LMTF Domains  Developed ways of testing children on domains and questions that are both cognitive and non-cognitive; questions that similar population groups in emerging economies can answer

9. Accomplishments at the School Level  Measured learning at the classroom level across three domains: English language, numeracy and cognition/critical thinking to guide actions that lead to holistic learning of a child.

10. Shared Ownership Approach Debated on what domains need to be measured and translated them into assessment tools governments and national stakeholders can use in their national or sub national contexts 5 National Stakeholders Meetings Consortium of 13 assessment experts (public and private) 9 member organizations

11. What Areas have been measured Grades 2, 5 and 8 (lower primary, upper primary and lower secondary)

12. Tool Development Process  Identification of partners (focal points from each learning champion organization) with skills relevant to the domains)  Organizing a meeting to discuss and set/approve test specifications (Mid March 2015).  Finalizing the format of the test and the format of questions (End March 2015)  Organizing a two day meeting to write and review test questions that are nationally representative ( Start April 2015)  Partners and ITA team worked on the tools virtually and developed the second draft (Start May 2015). This stage included performing fairness review; removing offensive material and ensuring sensitivity and inclusiveness  Ms Vyjayanthi Shankar (Assessment Expert) reviewed the draft and proposed changes (Mid May 2015)  The final draft was prepared and shared with all partners

13. PILOT SURVEY

14. FINDINGS: ENGLISH % students who obtained atleast 60%

15. FINDINGS: NUMERACY % students who obtained atleast 60%

16. FINDINGS: CONGNITION % students who obtained atleast 60%

17. Outcome of the LMTF in-country process in Pakistan  Initiated debate on how to define and measure learning broadly, across multiple domains and educational stages  built consensus on national and provincial priorities around learning domains  Formed a consortium of government and private assessment bodies – a sustainable institutional platform to take forward the task of measuring learning around the prioritized domains and improving assessment systems  Developed assessment tools that are duly acknowledged by the Government organizations such as PEACe/KEACe/PITE to be used in their next round of national assessments.  By testing children on ‘critical thinking and cognition’, LMTF introduced the idea of testing children beyond the basics- an approach welcomed by teachers across public and private schools

18. Way Forward

19. Future Projections  Launching a “National Forum for Learning Assessment” in Pakistan which will be a formal consortium of public and private assessment which will convene twice a year to review assessment practices, undertake rigorous research on the use of assessment data and recommend improvements.  Training educators and teachers on the use of assessment data to improve teaching and classroom practices  Joining the Regional Forum of Asia Pacific Learning Champions (Pakistan, Nepal and Kyrgyz Republic) focusing on  Early Childhood Education (ECE)/ pre-primary and primary level as a way of working on the foundational level – Assessing children on social skills, values and attitudes, physical well being and other skills as prescribed by the national curriculums of each country.  Capacity building for ECE and primary level practitioners leading to favorable cognitive and social outcomes for children

20. THANK YOU