1. Learning Metrics Task Force
Virtual Briefing
April 2015

2. LMTF 2.0 – Five Key Results
Technical: Seven indicators for global tracking developed, with cross-cutting focus on equity
Institutional: Support at least 10 countries in adapting LMTF recommendations to improve assessment systems and use of assessment data to improve learning
Political: Recommendations inform the post-2015 education and development agendas
Assessment as a Public Good: Develop a strategy for advancing an agenda in which learning data is supported as a global public good
Knowledge Sharing: Actors and experts in learning assessment share knowledge and coordinate efforts virtually and in person.
Rebecca: review progress to date, introductions etc

3. Technical Update Reading and Numeracy
UIS is convening the dialogue of developing an approach for monitoring learning outcomes.
A meeting was held in February 2015 to discuss an approach to develop and validate common learning metrics for reading and mathematics, which was proposed by ACER and UIS. UIS is currently conducting an expert consultation to inform technical questions that arose as a result of the meeting and is inviting further proposals for consideration. The consultation will run until 15 May 2015, after which UIS will communicate the next steps for developing an approach (and indicators) for monitoring learning outcomes post-2015.
Two desk reviews on assessment and numeracy commissioned by BMZ/GIZ can be retrieved online: On ‘Learning Outcomes Assessments and Numeracy’ and on ‘Assessment Tools for Numeracy Education in Pre-School and Early Grades’
Learning for All / Age and Education Matter for Learning
Catalogue of Learning Assessment, which compiles information on public examinations, national and international assessments that countries are administering to monitor learning levels of their student populations is now available online for more than 30 countries. Data from the catalogue will also be used to develop indicators for monitoring learning outcomes measurements and their characteristics.
UIS released new data on educational attainment/mean years of schooling using a new methodology to adjust for durations of education programmes assigned to different age cohorts. New educational attainment data, with expanded time series and new estimates of mean years of schooling was released in March 2015 and includes more than 500 MYS estimates for approximately 120 countries.
Equity
UIS and GMR hosted a workshop on framing and measuring inequalities in the post education targets. A blog series has been launched that considers the challenges facing the international community in measuring and monitoring inequalities in education, proposals to reduce them, and ways to ensure that equity concerns are understood by broad audiences involved in policy-making, financing and implementation.
A more detailed technical guide on indicators of inequalities in education opportunity and consultation is planned for the run-up to the Global EFA meeting in Seoul, Korea in May 2015.
Following the release of UIS and UNICEF’s new publication on OOSC, an operational Manual, a step-by-step guide to conduct studies on out-of-school children data and policy will be released in May It features new indicators and tools for analysis of data and barriers to education to identify the root causes of disparities in school participation and sound evidence-based policies to address them.
Reading/Numeracy/Learning For All: Albert
ECD: Abbie GCE: Kate

4. Technical Update Ready to Learn
The Measuring Early Learning Quality and Outcomes group convened in early 2014 to promote feasible, accurate and useful measurement of children’s development and learning and the quality of their learning environments. Led by UNESCO, World Bank, CUE and UNICEF, this consortium of experts, NGOs, and multi-laterals has worked together to build upon current measurement tools to develop guidance and approaches designed to be taken up at scale by low and middle-income countries.
The MELQO tools are being designed to integrate measures of child development/learning and measures of quality, to provide specific recommendations on how to support children’s learning. Initial field testing of the child development and learning tools (direct child observation and parent/teacher report) have been conducted in Kenya, Sudan, and Bangladesh. The quality tools are being developed and will be ready for field-testing in July/August 2015.
Citizen of the World
UNESCO hosted the second Forum on Global Citizenship Education in Paris in January which focused on future policy directions at the global level, country implementation, and expanding partnership s in light of the post-2015 agenda. The UNESCO Clearinghouse on GCED hosted by APCEIU was launched at this forum.
The Global Citizenship Education Working Group was convened by UNESCO, GEFI YAG, and CUE in 2014 and agreed on eight key components of GCED which are currently being discussed by youth around the world via consultations by the Youth Advocacy Group. The working group will be conducting research on measurement options for each of the eight key competencies, looking at both formative and summative assessment and new frontiers for measuring learning in these areas.
Breadth of Learning Opportunities
In order to track children’s exposure to learning opportunities across the seven domains of learning identified by LMTF, several countries and organizations have undertaken mapping exercises to see how the domains are reflected in national curriculum and assessment policies. FHI360 initiated the National Learning Assessment Mapping Project and SEAMEO Innotech conducted a mapping of the LMTF domains in 11 countries in Southeast Asia.
Many of the Learning Champions are also mapping national curricula and assessments to the seven domains.
Reading/Numeracy/Learning For All: Albert
ECD: Abbie GCE: Kate

5. Assessment as a Public Good
IPAL has a new name: Assessment for Learning (A4L): An International Platform to Support Learning Assessment.
GPE continues to lead consultations for the Task Force on the concept note, which is in the final stages of revision after both the LMTF Forum and the Learning Metrics Partnership meeting, and will be circulated to the LMTF, and then to the public, in early May.
Key Feedback:
Emphasis on convening role and partnership approach
Focus on closing the feedback loop to the classroom through analysis and policy use of results, while being clear about the system-level scope of this platform
Gathering of contextual data along with learning data will be key to obtaining useful take-aways for improving learning
LMTF 7 domains will be promoted, but implemented on a demand-driven basis.
Reinforce the focus on sustainable country-level capacity-building as the primary priority over global data
Josh

6. Institutional: Learning Champions
15 Learning Champions came together in Kigali to:
Present the results of national mapping and planning exercises to receive feedback and to finalize these for moving to the implementation stage.
Discuss conceptual and practical guidance on key aspects of the strategic dimensions of LMTF
Clarify the roles and relationships of the LMTF Secretariat and Task Force members (globally and at the country level) and specify strategies and actions to undertake after the conference to provide appropriate support to Learning Champions.
Identify available tools, technical assistance, and potential funding sources to implement Learning Champion plans.
Cultivate a sense of common mission and collaboration among the Learning Champions and identify concrete strategies for supporting consultation and cooperation after the conference within (and across) regions.
Josh

7. Institutional: Learning Champions
Next Steps:
Follow up calls with each Learning Champion
Providing resources (linking with technical experts)
Launch Online Platform
LMTF Learning Champion Post-Kigali Checklist
Regional Meetings

8. Institutional: Pakistan Learning Champion Update
Baela Raza Jamil
Saba Saeed

9. Institutional: Pakistan Learning Champion
Tool Development Process
Plan to test the assessment domains in three phases. At max, two domains will be tested in each phase.
Phase 1: End of May
Phase 2: Early September (tentative date)
Phase 3: Early November (tentative date)
Grade Coverage: ECE, Grade 2, Grade 5 & Grade 8
Each test will take 50 Minutes

10. Institutional: Pakistan Update
LMTF Domains for Each Phase:
Phase I
Numeracy & Mathematics
Literacy & Communication
Phase II
Learning Approaches & Cognition
Science & Technology
Phase III
Social & Emotional
Culture & Arts
Physical Well Being

11. Institutional: Pakistan Learning Champion
Agencies Involved
Punjab Examination Commission
Provincial Institute for Teacher Education
Provincial Education Assessment Center
Literacy
National Education Assessment System
Kashmir Education Assessment Center
Numeracy

12. Institutional: Pakistan Update
Assessment Framework for “Literacy and Communication”
The framework for Literacy & Communication has been developed for Grade 5 and will be used as a guideline to prepare the framework for Grade 2 and Grade 8
The framework will be testing three skills: Speaking, Writing and Reading
The following is the composition of items for Grade 5:
No. of Items
Reading (48%)
Writing (36%)
Speaking (16%)
Total (100%)

13. Institutional: Pakistan Update
The Test will be administered using the following time distribution:
Test Duration (Minutes)
Reading
Writing
Grammar and Punctuation
Speaking
Total

14. Institutional: Pakistan Update
Test Specifications

15. Assessment Framework for “Numeracy & Mathematics”
Institutional: Pakistan Update
Assessment Framework for “Numeracy & Mathematics”
Framework and assessment tools developed for Grade 2, Grade 5 & Grade 8
Test specifications are in the process of being reviewed and slight changes are expected in total marks and total items

16. Institutional: Pakistan Update
Test Specification for Grade 2

17. Institutional: Pakistan Update
Test Specification for Grade 5

18. Institutional: Pakistan Update
Test Specification for Grade 8

19. Institutional: Pakistan Update
Upcoming Meeting
Third LMTF Pakistan National Stakeholders Meeting will be held in Peshawar, KPK on 4th and 5th May 2015.
The meeting will be centered around finalizing the assessment framework and assessment tools.
Methodology and sampling framework for the survey will also be discussed.
BLOG:

20. Institutional: Regional Collaboration
Based on LMTF recommendations and consultations
LMTF Forum brought together representatives from the Learning Champions with Task Force members and technical experts to support the development and implementation of Learning Champion action plans.
Possible outcomes of regional collaboration:
Learn from each other through examining the various approaches to assessment each country is undertaking
Develop or adopt a common framework or typology to help Learning Champions identify their baselines and track progress on various indicators
Communities of Practice extending beyond LMTF
Regions: Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East & North Africa (MENA), South Asia, the Americas

21. Post 2015
EFA Steering Committee meeting held on 8-10 April 2015 during which the updated version of the Framework for Action (tentative title) was discussed.
Further comments are currently being received by the EFA SC members in order to update the latest draft to be shared and presented during the WEF.  
Updated version of the Framework For Action will be shared with all Member States for comments to be discussed in Incheon by end of week.

22. Post 2015
World Education Forum (WEF) will be held from May 2015 in Incheon, Rep of Korea
WEF will be preceded by the NGO Forum on May. To date, 141 Countries confirmed to participate with 127 Ministers  and 5 State Secretaries and 9 VIPs.
Parallel sessions by themes and by the OWG targets of the Education Goal 4. The following 6 key thematic debates are planned:
Equity and inclusion
Education in conflict and crisis
Financing
Gender equality
Quality education
Innovation in education (technology)
Learning assessment issues will be addressed in the “Quality Education” session, but expected to take a holistic/broad understanding of learning assessment.
WEF will adopt a Declaration at the end of the conference.  The recommendations and outcomes of the WEF will further be used as basis for updating Framework for Action.

23. Knowledge Sharing: New Partners
Call for New Partners released October 2014
New LMTF 2.0 Partners:
PASEC - Programme d’Analyse des Systèmes Educatifs de la CONFEMEN
The Global Learning Group, FHI 360
General Unit of Education Assessment, City of Buenos Aires
Lab for Evaluation, Analysis and Research in Learning (LEARN), Sao Paulo School of Economics (FGV)
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
School of Social Sciences & Humanities, University of Management and Technology (Lahore, Pakistan)
Children's Global Network-Pakistan
Education Development Center
Tshwane University of Technology: Department of Educational Studies
Save the Children
Women Educational Researchers of Kenya (WERK)
Center for International Cooperation in Education Development
State Students Admission Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan
The International Baccalaureate (IB)
Partner Activity Update –October 2014
Partners still have the opportunity to fill it in, send to learning metrics;
Is the format useful? Suggestions for a new format – what is the most useful way for sharing information – how often, etc?
Next Partner Activity Update – mid January 2015
will not have another Virtual Brief until after the next in person event; but will have partners fill in the activity update form in January to be shared at the in person event
In-person meeting
First week of February 2015;
place TBD during Advisory Committee call October 8th
mention support costs to help fund???
Call for new members
Release in October 2014
evolution of the task force into a network
Opportunity for current members to recommit to the 5 key results and new organizations who are working within the 5 key result areas to join.
The application process will be similar.
The network will continue to hold virtual briefings 3 times a year plus one in person meetings plus partner updates

24. Knowledge Sharing Online Platform: Basecamp to be launched this week
Newsletter Partner Update – April 2015
Next Partner Update – July 2015

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