2009年-世界发展银行全球_Mozambique___Student_Assessment_43页_1mb

Summary of Mozambique's Student Assessment System (SABER Country Report, 2009)

Core Content

Mozambique's student assessment system was evaluated as part of the SABER-Student Assessment program under the World Bank's Systems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER) initiative. The goal of the assessment was to improve the country's capacity to design, carry out, analyze, and use assessments for better student learning. The report outlines the current state of classroom assessment, examinations, national large-scale assessments (NLSA), and international large-scale assessments (ILSA), along with suggested policy improvements.

Main Assessment Types and Purposes

1. Classroom Assessment

• Purpose: Provide real-time feedback to inform teaching and learning in individual classrooms.
• Frequency: Daily.
• Format: Varies from observation to questioning to paper-and-pencil tests and student performances.
• Coverage: All subject areas.
• Key Issues:
  • No official guidelines for classroom assessment.
  • Limited pedagogical resources for teachers.
  • Weak teacher training in classroom assessment.
  • Ad hoc mechanisms for monitoring quality.
  • Results are made public but not effectively used for decision-making.
• Development Level: Emerging.

2. Examinations

• Purpose: Certify students as they move through education levels or into the workforce.
• Frequency: Annual, with some systems allowing for repeat testing.
• Format: Usually essays and multiple-choice questions.
• Coverage: Main subject areas.
• Key Issues:
  • Annual examinations are used for promotion decisions at grades 2, 5, 7, 10, and 12.
  • CNECE (the examination office) oversees these assessments but lacks trained evaluators and research capacity.
  • Examination results are credible but not widely used for policy-making.
  • Some concerns about corruption and malpractice.
• Development Level: Emerging.

3. National Large-Scale Assessment (NLSA)

• Purpose: Provide feedback on the overall performance of the education system at specific grades or age levels.
• Frequency: Every 3–5 years (e.g., 2000, 2006, 2009).
• Format: Usually multiple-choice and short-answer.
• Coverage: Generally confined to one or two subjects.
• Key Issues:
  • NLSA activities are not institutionalized within INDE.
  • No specific policy document for NLSA.
  • Funding is ad hoc, with international donors covering most costs.
  • Limited training for staff and teachers.
  • Results are not effectively disseminated or used for decision-making.
  • Excludes special needs students and those in small schools.
• Development Level: Emerging.

4. International Large-Scale Assessment (ILSA)

• Purpose: Provide comparative performance data on the education system.
• Frequency: Every 3–5 years (e.g., SACMEQ II and SACMEQ III).
• Format: Usually multiple-choice and short-answer.
• Coverage: A few subjects.
• Key Issues:
  • Mozambique has participated in SACMEQ II and III.
  • No full-time staff dedicated to ILSA activities.
  • Training provided by SACMEQ has been beneficial.
  • Results are not well disseminated or used for policy improvement.
  • No clear communication plan for results.
• Development Level: Emerging.

Key Policy Areas and Recommendations

1. Classroom Assessment

• Recommendations:
  • Strengthen inspection and supervision mechanisms with a focus on classroom assessment.
  • Provide schools and teachers with pedagogical resources that specify the appropriate difficulty level of tasks.

2. Examinations

• Recommendations:
  • Review the consequences of examinations, especially their impact on student repetition and dropout.
  • Improve the design and standardization of examinations.
  • Enhance the use of examination results to inform national and provincial education policies.

3. National Large-Scale Assessment (NLSA)

• Recommendations:
  • Implement a new NLSA to institutionalize assessment activities at INDE.
  • Strengthen the assessment skills of INDE and provincial staff.

4. International Large-Scale Assessment (ILSA)

• Recommendations:
  • Ensure participation in and budget for future SACMEQ or other ILSA exercises.
  • Develop and fund a clear communication plan for the dissemination and use of ILSA results.

Education Context in Mozambique

• Economic Status: Low-income country in Southern Africa with a GDP per capita of $423 (2009) and an annual growth rate of approximately 3.9%.
• Enrollment: Net primary enrollment is 90%, and secondary enrollment is 15%. Girls have slightly lower enrollment rates than boys at both levels.
• Challenges:
  • Teacher shortages and inadequate infrastructure.
  • Schools face additional responsibilities due to poverty and the AIDS epidemic.
  • The new curriculum (2004–2007) lacks clarity on task difficulty and aligns too closely with student achievement levels.
• Government Priorities:
  • Training educators in teaching and school management.
  • Promoting parent participation.
  • Providing quality learning materials.
  • Rehabilitating classrooms.

Quality Drivers of the Assessment System

• Enabling Context: Includes policies, leadership, funding, institutional arrangements, and human resources.
• System Alignment: Refers to the congruence between assessments and learning goals, curriculum, and teacher training.
• Assessment Quality: Involves the psychometric quality of assessments, their design, administration, and use.

Development Levels

The SABER framework defines four development levels: Latent, Emerging, Established, and Advanced. Mozambique's system is rated Emerging in all assessment types, indicating partial presence of the attributes required for effective assessment systems.

Conclusion

Mozambique's student assessment system is at an Emerging stage across all assessment types, highlighting the need for stronger institutional support, better resource allocation, and more effective use of assessment data. While the system has some strengths, particularly in international assessments like SACMEQ, there is a clear need for policy improvements to enhance the quality, standardization, and impact of assessments on education outcomes.