From June 2011 to Dec 2012.

Obejectives:  Present Status of Pre Primary Education  Teaching Methodology  Carry out the Data Collection from Government Anganwadi’s, Private and NGO’s run ECE centers  Find out the Learning levels.

3 states: Andhrapradesh, Assam, Rajasthan Sampling 60 villages per district: Population criteria from 2000 to Urban Sites : Snagareddy, Warangal Sample child collection: All Catchment areas of sample villages as per ICDS survey 2 districts per state: Medak, Warangal Age group: Children who born in between Mar-2007 to Feb 2008 ChildrenSchoolsClassroomsTeachersHouseholds Medak1, Warangal2, ,636 Total5, ,864 Andhra Pradesh as per Baseline sample:

Conceptual map INFLUENCES ON CHILDREN’S LEARNING HOME & FAMILY Household characteristics Characteristics of family members Child : caste, gender, age CLASSROOMS Organization of space Teaching methods ‘Child friendly’ classrooms SCHOOL FUNCTIONING Inputs, facilities Enrollment, attendance, grouping Organization and use of time, and resources in the school TEACHERS & TEACHING Teacher background Teacher capability to teach: Content knowledge Ability to spot & correct mistakes Ability to explain Ability to devise problems

Assumption: Children in each class are fairly homogenous. Reality: Class composition is complex… Assumptions and reality - 1 Education level of mothers All India AP

Assumptions and reality - 2 Expected in Std 1/2 % Std 2 students who can: Assumption: Children have mastered previous year’s content. Reality: Most children are at least two grades behind…

(Continued) Assumption: Children have mastered previous year’s content. Reality: Most children are at least two grades behind…

Assumption: Textbook content is age and grade appropriate. Reality: Textbooks are too difficult for most children… Assumptions and reality - 3 Extract from the Std 2 language textbook in AP Results of the language test in AP show that out of every 100 students in Std 2,  70 children could not read two-letter words with matras  24 children could read the two letter words but not more  6 children could read a short paragraph (5 short sentences). Difficult content leaves children behind.. So the big question is how do build from what children can do towards where we want them to be.

(Continued) Extract from the Std 4 math textbook in AP Assumption: Textbook content is age and grade appropriate. Reality: Textbooks are too difficult for most children… Results of the math test in AP show that out of every 100 students in Std 4,  60 children could not recognize a three-digit number  Of the 40 who could do so, 18 children could solve a 3x1 digit multiplication  Of the 18 children who could do the multiplication, 9 could solve a 3 digit by 1 digit division problem. Results of the math test in AP show that out of every 100 students in Std 4,  60 children could not recognize a three-digit number  Of the 40 who could do so, 18 children could solve a 3x1 digit multiplication  Of the 18 children who could do the multiplication, 9 could solve a 3 digit by 1 digit division problem. Basic conceptual and understanding skills need to be built in early grades. Once that is guaranteed then we can build on them in later years

Assumption: Anyone can teach primary classes, its easy. Reality: No, it isn’t… Assumptions and reality - 4 State Question 3 (Percentage)Question 4 (Area) WrongCorrectN.A.TotalWrongCorrectN.A.Total INDIA ANDHRA PRADESH CUDDAPAH MEDAK PRAKASAM Teachers were asked to do a variety of tasks. Some Std 4 level language and math questions were asked. In AP, 501 teachers from 180 schools participated in the study.

Assumption: Anyone can teach primary classes, its easy. Reality: No, it isn’t… (Continued) Teachers were also asked to:  Evaluate what children understand by looking at their work  Spot mistakes commonly made by children  Explain content in simple language or easy steps  Use local information to make content relevant to children Teachers were also asked opinion questions on teaching-learning.

Assumption: Knowing theory is enough to change practice. Reality: AP classrooms are much friendlier than in other states. But even here, more is needed… Assumptions and reality - 5

Assumption: Knowing theory is enough to change practice. Reality: AP classrooms are much friendlier than in other states. But even here, more is needed… (Continued) Even these simple indicators of child- friendly classrooms have a very strong relationship with children’s learning outcomes.

Conclusions Teaching and learning are fundamentally misaligned in our schools. RTE provides an opportunity to rethink what is needed in order to guarantee eight years of quality education to every child that results in satisfactory learning outcomes. Some critical questions:  What are achievable learning goals?  How should classrooms be organized?  How to provide teachers with needed skills/knowledge?  How to design better textbooks?  What sort of CCE will help teachers teach better?  How to explain children’s progress to parents?

(Continued)  Classroom organization: How to take into account the diversity in learning levels, home background, age, etc? New thinking on effective grouping of children by level should be studied closely.  Teacher recruitment and training: Specifying minimum qualifications is not enough to ensure good teaching. Serious thought needs to be given to developing systems to provide teachers with the abilities and skills they need in order to teach well.  Textbooks: need to be realistic, designed with clear learning goals and sequenced in developmentally appropriate ways. How best to achieve this?  Continuous comprehensive evaluation: Should be easy and doable for teachers, designed to help them assess and understand children’s abilities.  Involving parents: This is required under RTE. How best to explain academic progress to parents who haven’t been to school?

Thank you! Assessment Survey Evaluation Research B 4/54 Safdarjung Enclave New Delhi