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Practical Lessons for Phone-Based Assessments of Learning

Author

Listed:
  • Noam Angrist

    (Young 1ove
    Oxford University)

  • Peter Bergman

    (Teachers College, Columbia University)

  • David K. Evans

    (Center for Global Development)

  • Susannah Hares

    (Center for Global Development)

  • Matthew C. H. Jukes

    (RTI International)

  • Thato Letsomo

    (Young 1ove)

Abstract

School closures affecting more than 1.5 billion children are designed to prevent the spread of current public health risks from the COVID-19 pandemic, but they simultaneously introduce new short- and long-term health risks through lost education. Measuring these effects in real-time is critical to inform effective public health responses, and remote phone-based approaches are one of the only viable options with extreme social distancing in place. However, both the health and education literature are sparse on guidance for phone-based assessments. In this article, we draw on our pilot testing of phone-based assessments in Botswana, along with the existing literature on oral testing of reading and mathematics, to propose a series of preliminary practical lessons to guide researchers and service providers as they try phone-based learning assessments. We provide preliminary evidence that phone-based assessments can accurately capture basic numeracy skills. We provide guidance to help teams (1) ensure that children are not put at risk, (2) test the reliability and validity of phone-based measures, (3) use simple instructions and practice items to ensure the assessment is focused on the target skill, not general language and test-taking skills, (4) adapt the items from oral assessments that will be most effective in phone-based assessments, (5) keep assessments brief while still gathering meaningful learning data, (6) use effective strategies to encourage respondents to pick up the phone, (7) build rapport with adult caregivers and youth respondents, (8) choose the most cost-effective medium, and (9) account for potential bias in samples.

Suggested Citation

  • Noam Angrist & Peter Bergman & David K. Evans & Susannah Hares & Matthew C. H. Jukes & Thato Letsomo, 2020. "Practical Lessons for Phone-Based Assessments of Learning," Working Papers 534, Center for Global Development, revised 10 Jul 2020.
  • Handle: RePEc:cgd:wpaper:534
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Abay, Kibrom A. & Berhane, Guush & Hoddinott, John F. & Tafere, Kibrom, 2021. "Assessing response fatigue in phone surveys: Experimental evidence on dietary diversity in Ethiopia," IFPRI discussion papers 2017, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    2. Allen, James & Mahumane, Arlete & Riddell, James & Rosenblat, Tanya & Yang, Dean & Yu, Hang, 2022. "Teaching and incentives: Substitutes or complements?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    3. Noam Angrist & Peter Bergman & Moitshepi Matsheng, 2020. "School’s Out: Experimental Evidence on Limiting Learning Loss Using “Low-Tech” in a Pandemic," NBER Working Papers 28205, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Noam Angrist & Peter Bergman & Moitshepi Matsheng, 2022. "Experimental evidence on learning using low-tech when school is out," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 6(7), pages 941-950, July.
    5. Crawfurd, Lee & Evans, David K. & Hares, Susannah & Sandefur, Justin, 2023. "Live tutoring calls did not improve learning during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sierra Leone," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    6. Hernández-Agramonte, Juan Manuel & Namen, Olga & Näslund-Hadley, Emma & Biehl, Maria Loreto, 2024. "Supporting early childhood development remotely: Experimental evidence from SMS messages," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    7. Alban Conto, Carolina & Akseer, Spogmai & Dreesen, Thomas & Kamei, Akito & Mizunoya, Suguru & Rigole, Annika, 2021. "Potential effects of COVID-19 school closures on foundational skills and Country responses for mitigating learning loss," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    8. Rodriguez-Segura, Daniel & Schueler, Beth E., 2022. "Can learning be measured by phone? Evidence from Kenya," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    education; assessment; learning; mobile technology; COVID-19;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration

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