How Much is Learning Measurement Worth?Assessment Costs in Low-income Countries

Though the stakes are high, relatively little is known about the cost-benefit ratio of various assessments compared to other educational expenditures. This paper from the International Literacy Institute, University of Pennsylvania presents an overview of four major types of assessments—national, regional, international, and hybrid—and the costs that each has incurred within 13 distinct contexts, especially in low-income countries. The findings highlight broad variation in the total cost of assessment and the cost-per-learner. This underscores the importance of implementation strategies that appropriately consider scale, timeliness, and cost-efficiency as critical considerations for any assessment.

How to access

Resource Categories

How to monitor student outcomes
How to prioritize student outcomes

User Type

Partner MERL/T&S staff
Teachers/Fellows
School leadership

 

Target Outcomes

Academic
Foundational Learning
Non-academic
TACL-specific
Language
English

Relevance

Relevance: 4 out of 5

Target Population

Pre-primary
Lower primary
Upper primary
Secondary
Staff/Adults
Year created/revised
2011
Evidence-based and/or insights-driven
True

User Friendliness

User friendliness: 3 out of 5

Keywords

learning measurement, evidence-based practices, impact measurement, monitoring student outcomes, Cost benefit analysis, national-scale measurement