RISE Online Presentation Series: Curriculum and Assessment

In the absence of the RISE Annual Conference, this summer’s Online Presentation Series continued the RISE tradition of gathering emerging scholarship that considers the learning crisis from an education systems perspective. Each author presented their paper in a pre-recorded video that is available via the RISE YouTube channel (and RISE website). 

This panel discussed the importance of assessments and curricular expectations to achieve learning for all. Adedeji Adeniran from the RISE Nigeria team discussed a new education quality indicator that is constructed by matching early grade literacy and numeracy levels with the curriculum and will show that the learning crisis in Nigeria is more pervasive than reported in earlier assessments.

Two panelists presented new findings from India. Doug Johnson presented results from a comparative study that assesses three nationally representative surveys on learning outcomes and finds mixed results on accuracy, reliability, and comparability, demonstrating the need for improved data quality. And Diva Dhar shared results from an evaluation of a blended remedial intervention in Grade 9, concluding that while the program brought an about the large increase in foundational skills, it had no effect on Grade 10 exam results, with gains in foundational learning coming too late to meaningfully address academic deficiencies at the post-primary stage.

Underscoring the importance of curricular design for foundational learning, Isaac Mbiti from the RISE Tanzania team summarized an evaluation of a recent curriculum reform that brought about significant improvements in early grade literacy and numeracy by allocating 80% of instructional time to foundational skills and streamlining the curriculum to focus on fewer subjects.

Finally, incorporating the political perspective of policy reform, Wayne Sandholtz discussed whether voters reward service delivery. Drawing on recent randomized school reform in Liberia, he will argue that politicians can face electoral trade-offs: the Liberian reform elicited support from voters but also opposition from powerful groups and stakeholders whose patronage networks had been disrupted.