Bangladesh : Assessing Basic Learning Skills

Contents: Foreword. I. General context: 1. Formal education. 2. Illiteracy. 3. Basic learning needs. II. Test development: 1. Trial testing. 2. Validation of test. 3. Tests and levels. III. Basic skills levels: assessment: 1. Sample. IV. Results: 1. Self-assessment and objective assessment. 2. Performance on individual items. 3. Performance of subject areas. 4. Reading. 5. Writing. 6. Mathematics-oral. 7. Mathematics-written. 8. Basic learning skills. 9. Relationship between oral and written mathematics. 10. Effect of school. 11. Comparison of school attenders and school leavers. 12. Age and achievement. 13. Family literacy. 14. Gender differences. 15. Basic skills and economic activity. V. Discussion: Annex. References.

"Bangladesh\'s low literacy rate is restricting growth potential and affecting the standard of living of its population. Without any definitive definition of literacy, it is not possible to quantify the literacy rate. This study, for the first time, defines literacy rate in terms of the achievement of a minimal level of performance in the four basic areas of reading, writing, written mathemetics and oral mathematics. The minimum performance levels were developed with the help of educators, employers, and civil servants, taking the country context into account. The highest level in each area was defined in terms of basic skills necessary for a person to function at a minimal level of competence in the society. A series of short tests were administered to a randomly selected sample of 5,200 individuals in rural Bangladesh. Results are striking. As many as 29 percent failed to master the lowest achievement level in any of the basic skills while as few as 10 percent achieved the minimum competency level in each area. Roughly one-third of those who had completed primary school achieved the minimum competency level in all four basic skill areas.

"The approach developed to measure basic literacy should be of interest to educators and policymakers. By offering concrete guidelines for literacy assessment, this study can help monitor progress and provide a measure of the effects of current programs and projects designed to improve literacy levels in Bangladesh."