Under the Technology for Education Systems Transformation (TEST) project, World Education developed, tested, and implemented a digitized and automated early-grade reading formative assessment.
The application, known as the TEST app, improved upon the previous pencil-and-paper version of the formative assessment by increasing uniformity in test administration, reducing scoring error and bias, and automatically compiling student score data to quickly identify struggling students. These improvements also promote teacher understanding and use of a continuous assessment system (CAS) as a diagnostic tool for student learning, while at the same time facilitating teacher and student use and understanding of technology in the classroom. The formative assessment used on the TEST app was developed by the Total Reading Approach for Children (TRAC) project and formally endorsed by the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport (MoEYS) as National Reading Standards, widely referred to as reading benchmarks.
Under the Technology for Education Systems Transformation Expansion (TESTx) project, World Education enhanced the TEST app and transitioned it fully to the MoEYS for nationwide scale-up.
The goal of the TESTx project was to build the capacity of the MoEYS to manage, use, and adopt the TEST app to administer the national Grades 1-3 formative assessment system. The app provides the MoEYS with a wealth of data on early grade reading trends across the country. Overall, the TEST app and reading benchmarks are enhancing the ability of children to acquire essential literacy skills. Teachers across Cambodia are using the reading benchmarks to identify struggling students, provide timely, targeted support and improve early grade learning outcomes.
The TEST and TESTx projects were supported by DAI through their Development Innovations Project, funded by USAID.
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