Using international and national assessments for educational development

The educational system has an important role to play in improving digital literacy, but again it is important to ensure that the technology is deployed to serve this strategic goal. The other important goal of integrating iCT in education is to promote digital literacy and skills. Teachers and students will then have the skills they need to use basic word processing, research, and communications applications. Such applications are widely used in today’s workplace, and present-day jobs increasingly require a basic level of digital literacy. The education sector has an important role to play in providing students with the opportunity to acquire those skills. Since 2005, the one Laptop per Child (oLPC) initiative has been implemented in programs conducted worldwide. The goal of many of these programs is to provide children with personal computers to improve their educational outcomes and digital skills. empirical evidence on the impact of the programs suggests that although they do have positive impacts on students’ iCT skills and usage, their impact on students’ academic achievement is modest to nil (esceuta et al. 2017). To date, many of Sri Lanka’s “iCT in education” initiatives seem to be aimed at improving digital literacy, which is an important goal. Still, moving forward, it will be important for Sri Lanka to clearly identify how to strategically achieve this goal and to ensure that it is aligned with the other objectives of its “iCT in education” policy.

USING INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL ASSESSMENTS FOR EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

A high-quality learning assessment system, including classroom-based, national, and international assessments, is critical for improving the quality of an educational system and ultimately for improving student learning outcomes. There is considerable evidence that specific types of assessment activities, when implemented and used correctly, have a positive impact on student learning. For example, research shows a strong link between high-quality, formative classroom assessment activities and better student learning outcomes, as measured by student performance on standardized tests of educational achievement (Clarke 2012). A review of high-performing educational systems in countries such as Finland and Singapore found that effective assessment systems share characteristics. They (1) demonstrate the importance of assessment for student learning rather than as a disconnected element of the educational system; (2) provide students, teachers, and policy makers with information on what has been learned; (3) are closely aligned with curriculum expectations, performance criteria, and learning outcomes; and (4) engage teachers in the assessment development process (Darling-Hammond and Wentworth 2010).

Sri Lanka’s learning assessment system has made progress, but there is still room for improvement. The country introduced national assessments in 2003 funded by the Moe and carried out by the national education Research and evaluation Center (neReC) at the university of Colombo. every three years, these national assessments test cognitive skills in the first language (Sinhala and Tamil), english, and mathematics for grade 4 students and english, mathematics, and science for grade 8 students. However, a few changes would make these national assessments more useful for educational development. For one thing, the technical rigor of the national assessments, including test design, sampling, survey management, analysis of results, and dissemination and publication, should be strengthened (Dundar et al. 2017). Moreover, these assessments miss

out on the opportunity to collect data on schools, students, teachers, and parents, which could be beneficial to policy makers for educational planning. This type of data was collected in one assessment cycle but was discontinued because of budgetary constraints. in recent years, an effort has been made to improve understanding of the purpose and use of national assessments among policy makers, but there is still room for improvement in this area. Likewise, the utilization of national assessments for policy development should be strengthened. The Moe introduced a Trends in international Mathematics and Science Study (TiMSS) module in its national assessments. However, to date the country has not participated in any of the international assessments such as TiMSS or the Program for international Student Assessment (PiSA).

Policy options for improving the learning assessment system

Sri Lanka should improve its use of national assessments for education policy and planning. national assessments are designed to provide evidence of a country’s educational performance and can be used to measure student learning at one point in time or over time (Dundar et al. 2017). The data from national assessments can also be used as the basis for reviewing the educational system, designing and revising curricula, improving textbooks and learning material, strengthening teacher education and training, and guiding resource allocation (Greaney and kellaghan 2008). using national assessments for educational development begins with an understanding of the role and purpose of national assessments. it is particularly important that policy makers understand that national assessments play a distinct role and differ from public examinations (table 4.5).

Sri Lanka should improve its institutional capacity and conditions for using national assessments for educational development. According to kellaghan, Greaney, and Murray (2009), a country must meet conditions to make optimal use of the findings of a national assessment. First, there must be sufficient political will to consider any reforms and changes that may be needed in response to the findings of a national assessment. Second, policy and decision-makers in the Moe should have the knowledge and skills to interpret and use the information from a national assessment—and if such capacity is lacking, substantial investments may have to be made to build it. Third, national assessments must be integrated into existing structures, policy-making and decision-making processes, and resource allocation channels. Fourth, a clear dissemination strategy is needed to communicate the findings of a national assessment. And, finally, the government must ensure that a high-level team is responsible for undertaking and interpreting the results of the national assessments and that staff turnover is minimized because those factors can seriously affect the quality of the process (kellaghan, Greaney, and Murray 2009). Going forward, it will be important for Sri Lanka to cultivate an ecosystem to effectively use national assessments for educational planning. international assessments share many similarities with national assessments but offer the added benefit of providing information on the quality of an educational system in relation to other systems. An international assessment is in many ways similar to a national assessment. Like a national assessment, it is designed to provide evidence of student achievements and learning outcomes at a particular stage of education and in identified curriculum areas and to track progress over time. Both types of assessments also have a similar approach and