Measuring the impact of citizen-led assessments for improving the quality of education

Effective communication and advocacy activities are essential components in initiating change in education practices and policies. ACER, through the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Centre provided support to OMAES (Oeuvre Malienne d’Aide à l’Enfance du Sahel), a non-governmental organisation in Mali, for the development of an internal monitoring and evaluation system for the Beekunko assessment in Mali. Beekunko is a household-based assessment of children’s learning outcomes in literacy and numeracy for children in Mali whether currently attending school or not, and who are six to 14 years of age. OMAES’ primary aim through Beekunko is to motivate stakeholders at various levels to take action in schools and communities, and become engaged in education policy reform with the ultimate goal of improving student learning. Its main strategy is to improve awareness among stakeholders about the actual learning outcomes of children in Mali.