1. Assessment, Information Systems, Monitoring, and Statistics (AIMS) Planning for National EFA Mid-Decade Assessment 24 -29 October 2005 Guidelines on Methods and Procedures

2. The general objectives of the mid- decade (2006-2007) assessment 1. to assess national progress toward the attainment of the EFA Goals and Targets and 2. to identify the remaining gaps in terms of quality and equity across the national sub- populations of learner-groups in order 3. to adjust/fine-tune the agenda and strategies for Mid-Term Review (2007/8) for planning the next phase of education reforms to attain the 2015 EFA Goals and Targets and MDG.

3. The object of analysis: system performance 1. the recommended basis for this assessment are the answers to the issues and questions on the following aspects of the progress toward the EFA Goals and targets and, within parenthesis, the working group category primarily responsible for the first draft of the assessment guidelines:

4. The framework for the assessment Inclusive Education and Lifelong Perspective inclusion of diversity of learning needs of sub- populations (incl. disabled, linguistic minorities, castes, SES groups, etc.) – equity and disparity in the provision of quality education for learners at various stages of personal development and learning environments and application contexts

5. The Main Objective Guidelines and Plans for the EFA national and regional Assessment (2006-2007) and Review (2007-2008)

6. GATHERING INFORMATION On indicators, policies & plans from Surveys, research documents, reports ANALYSIS Of root causes & their linkages Policy Decision SELECTION Of areas of cooperation Evidence-based Policy

7. Overall Planning Process Steps for formulating Guidelines & Plans for EFA Assessment Identify Key IssuesTWG GuidelinesCountry Plans EFA2000 Report, Dakar Framework, GMRs, Keynote Speeches and Panel Discussions Goal Position Papers, Studies, etc. Working Groups a)Review and b)Guidelines EFA2000 Assessment, National Action Plans Country Team: Guidelines for National EFA Mid-Decade Assessment

8. The expected outputs Manual of Guidelines for Assessment of the EFA Goals and Targets, with Technical Reference Materials National agenda, milestones and 2006-2007 work plans for assessment of progress of each of the six EFA Goals and Targets Regional and national coordination of partnerships for supporting the conduct of the assessment and review.

9. The reference documents National EFA 2000 Assessment Reports Regional Synthesis Report of EFA2000 Assessment Dakar Declaration 2000 EFA National Action Plans for Dakar Follow-up EFA GMRs 2002, 2004, 2005 Special Position Papers, Reports, etc.

10. The keynote speech & Panel discussion The keynote speech and discussions should raise and discuss the following questions: the most common achievements in terms of quality and equality, if any, since the year 1990 and especially in the last 5 years? the main intended target groups for this particular Goal? What groups benefited most from these achievements? What policies, resource inputs and contextual factors facilitated these successes? What groups (the poor, ethno-linguistic minorities, learners with disabilities, remote inhabitants, etc.) did not benefit much from the quality improvements? Which groups benefited least or not at all. What policies, resource inputs and contextual factors facilitated and what factors obstructed the inclusion of these groups in sharing the benefits of the past efforts with regard to this particular Goal? The main issues that should be addressed by the respective working groups

11. Grouping of Participants by their main areas of responsibilities 1. EFA Coordinators 1. EFA Coordinators: coordination of implementation agencies 2. Education planners 2. Education planners: policy planning, strategy formulation 3. Statisticians: 3. Statisticians: statistics, indicators and data analysis 4. Development Partners 4. Development Partners: development financing and technical agencies, advisory and support services (financial and expertise) 5. Advocacy Organizations: 5. Advocacy Organizations: concerned with access, participation and learning outcomes of specific learner- groups in sharing the benefits of the EFA reforms 6. Assessment specialists: 6. Assessment specialists: scientific methodologies, case studies, policy research & analysis

12. Policy Cycle and EFA Goals Policy Cycle ECCEUBESkillsLiteracyGenderQuality Governance, policy, agencies coordination Resource mobilization Courses, programs, Facilities Quality & Equity Outcomes Impact Assessment Gov Coord Resource Inputs Courses, Outputs Quality Equity Impact

13. Identifying Disparities Differential impact: In preparation for the EFA Mid-Decade Assessment, countries should implement the collection and analysis of data for target groups at the sub-national level Target Groups: the Marginalized and Disadvantaged Women and girls Ethnic minorities Linguistic minorities SES, Classes, Castes Rural inhabitants Migrants People without legal status (birth registration, citizenship) Children with disabilities Working children Children affected by HIV/AIDS

14. Analyzing Disparities In order to analyze disparities in access to education, data collected for the six EFA goals should be disaggregated at the sub-national level in general categories : Sex: male/female Regional: region; urban/rural; less developed/more developed Social: occupation, socio-economic status, caste system, legal status (birth registration, citizenship) Ethnic: ethnic, religious, language minorities Disabilities

15. The main task: draft guidelines for assessment of EFA Goals & Targets No. WG Members propose > Areas to be Assessed I EFA Coordinators & Development Partners Coordination, Governance and Policy II Planners & Subject Specialists Strategies, Resource Deployment, Implementation III Statisticians & Learning Achievement Analysts Delivery Systems, Learning Outcomes, quality, equity and disparity IV Development Partners Support for national assessment – advisory, TA, CB training, funding V Assessment Specialists & agencies Assessment tasks, technical specifications, methodologies, CB programs

16. Review Quality and Disparity Issues Report of the past trends in this region regarding this Goal 1. Studies, surveys, reports or other ways in which this Goal has been evaluated in the last 5 years and may serve as good source of information and good examples 2. In this area, the major remaining quality issues to be addressed are: 3. Key factors which facilitated or obstructed progress in this region are: 4. The major remaining gaps and disparity issues to be addressed are: 5. Key factors which facilitated or obstructed progress in this region are: 6. Current plans to identify and to assess remaining quality and disparities:

17. Working Group Recommendations This Working Group recommends the following guidelines 1. Key issues that should be studied and assessed 2. Ways to identify and to assess remaining quality and disparity issues: 3. Ways and types of NGOs to participate in the assessment process: 4. Ways in which EFA coordination, implementation, monitoring and assessment should be improved: 5. Ways in which we could and/would like to facilitate national and regional assessment and review: 6. Ways in which international agencies could/would work with the countries (advisory services, funding, technical assistance, training, etc.)