Annual Status of Education Report (rural) 2016

The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) is a household survey that provides estimates of children’s schooling status and their ability to read simple text and do basic arithmetic. The survey reaches almost all rural districts of India and covers children in the age group 3-16. Unlike most other large scale learning assessments, ASER is a household based rather than school based survey. This design enables all children to be included – those who have never been to school or have dropped out, as well as those who are in government schools, private schools, religious schools or any other type of school. It thus generates estimates of basic learning for all children in rural India. ASER is the only annual source of information on children’s learning outcomes available in India today. Facilitated by Pratham, ASER is carried out by about 500 partner organizations and over 25,000 volunteers across the country. All kinds of institutions partner with ASER, such as colleges, universities, NGOs, youth groups, women’s organizations, and self help groups. With the exception of 2015, ASER has been conducted every year since 2005. This is the eleventh ASER report.