The Quality of Health and Education Systems Across Africa
BOX 3.1
How does language of instruction affect test scores? (Continued)
languages, bilinguals will eventually outperform monolinguals even in the monolinguals’ L1. But instruction almost invariably falls short of optimal, and so knowing by how much a linguistic minority is lagging, and why, is critically important. The problem is becoming more important as testing coverage expands globally. International large-scale assessments were initially designed for and first given in OECD member countries, which tend to be more linguistically homogeneous than non-OECD countries.a In 2000, the Program for International Assessment (PISA) had 41 national test versions in 25 languages for 30 participating (OECD member) countries; by 2006, 77 versions in 42 languages were given, with all of the increase from non-OECD member countries. The expansion “added considerably to the challenge of ensuring equivalence and fairness of instruments across all participating countries” (Grisay et al. 2007). The challenge is formidable, but, by testing students in their L1 and appropriately analyzing differences between language groups, progress is possible. In fact, some initiatives are already moving in the right direction. For
instance, the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) has created guidelines for countries participating in PIRLS and other international large-scale assessments. Countries are responsible for translating the assessment into their own languages and adapting it to their own contexts. In the same spirit, IEA and Boston College conduct studies to detect test and item bias following standards in the field of psychometrics (American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, and National Council on Measurement in Education 2014; Educational Testing Service 2014). In the instances where measurement bias is identified (due to language at home, gender, or other factors), these organizations are transparent in communicating these results. The growth in participation in international largescale assessments provides an opportunity for many countries and for international development organizations. Organizations that conduct international large-scale assessments support participating countries with capacitybuilding initiatives so that they can conduct better national large-scale assessments and follow best assessment practices.
Source: Contributed by Michael Crawford. a. Ethnologue data, 22nd ed. (https://www.ethnologue.com).
Among the determinants of student learning, SDI surveys primarily collect information on school inputs and teacher characteristics. For that reason, the remainder of this chapter focuses principally on variations in student learning that can be explained by differences in these characteristics.11
Are basic requirements for learning in place? Many factors—both internal and external to education systems—contribute to a student’s ability to learn those basic skills that will stay with her or him throughout life.12 While individual schools are affected by the broad characteristics of the country’s education system and its stakeholders, factors at the school level decisively influence the learning experience of students. Describing some of these factors is the comparative advantage of surveys such as the SDI. 64
