read to succeed · 2017. 3. 15. · usaid zambia read to succeed project (contract no....
TRANSCRIPT
6,
Contract Number: AID-611-C-12-00003
_________________________________________________________________________
This report was produced for review by the United States Agency for International
Development. It was prepared by Creative Associates International.
READ TO SUCCEED
ANNUAL REPORT: OCTOBER 1, 2015 – SEPTEMBER 30, 2016
USAID ZAMBIA
READ TO SUCCEED PROJECT (Contract No. AID-611-C-12-00003)
RTS Project Annual Performance Report
Project Year 5
(October 1, 2015 – September 30, 2016)
Submitted to
United States Agency for International Development
(USAID/Zambia)
Creative Associates International, Inc.
October 2016
i
Table of Contents
ACRONYMS ......................................................................................................................................... ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................. 1 PROJECT DESCRIPTION, RATIONALE AND STRATEGY ...................................................... 8
RTS Technical Approach ............................................................................................................... 8
Key Areas of Interventions............................................................................................................. 8
SUMMARY OF MAJOR PROJECT ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN YEAR 5 .................................. 9 Provision of Technical Assistance at the request of the MOGE ................................................ 10
Home Office Support to RTS during the reporting period. ........................................................ 11
Accomplishments by Intermediate Results (IRs) ........................................................................ 11
IR1: Decentralized Education Management Practices to Improve Teacher Accountability and Sustain
Learner Performance Modeled.............................................................................................................. 11 SIR 1.1: Teacher Effectiveness and Accountability Improved, leading to Improved Reading
Instruction .................................................................................................................................... 11
SIR 1.2: Head Teacher and Senior Manager CPD and Support Program Strengthened ........ 16
IR2 (Task 2): Performance Assessment Tools and Their Use to Strengthen & Improve School
Effectiveness ......................................................................................................................................... 22 SIR 2.1: Assessment Policies, Strategies and Procedures to promote Teaching and Learning
Strengthened ................................................................................................................................. 23
SIR 2.2: Assessment Instruments (Including EGRA Expanded and Improved) ..................... 23
SIR 2.3: Develop Procedure for Effectively Using Assessment Data ......................................... 24
IR3: School-based HIV/AIDS-Mitigating & Equity-Enhancing Student Support and Services Improved
.............................................................................................................................................................. 24 SIR 3.1: School Health Policies and Framework Harmonized ................................................. 25
SIR 3.2. School Guidance and Counseling System Operationalized ......................................... 25
SIR 3.3: School-Community Partnerships to Support School Effectiveness and Students
Strengthened ................................................................................................................................. 28
IR4: Increased Engagement of Higher Education Institutions in Research to Enhance Evidence-based
Decision Making ................................................................................................................................... 30 SIR 4.1: Strengthen National Research Agenda ........................................................................ 30
SIR 4.2: University and College Research Strengthened ........................................................... 30
SIR 4.3: Enhance Operations of the RTS Internship Program ................................................. 31
Project Monitoring and Evaluation ....................................................................................................... 31 a. M & E System Implementation............................................................................................ 31
b. School Effectiveness Assessments (Preparation for Endline Survey)................................ 32
c. Longitudinal Studies (LS) .................................................................................................... 33
Public Private Partnerships (PPP) ......................................................................................................... 34 Annexes ................................................................................................................................................ 36
Annex I: Activity Table ................................................................................................................ 36
Annex II: Success Story ............................................................................................................... 44
Annex III. Technical Assistance Provided to MOGE on Request ............................................. 46
Annex IV: Home Office Support to RTS during Project Year Five ........................................... 49
ii
ACRONYMS
ASO Assistant Statistical Officer
AoC Agent of Change
BOSY Beginning of School Year
CAPOLSA Centre for Advancement and Promotion of Literacy in Sub-
Saharan Africa
CDC Curriculum Development Center
COE College of Education
CPD Continuous Professional Development
DEBS District Education Board Secretary
DEST District Education Support Team
DHT Deputy Head Teacher
DPO District Planning Officer
DQA Data Quality Assurance
ECZ Examinations Council of Zambia
EGRA Early Grade Reading Assessment
EMIS Education Management Information System
ELM Education Leadership and Management
E-SIMON Extended School In-Service Monitoring
EOSY End of School Year
G2LPR Grade 2 Literacy Progress Report
GALA Group Administered Literacy Assessment
G&C Guidance and Counseling
GRZ Government of the Republic of Zambia
HIM Head teacher In-service Monitoring
HT Head Teacher
ICT Information Communication Technology
IR Intermediate Result
KPI Key Performance Indicator
LAT Learning Assessment Team
LOP Life of the Project
LPR Literacy Progress Report
LPIP Learner Performance Improvement Plan
LS Longitudinal Study
M&E Monitoring and Evaluation Unit
MOGE Ministry of General Education
OVC Orphans and Vulnerable Children
PEO Provincial Education Officer
PEPFAR The U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
PESO Principal Education Standards Officer
PEST Provincial Education Support Team
PL Proficiency Level
PLD Performance Level Descriptors
PLP Primary Literacy Program
PMA Performance Monitoring Advisor
PMEP Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Plan
PPP Public Private Partnerships
iii
PRP Primary Reading Program
PTA Parents Teachers Association
RCC Research Coordinating Committee
RTB Reading Tools in a Box
RTI Research Triangle Institute
RTS Read to Succeed
SBA School-based Assessment
SBST Social and Behavioral Sciences Team
SCPC School Community Partnership Committee
SHN School Health and Nutrition
SIMON School In-service Monitoring
SMS Short Message Service
SPLASH Schools Promoting Learning Achievement through Sanitation
and Hygiene
SPRINT School Program of In-service for the Term
SPSS Statistical Package for Social Sciences
STEP-Up Strengthening Education Performance Up
STS School To School
TEU Teacher Education Unit
TGM Teacher Group Meetings
TTL Time to Learn
USAID United States Agency for International Development
UNESCO United Nations Education, Science and Cultural Organization
UNICEF United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund
UNZA University of Zambia
ZEPH Zambia Educational Publishing House
ZEST Zonal Education Support Team
ZICTA Zambia Information and Communication Technology
Authority
ZHT Zonal Head Teacher
ZSG Zambia School Gateway
1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The USAID/Read to Succeed (RTS) Project continued to consolidate its support to the Ministry
of General Education (MOGE) during year 5. Working through existing structures, under the
guidance of the MOGE, RTS has enshrined sustainability in its efforts towards improving early
grade reading in Zambian primary schools.
During the past five years, the RTS Project promoted its strong belief, theory of change and
assumption that dictate that acquiring foundational reading skills in the early grades is critical
to children’s successful progression through primary school and their subsequent performance
at secondary and tertiary levels. Building on the accomplishments in the previous years, RTS
continued to support interventions that enhance reading outcomes in primary schools in project
year five. The project works closely with government counterparts to operationalize policy
frameworks, builds the capacity of service providers (mainly teachers, head teachers, district
education officers and parents/communities), enhance systems and develop procedures to
address five key elements common to effective schools: learning, teaching, school
management, parental participation, and support for and responsiveness to children’s needs.
A summary of key accomplishments during the reporting period are highlighted below:
Major Accomplishments
Stakeholder Consultation:
Throughout year five, RTS emphasized measures which promote sustainability at all levels
while institutionalizing project interventions. Many project activities were aligned towards
integration of project activities into MOGE plans. For example, RTS convened MOGE officials
and partners to discuss the integration of community participation strategies into MOGE
routine system in quarter two of project year five.
After six months of implementation, RTS brought together MOGE officials and partners to
discuss project sustainability and scale up measures. The mid-year review meeting was a
platform for reflection of what transpired in the first six months of the year and revisiting the
RTS Exit Strategy developed in 2012 to ensure sustainability. Prior to the performance review
meeting in Lusaka, each target province conducted a series of review meetings to generate
ideas to inform the national workshop which was held in Lusaka. Accordingly, the national
workshop was informed by the information gathered during the district and provincial
consultative meetings in each of the target provinces. Small group and plenary discussions,
analyzed the information and identified critical factors that enhanced RTS’ implementation and
documented lessons learned. Participants also provided useful feedback to inform the
development of the project wide “Scale up” and “Sustainability” plan.
The above project-wide activities were implemented alongside the on-going project support to
school-based professional development of teachers, head teachers and parental and community
support to schools. Through a holistic technical approach, RTS influenced the education system
from school to zone, district, provincial and national levels. .
Improved Teacher Effectiveness in Reading Pedagogy: From the start of the project, RTS
management has always held a strong position that an effective teacher is a crucial ingredient
to all efforts aimed at improving learner performance. In this light, the project continuously
worked with MOGE and made significant progress in six areas during the reporting period: i)
provision of on-going mentorship to teachers and head teachers by project technical team, ii)
2
conducting refresher training for head teachers, iii) developing teachers’ manual in managing
transitioning from teaching reading in Zambian languages to teaching reading in English, iv)
encouraging teachers to produce local stories, v) supporting schools to organize and conduct
reading and writing competitions and vi) supporting teachers to conduct regular Teacher Group
Meetings (TGMs).
Project Year five saw on-going support from all RTS provincial project teams and Technical
Leads. They visited schools and provided on-site coaching and mentorship services. Following
refresher workshops for all zone head teachers and head teachers that were conducted in quarter
two, MOGE and RTS jointly provided coaching to head teachers to strengthen school
operations. Schools were supported to induct new literacy teachers to the new reading
pedagogy using TGMs. During this period of performance, 1,829 new teachers (885 male and
944 female) completed the minimum training required. This figure represents 148% of the
annual target. The total number of teachers trained by the project to date is 8,031 (4,238 males
and 3,793 females) representing 143% of the LOP target. The project exceeded its target due
to high mobility of teachers where good number of new teachers were deployed to RTS
supported schools. RTS has used a cost-effective approach to conduct the training and thereby
facilitating the induction of the additional teachers within the budget limits.
To ensure comprehensive teacher support, and in support of the technical refinement of the
Reading Package, RTS organized a workshop on managing transitioning from teaching reading
in Zambian languages to teaching reading in English, the output being a teacher manual. This
manual adds to the comprehensive list of other technical manuals that were developed in
preceding years. The Team of Language experts from MOGE, Universities, Teachers, RTS
Experts and Creative Literacy TA, developed a manual entitled “Effective Practices for
Transitioning from Literacy in Zambian Languages to Literacy in English”, which identifies
transferable reading skills in Zambian languages that can be used to teach reading in English.
It guides teachers on how to apply those skills learned in local languages to teach reading in
English. Following MOGE’s careful review and vetting, the draft manual has gone through
intensive review by Creative Associates literacy experts and is now in its final stage in
readiness for printing.
As part of project-wide efforts to improve reading, RTS has continued to encourage teachers’
to be creative and resourceful. Teachers were encouraged to write local stories, that were
leveled, aligned to the national curriculum and of interest to the early grade readers. This,
resulted in over 3,705 relevant local stories identified during reading and writing competitions
at school, zonal and districts levels. These innovative competitions were initiated in quarter
two and reached a climax stage in September 2016, when the district level competitions were
held during the literacy month. The success of the Literacy Month culminated in 60 best local
stories being identifed identified for printing, at district level, a total of 40 outstanding learners
and 60 teachers were recognized with certificates and token gifts across the six target provinces.
Improved Education Leadership and Management: From the data RTS has gathered so far
from beneficiaries and stakeholders during routine monitoring and discussion forums,
Education Leadership and Management (ELM) is said to be one of the keys to improving
reading levels. It had translated to better data capture, learner and teacher performance tracking
and mentorship. 100% the head teachers were able to assess learner and teacher performance
and reported through Zambia School Gateway (ZSG) to districts in 2016 compared to only
30% in 2013. RTS uses the MOGE ELM tool which enhances the chances for sustainability
beyond the life of project. During the reporting period, All key leadership positions such as head
teachers, deputy head teachers, zone heads and District Education Support Teams (DESTs)
continued to receive coaching and mentorship from RTS on effective leadership. The coaching
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focused mostly on promotion of literacy in early grades. In this year, there was on-going
support to all leaders at different levels of education management in the collection and use of
school performance data and to making decisions that lead to improved learner performance in
early grade reading.
ELM’s main activities in year five included i) data submission from schools on learner and
teacher performance, ii) supporting coaching of zone heads using the Centers of Excellence
criteria, iii) awarding certificates of recognition to 58 head teachers, zone head teachers and
district officials certificates for outstanding leadership, iv) facilitating the Grade 2 Learner
Progress Report (G2LPR) reflection meetings in all 20 RTS target districts. Anecdotal evidence
gathered during field monitoring indicates increased accountability among leaders at different
levels which could potentially have translated into better performance of learners in many RTS
supported schools. The use of the Zambian School Gateway for submission of learner and
teacher performance has increased from 30% two years ago to about 100% this year. The
project has trained a total of new 109 (73 males and 36 females) school administrators during
the reporting period representing 136% of the annual target. This brings the total school
administrators trained by the project to date to 3,249 (2,311 males and 838 females) of the LOP
target of 3,219 which represents 101%.
Improved Use of School-based Learner Assessment Data: RTS continued to direct efforts at
promoting routine assessment data use for improving teaching and learning in year five. The
project strongly believes that effective learner assessment by teachers on an ongoing basis, is
an essential ingredient to improving learner performance as it feeds into reflective teaching
process which results into improved teaching techniques. RTS continuously supports teachers
with interactive and effective techniques of learner assessments with a clear focus on data use.
During the reporting period, RTS has been working on consolidating gains by ensuring that
relevant support documents developed and made available for the end users. Therefore, the
predominant activities in year five focused on providing guidelines, procedures and structures
to cement SBA practices such as Weeks 5 and 10 assessments, use of Proficiency Levels (PLs)
and Performance Level Descriptors (PLDs) in assessment. This approach is anchored on a user-
friendly SBA Monitoring System developed and piloted by the project in collaboration with
the MOGE.
For easy reference, RTS summarized SBA procedures into simple posters. Two of the five
posters were oriented and distributed to all target district resource centers. In the next quarter,
all five posters will be printed and delivered to all target schools. In addition, RTS completed
SBA video scripts for the development of instructional and promotional video clips. Video
shooting had started at the time of report writing. Overall, more time was spent on clarifying
the SBA Teacher’s Guide and PLD Teacher’s Guides through revisions involving cross-
referencing with the TGM Modules and the SBA Monitoring System. From data gathered
during routing monitoring visits to schools and review of assessment trackers record, as well
as discussion with head teachers, the project found that teachers use more assessment data to
inform their teaching techniques than ever before.
Improved Learner Support and Services: Throughout the past five years, all RTS project staff
and counterparts have been coached and mentored to realize that a healthy, motivated and
interested child learns better and faster. Provision of care and support to pupils including HIV
prevention and provision of Guidance and Counseling (G&C) services at school level have
become routine tasks in target schools. Agents of Change (AoCs) continued to reach out to
their fellow learners with messages on HIV prevention, campaign against teenage pregnancies
and early marriages as well as sharing general life skills which make them assertive. Through
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regular monthly meetings, AoCs reached out to 30,411 (15,336 males and 15,075 females)
individuals with HIV/AIDS preventive messages, against an annual target of 21,656,
representing 140% annual performance. The Life of Project (LOP) target is 180,000 and over
the five years, RTS has cumulatively reached out to 188,404 people which translate to 105%.
With regard to management, the Deputy Chief of Party/Guidance and Counseling Advisor left
the project towards the end of quarter two. A replacement was identified and oriented and has
settled in well in his new responsibility.
Increased Community Support to Schools and Learners: Community participation in school
is vital for effective learning. Under the guidance of RTS’ field officers, community members
continued to participate in school activities in different ways; including writing stories, building
reading shelters and attending meetings to discuss performance of their children. The School
Community Partnership Committees (SCPCs) continued to sensitize members of the
community on different topics. Some of the topics include how to help children read, strategies
for reducing absenteeism, teenage pregnancy and early marriages. In addition, community
members disseminated HIV/AIDS prevention messages. They also promoted the Re-Entry
Policy and supported school feeding programs. Some communities built infrastructure like
classroom blocks, stores for school feeding program and reading shelters/reading trees. Some
SCPCs have gone ahead and developed local policies to curb early marriages and pregnancies,
as well as learner and teacher absenteeism. This year, members of SCPCs from 41 newly
upgraded schools were trained and they have since formed SCPCs. Cumulatively, the total
number of SCPCs supported by the project is now 1,235 against the LOP target of 1,234
PTAs/SCPCs, representing 100%.
Plan International, the subcontractor responsible for community mobilization ended its
operation on 7th March 2016. Creative Associates, as a lead contractor took up the
responsibility of community mobilization. To address the gap after Plan International
concluded their contract, Creative Associates engaged experienced interns drawn from
Colleges of Education (Mongu, Chipata, and Kasama), Copperbelt University and University
of Zambia. The interns had previously worked with NGOs like SAFAIDS, Counterpart, Plan
International and MOGE itself. The interns are charged with the responsibility of working with
parents and communities and maintain their engagement until the end of the project. The interns
also work closely with G&C teachers, AoCs, head teachers and teachers in the school to ensure
that parents become more involved in the education of their children. This RTS strategy of
recruiting interns has proven to be successful, with the development of local capacity, and with
the interns being from the respective districts, they understand the local issues better and have
gained the trust of the communities.
Increased Evidence-based Decision Making: RTS promotes a culture of evidence-based
decision making. The Monitoring and Evaluation and Research Team is at the center of
generating required evidence through routine M&E data and research. The Team continues to
document all project performance in line with key deliverables. Every quarter, progress reports
are written and relevant statistics are compiled. During the reporting period, RTS completed
two studies; The Re-Entry Policy and Girls Education in Zambia: A Case Study of RTS Learner
Support Services. The study highlighted RTS’ contribution towards implementation of the Re-
Entry Policy and how the learner support services model addresses psychosocial needs of
learners in RTS supported schools.
In addition, RTS, through the subcontract with the University of Pittsburgh, completed a
research study on Institutional Impact of the Research Collaboration between the MOGE and
Zambian Higher Education Institutions (ZHEIs). The purpose was to document the institutional
5
impact of research collaboration between the MOGE and ZHEIs and recommended further
actions to enhance research collaboration between the ministry and academic institutions. The
findings of the studies will be shared with the MOGE and other stakeholders during the planned
research symposium being organized by MOGE in November 2016.
Towards the end of year five, RTS designed two more research studies; (a) A Study of
Differentiated Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) Administration Approaches and (b)
A Qualitative Study of the Implementation of RTS-supported Primary Literacy Program (PLP)
interventions in Primary Schools in Zambia. The former aims to test whether different EGRA
administration approaches affect learner performance during EGRA tests. The latter will test
the fidelity of RTS implementation or explore the extent to which RTS supported interventions
were implemented in the classroom by teachers. Data collection for the first study was
completed at the time of reporting while training of data collectors and field data collection for
the second study are planned for first and second weeks of November 2016 respectively. Both
studies will be conducted by RTS in collaboration with the MOGE.
Throughout the five years of project implementation, RTS worked closely with the University
of Zambia (UNZA) and Colleges of Education on the graduate internship program. As part of
its local capacity building, the project expanded collaboration with learning institutions to
recruit and mentor students over the years. In year five, eight new interns were recruited by the
project. The interns worked on various assignments ranging from community mobilization,
data entry into the online system, report writing, general administration and project
management. The LOP target is 50 interns and cumulatively RTS worked with 51 interns
representing 102%. RTS has benefited from working with interns as they are energetic, have
fresh ideas and they are cost effective to maintain. More importantly, RTS’s interest to build
the interns to form a strong generation of future researchers in Zambia. By the same token,
interns appreciate the opportunity of working at RTS as it helps them grow professionally.
Interns had the following to say about their experience with RTS: “I am now conversant with
working with an online data entry system”, another one said: “there is a lot of team work”,
and yet another said, “I am now exposed to office setup and I feel I can run/coordinate an office
with little supervision”.
Improved Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Systems: Throughout project
implementation, Creative Associates/ RTS have taken performance management and
evidenced based reporting as a critical focus. The project M&E team continues to play a critical
role in project performance management by ensuring project activities are meticulously
captured and communicated to stakeholders. The team diligently discharged functions related
to systematic data collection, analysis and reporting. RTS online database has been populated
with different types of data such as enrolment, trainee details, attendance rates, OVC, teacher
details as well as limited amounts on learner performance data. The following table represents
project progress towards annual and LOP targets on key performance indicators:
6
Table 1: Key Performance Indicators
S/N Performance Indicators Sex
LOP Targets PY1-4
PY5 targets
PY5 Results
Com. to date
% of LOP
Targets met
PY5 Results PY5%
1
# of laws, policies,
regulations or guidelines
developed to improve access to or quality
education services
N/A 8 6 2 2 100 8 100
2
# administrators and officials successfully
trained with USG support
in RTS target districts
M 2,422 2,238 50 73 1461 2,311 95
F 797 902 29 36 124 938 117
T 3,219 3,140 79 109 138 3,249 101
3
# of teachers/educators/ teaching assistants who
successfully completed in-
service training or received intensive coaching or
mentoring with USG
support in RTS target districts
M 2,971 3,353 666 885 133 4,238 142
F 2,634 2,849 568 944 166 3,793 144
T 5,605 6,202 1,234 1,829 1482 8,031 143
4
# of PTA s or similar
school governance structures supported with
USG assistance in target
districts
N/A 1,234 1,194 40 41 103 1,235 100
5
# of Learners enrolled in USG supported primary
school or equivalent non-
school settings (Female, Male)
M 370,000 356,987 287,240 286,913 100 398,704 108
F 370,000 346,453 272,514 275,074 101 388,624 105
T 740,000 704,634 559,754 561,987 100 787,3283 106
6
Number and percentage of
each priority population
who completed a standardized HIV
prevention intervention
including the specified minimum components
during the reporting period
M 91,000 79,291 10,611 15,336 1454 94,627 104
F 89,000 78,702 11,045 15,075 136 93,777 105
T 180,000 157,993 21,656 30,411 140 188,404 105
Increased Resources to the Education Sector through Public Private Partnership: during the
first four years, RTS had successfully established strong alliances between the project, the
MOGE and nine private organizations such as banks, insurances, energy, publishing houses,
and mining companies. The corporates sponsored production of assorted reading materials for
young children and procurement of other instructional aids for delivery to schools in a container
called “Reading Tools in A Box”. During the first four years for the project, RTS PPP efforts
have resulted in leveraging over $245,000. In project Year Five, a new corporate, Monsanto
Fund, financed the production of 275 boxes of materials worth $55,000. This brings the total
amount RTS leveraged from the private sector engagement to $300,000. Currently, all the
1,235 RTS supported schools have received at least one Reading Tools in a Box (RTBs). RTBs
contain assorted reading and playing materials such as story books, dictionaries; assorted
markers and in some cases, soccer balls and financial fitness materials. All materials in RTBs
are suitable for the early grades and were approved by the MOGE. Reports from zonal heads,
Zonal In-service Coordinators and district officials show that RTBs have supplemented reading
materials and have therefore encouraged a positive reading culture in schools.
1 Indicator 2 is above the target for males because there is a gender imbalance in leadership positions with more males occupying leadership
positions. The overall indicator for both males and females is on target. 2 Indicator 3 is over achieved for two reasons. More new teachers were deployed to target schools, project used school-based in house training
model as opposed to workshop-based model which had been more expensive and hence, the project did more with less. Also, the original
project target has not been revised since Project Year 3. 3 Indicator 5, only grade one figure of 83,888 was added as unique beneficiaries to the cumulative total 4 Indicator 6 was over achieved because some schools increased the number of the Agents of Change who in turn increased the number of
small group discussions which increased the number of beneficiaries.
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Challenges
As noted in previous years, the major challenge continues to be coordination of all
actors in the education sector by MOGE. There is a huge demand on district and
provincial officers’ time. MOGE officials found it difficult to balance between the
demands of their administrative responsibilities and the requirements of their
professional and technical leadership to system improvement.
Related to the above is the issue of work overload by officers at zone and school level.
School In-service Coordinators (SICs), Zone In-service Coordinators (ZICs) as well as
G&C teachers continue to be overloaded, leaving them with insufficient time to perform
non-academic activities such as supporting Agents of Change, conducting SIMON,
organizing in-house CPD and other learner support activities.
Non-availability of internet facilities at some DEBS offices affects the cleaning of the
Zambia School Gateway (ZSG) data by district officials.
Opportunities
RTS is of the view that the current environment is supportive because MOGE continues
to place reading on a high priority agenda.
As a project, RTS has continuously worked hard to engage MOGE on all project
activities at all levels. This approach has provided greater potential and the will for RTS
interventions to scale-up to non-RTS districts as MOGE officials are very familiar with
RTS interventions.
8
PROJECT DESCRIPTION, RATIONALE AND STRATEGY
RTS is a five-year early grade reading improvement activity funded by USAID and
implemented by a Creative Associates International-led consortium (Research Triangle
Institute [RTI], Plan International, School-to-School International [STS], University of
Pittsburgh, O’Brien and Associates and a number of local resource organizations) in
partnership with the Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) through Ministry of
General Education (MOGE). The project aims to improve learner performance through
improving school effectiveness. RTS supports target schools to provide the environment and
services for students to acquire essential academic skills, with a particular focus on reading.
The project also promotes and supports a range of activities that mitigate the impact of
HIV/AIDS on learning. The main outcome of the project is improved student performance in
early grade reading. Working closely with the MOGE, RTS supports teachers and head
teachers to deliver quality reading instruction and promote school-based assessment practice
in early grades in government primary schools.
RTS Technical Approach
Improving learner performance requires systemic changes on how schools are managed and
supported, and on creating incentives and accountability structures that ensure the delivery of
quality education. RTS deals with the dual challenges of: improving student learning (raising
assessment scores in reading) within five years while simultaneously strengthening Zambian
schools and support systems so that learning improvements are sustained.
To improve reading skills among early grade learners, RTS takes a whole school, whole
teacher, whole child approach which views schools as centers of learning, care and support,
and addresses five key elements common to the school effectiveness model: learning, teaching,
management, parental/community participation and responsiveness to children’s needs.
Four Intermediate Results (IRs)
contribute to the achievement of one
major objective (see the textbox
Project Results Framework). These
include key issues in teacher
effectiveness, management of
schools, formative assessment,
learner support and services,
parental and community support,
sustainability and oversight of basic
education.
Key Areas of Interventions
In order to improve learner performance, schools must provide adequate and appropriate
instructional services that enable pupils to learn better and faster. In support of schools
providing such services, RTS supports the MOGE to: 1) train and mentor teachers to develop
skills to teach the five major component skills of reading instruction in alphabetic languages -
phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension; 2) build the capacity
of head teachers in instructional leadership and management; 3) train teachers and enhance the
use of school-based, teacher-led assessment practices to promote effective instruction; 4)
increase community support to schools and provide psychosocial support to Orphans and
Vulnerable Children (OVC); 5) support the promotion of local languages/mother tongues as
PROJECT RESULTS FRAMEWORK
RTS OBJECTIVE: IMPROVED EDUCATION ACHIEVEMENT IN
READING
Intermediate Results:
IR 1: Decentralized education management practices to
improve teacher accountability and sustained learner
performance modeled
IR 2: Performance assessment tools and their uses
strengthened
IR 3: School-based HIV/AIDS mitigating and equity enhancing
learner support and services improved
IR 4: Increased engagement of universities and other higher
education institutions in MOGE and RTS research activities
9
media of instruction as well as the transition into English; and 6) promote research to enhance
evidence-based decision making processes to guide instructional processes in the teaching of
reading and 7) help establish Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to leverage external resources
to the education sector.
RTS works with existing education structures and Provincial Education Officers (PEOs) of the
six intervention provinces – (Eastern, Luapula, Muchinga, Northern, North-Western and
Western) to support DEBS, Zone Education Support Teams (ZEST) and schools5 to roll out
PLP and all components of the project to improve reading performance.
SUMMARY OF MAJOR PROJECT ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN YEAR 5
In the following sections, major accomplishments are presented under each Intermediate Result
(IR) against major planned activities.
The focus for year five was consolidating gains obtained in previous years while enshrining
sustainability within MOGE service deliver structures. In line with this, one of the major
accomplishments of the RTS project in
year five was the successful conduct of
project review and consultative
workshop. RTS held its last mid-year
project review and sustainability
consultative meeting with
representatives from selected schools,
distinct, provincial education offices
and MOGE at Intercontinental Hotel in
Lusaka on June 7 and 8, 2016. The mid-
year review meeting served as a
platform for reflection of what
transpired in the past six months of year five, and for review of project performance of the
entire project since year one. It was also used to revisit and refine the RTS Exit Strategy
developed in 2012 to ensure sustainability. Each target province had conducted series of review
meetings prior to the national workshop in Lusaka. Hence, the review workshop was informed
by the information generated during the district and provincial level consultative meetings.
The workshop was organized for two purposes:
To review progress of project performance in the first half of the annual work plan
(October 1st through March 31st), implementation period, and
To engage host country counterparts to revisit RTS Exit Strategy developed in 2012
and solicit feedback to inform the development of a more detailed sustainability and
scale up plan for target provinces (the scale up plan is one of the contractual
deliverables) for target provinces.
5 RTS supports 1,235 school in 20 districts of the six target provinces including Chipata and Lundazi in Eastern, Mansa, Chipili, Mwense and Chembe in Lusapula, Chinsali, Isoka and Shawngandu in
Muchinga, Mporokoso and Mungwi in Northern, Solwezi, Mufumbui, Mushindamo and Kalumbila
in Northwestern and Mongu, Sesheke, Mwandi, Limulunga and Mulobezi districts in the
Western Province..
Figure 1: Participants at the RTS Year 5 Mid-Year Review Meeting at
Intercontinental Hotel in Lusaka
10
The workshop attracted key stakeholders in the education sector such as the Ministry of
General Education (MOGE), where the then Acting Permanent Secretary, Ms. Christine
Mayonde; Director of Teacher Education and Specialized Services, MOGE senior officers at
national level, Provincial Education Officers from all ten provinces (in this workshop the
Provincial Education Officers (PEOs) from non-RTS target provinces participated), District
Education Board Secretaries (DEBS) of target districts, representatives of Zone Head Teachers,
representatives of Head Teachers from non-zonal target schools, representatives from sister
projects and USAID were present in the workshop.
The workshop was participatory with a number of breakout sessions where specific detailed
issues were discussed at length before presenting them back to a larger group for comments
and feedback in plenary sessions.
The Acting Permanent Secretary (PS) officially opened the workshop. In her opening remarks,
the PS made encouraging remarks on the performance of the Read to Succeed Project, outlining
activities supported by RTS and urged
all the participants to contribute to the
development of a feasible
sustainability plan to ensure that
project goals and project supported
activities are not only sustained in the
target districts, but also expanded to
other geographical areas of the country.
For this to happen, she noted “the
presence of trained manpower and
instructional materials developed in the
past five years with RTS support that
would provide a strong foundation”. Small group and plenary discussions identified factors
that helped RTS’ implementation and documented lessons learned. Participants also provided
helpful feedback to inform the development of scale up and sustainability plan.
Ms. Iris Young, Head of USAID Education Office thanked all the partnership within USAID funded activities and appreciated the Ministry of General Education for demonstrated commitment to improve learner performance. She also emphasized the importance of a sustainability plan to ensure that USAID’s investments assist MOGE to achieve the expected results. Following the consultative meeting, the project drafted a consolidated plan to serve two
purposes; i) to sustain project objectives and outcomes within the current target districts and ii)
to expand (scale up) project objectives and activities to new districts (non-RTS districts). In
the next quarter, the draft plan will again be shared with MOGE at national and Province level
for final review and adoption.
Provision of Technical Assistance at the request of the MOGE
As was the case in the previous years, RTS has provided technical assistance to the MOGE at
different levels upon MOGE’s request. RTS technical experts were called up on for technical
assistance in development of instructional materials, in capacity building of MOGE staff in
some specialized areas such as competency test development, setting procedure in development
of a test item bank, development of Early Grade Reading Assessment Tools, field testing of
tools and more. This represents the projects effort to provide extra support to the MOGE well
and beyond the contractual requirements Please refer to Annex III for details.
Figure 2: MOGE Acting PS Speaking during official opening of RTS Year 5 Mid-Year Review Meeting
11
Home Office Support to RTS during the reporting period.
Creative Associates international Home Office has provided technical and leadership support
to RTS at different times during the reporting period. Similarly, senior experts from the home
offices of the subcontractors provided on ground expert support and assistance to the filed team.
Please refer to the details of the home office support both from Creative and the subcontractors
to the project in Annex IV.
Accomplishments by Intermediate Results (IRs)
IR1: Decentralized Education Management Practices to Improve Teacher Accountability
and Sustain Learner Performance Modeled
SIR 1.1: Teacher Effectiveness and Accountability Improved, leading to Improved Reading
Instruction
RTS considers teacher effectiveness and accountability as a critical factor in promoting reading
for early graders. Over the life of the project, RTS supported initial face-to-face training and
ongoing professional development of teachers to improve their skills in reading pedagogy as
well as to become innovative and resourceful. Similar support continued in year five.
Key activities in the year were:
i) Developing teachers’ manual in managing transitioning from teaching reading in
Zambian Languages to teaching reading in English,
ii) Encouraging teachers to produce and use local stories
iii) Training of new teachers in PLP through TGMs
iv) Provision of on-going mentorship to teachers and head teachers by project
technical team,
v) Supporting schools to organize and conduct motivational reading and writing
competitions
Task 1.1.1 Design CPD Training Manuals and Learning Materials to Enhance Reading
Development and Finalization of Materials to Support Reading In Grades 1 – 4
RTS has been the source of technical assistance for the MOGE in the development of
instructional materials since the beginning. In 2012, the project financed and provided technical
assistance for the development of the National Literacy Framework (NLF), grade one literacy
pupils’ books and teachers’ guides. In 2013, while piloting the Primary Literacy Program in
behalf of the MOGE, provided technical
assistance in the development of grade
two literacy instructional materials. The
project continued to support the
Ministry in the development of grades
three and grade four literacy
instructional materials both in Zambian
Languages and English in 2014 and
2015. In Year 5, the project’s Teacher
Effectiveness Team refocused its
support on revising and development of
grades 3 and 4 materials for reading
instruction in the English language. This Figure 3: A display of some materials produced with the technical
and financial support of the USAID/RTS in the last five years
12
was aimed at ensuring that learners transitioned smoothly from reading in Zambian familiar
languages to learning reading in the English language. There was strong collaboration between
the RTS Project with MOGE and other partners with regard to materials development. This
resulted in finalizing literacy instructional materials in good time compared to the development
of instructional materials in other subject areas. In addition to the grades 1-4 pupils’ books and
teachers’ guides, RTS, in collaboration with MOGE developed and produced a number of
teacher training materials, coaching guides and manuals. It is important to note that even
though all the supplementary project-based literacy instructional materials have been
developed and produced through the RTS financial and technical assistance support, their use
is intended to be nation-wide. Hence, it is good to note the project’s national influence and
impact on the whole education system.
Aligned to the continuing effort to support teaching of reading in Zambian local languages and
English, the latter of which will eventually is the medium of instruction in grade 5, RTS
supported MOGE to develop a teachers’ manual on managing Transitioning from Language
One-Zambian Languages (L1) to Language two-English (L2)”. The workshop identified
transferable reading skills in the Zambian languages and discussed how they can be used to
teach reading in teaching reading in English. The workshop also reviewed the English lessons
developed by the MOGE for grade 3 and provided feedback. The outcome of the workshop
was a comprehensive teacher guide and resource material for the primary literacy teachers to
manage transitioning from L1 to L2. The draft manual has been revised, vetted and is ready for
production. The concept of transitioning from L1 to L2 was integrated into the revised National
Literacy Framework in a recent workshop sponsored by Zambian Education Sector Support
Technical Assistance (ZESSTA) where RTS was a part. Moreover, the school-based coaching
handbook and teacher group meeting modules drafted in the previous year were finalized and
1,500 copies each were distributed to target schools during the reporting period. The purpose
of the school-based coaching handbook is to promote result-based school in-house coaching
sessions for all teachers while the Teacher Group Meeting Modules will serve as self-learning
materials for teachers and enhance TGMs. Both the coaching handbook and teacher group
meetings modules should be used in conjunction with teachers’ guides and learners’ books.
Despite the existence of political will and MOGE’s commitment to improving early grade
reading, availability of teaching and learning materials in schools is still a huge challenge in
Zambia. In response to this challenge, RTS initiated a story writing competition among
teachers, to develop supplementary materials, over the reporting period. The competitions were
part of the writing and reading competitions organized by the project at school, zone and district
level. In the process, each target school was asked to identify three local stories, leading to a
total of 3,705 local stories written by teachers from all 1,235 schools targeted by the project.
At the zone review, the local review panel selected and identified 693 stories as publishable
out of the total 3,705 stories identified at school level. Finally, at the district review process,
60 best stories have been identified and teachers who wrote those stories received certificates
of outstanding performance in story writing. RTS, in collaboration with the MOGE’s
Curriculum Development Center (CDC), will review the 60 stories, format, level and print
sample copies to demonstrate to MOGE that a cost-effective production of children’s
supplementary readers is a possibility.
In order to contribute to the use of digital facilities in improving the quality of reading
instruction and remediation, RTS embarked on a mission to produce video vignettes for both
instructional and promotional purposes. At the time of reporting, all necessary video footages
have been filmed. A local firm guided by an international consultant was engaged to undertake
13
the production of the videos which will be finalized by the end of December 2016, and availed
to the Ministry.
RTS also supported the All Children Reading (ACR) Makhalidwe Athu Project to select, edit
and level stories that were in electronic format so that they could also be used in print format.
The project has also maintained its relationships with Center for Promotion of Literacy In Sub-
Saharan Africa (CAPOLSA) at the University of Zambia to promoting the use of technology
to improve reading in the use of GraphoGame6 in Lundazi, Chipata and Katete Districts of
Eastern Province. RTS mentored and monitored teachers, learners and parents who played the
game. GraphoGame is becoming a useful additional tool to supplement and support teachers
and learners who are struggling to read.
Task 1.1.2 Deliver Continuous Professional Development (CPD)
Training of grade 1 to 4 Teachers and Head Teachers in PLP Phonics Approach for
Teaching Reading
In year five, teacher training mostly took the form of in-house, school-based coaching and
mentoring during TGMs with the exception of few workshop-based training events. The
trainers at school level relied on RTS training packages. RTS monitored the use of materials
and the effectiveness of the TGMs. Results from field visits indicate that the materials have
been effectively used especially during induction meetings for new teachers. Materials were
also available during refresher
courses organized by MOGE and
ZEST. From all school-based
training activities, 1,829 new
teachers (885 males, and 944
females) were trained in PLP.
As a way of promoting
Continuous Professional
Development (CPD), RTS
provincial teams shared good practices identified from RTS target districts with non-RTS
districts in the provinces. For example, North Western province urged schools to scale up the
Reading and Writing Competitions (RWCs) to other grades, in addition to grade two. With
support from RTS, Muchinga Province oriented non-RTS districts (Mpika, Mafinga and
Nakonde) in PLP and other RTS initiatives such as SCPCs and AoCs. In Northern Province, a
project trained facilitator from a school in Mungwi District, helped provincial team to facilitate
a CPD workshop in other districts. This is an indication that in-house capacity has been created
for CPD activities.
6 Graphogame is a digital tool to teach literacy using smart phones. It contains letter sounds, reading practice
lessons for teachers and learners. 7 The RTS Luapula province provincial team in coordination and collaboration with the PEO’s Office extended
teacher training to all newly employed teachers including teachers from non-RTS districts. Hence, the figure for
new teachers trained is high 8 The Northern Province took a different direction. Instead of training all new teachers, the team put higher
emphasis on coaching and mentoring of the already trained teachers in the previous years. Hence, the figure for new
teacher trained is small.
Table 2: Number of teacher trained in PLP in Year Five
Province Males Females Total
Eastern 146 88 234
Luapula 372 377 7497
Muchinga 159 221 380
Northern 15 3 188
North Western 64 77 141
Western 129 178 307
Totals 885 944 1,829
14
Task 1.1.3 Motivate Professional Teacher Behavior and Strengthen Accountability for
Results
The Reading and Writing Competitions (RWCs)
initiated and coordinated by RTS during the
reporting period have motivated schools and have
ignited a new culture towards promotion of literacy
in schools. For example, schools in North Western
have introduced “Reading Breakfast” as an activity
that allows learners to read aloud before they start
classes in the morning. This is intended to boost
confidence of learners to read. In some schools in
Western Province, words and stories are produced
and displayed for learners to read on their own under
trees.
In all RTS target districts, RWCs culminated into literacy month celebrations in September
2016. This years’ national Literacy Day celebrations was held in Mansa District on 8th
September 2016 under the theme “Reading the Past, Writing the Future. The day created a
platform for collaboration between RTS
and MOGE to share good practices among
teachers and officials. Stories written by
teachers and learners were displayed, and
children demonstrated their reading
abilities to community members.
Teachers and learners who won at the
district level RWC were officially
recognized on the national literacy day
and received certificates of recognition
and Certificates of achievement
respectively, and token gifts from the
Permanent Secretary of Luapula province.
All learners and teachers in the remaining target provinces who won the competitions received
token gifts in form of books, pencils, school bags, shoes and other gifts that community
members could afford to provide. The experience of RWCs excited all levels of the education
structure, such as school, zones, districts and provinces. The Northern Province, for example,
plans to hold the RWC in all 1,235 school, 2013 zones and 20 target districts so that the final
competition will be at provincial level. In Muchinga, all districts want to adopt the RTS
organized RWC model and conduct the completions in all districts. In Western province, the
target districts decided to hold the competition at all grade levels as opposed to only grade 2.
This is an example of evidence of MOGE buy in and enhanced sustainability an example of
scaling up even before the end of project.
Across all RTS target districts, parents and community members were motivated to see
increased engagement of teachers and schools in reading activities and were open to support.
PTAs were involved in the planning of Reading and Writing competitions and
parents/communities members attended the competitions to encourage their children to read.
Figure 4: Grade 2 Learner from North Western Province
reading during RWCs
Figure 5: One of the Grade 2 learners receiving a Certificate of Achievement and School bag for winning the reading and writing
competition in Luapula Province.
15
Ultimately, for the reports submitted on RWCs and project staff observations, there is a
likelihood that reading and writing competitions will eventually become a regular activity in
schools after this initial kick-start. The competitions, which will mostly be in the form of
games, are designed to be fun and enjoyable to the children. Local stories written by teachers
will motivate leaners to learn how to read quicker as the stories will be more contextual to their
local environment.
SUMMARY OF MAIN RTS OUTCOMES IN TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS
1. Phonic based reading pedagogy is institutionalized throughout RTS beneficiary schools RTS provided intensive training to literacy teachers on phonic- based reading pedagogy followed up by provision of
ongoing coaching and mentorship. Through project support, letter-to sound approach did not cause as much challenge
to the teachers as expected. As evidenced by the findings of the RTS midline survey, teachers are more comfortable
in teaching reading in Zambian languages following the principles of the new phonic based reading pedagogy.
2. Teachers have become more innovative and creative
The MOGE teachers’ guides provide for scripted lessons to guide teachers in their reading lessons. However,
teachers have gone beyond the scripted lessons and have become more resourceful. Project trained and supported
teachers respond to the environment in which they work by taking some individual and group actions.
a. In the absence of appropriate reading materials in schools, teachers started to write and produce local
decodable stories to support their reading instruction in their reading lessons; over 3,705 local stories
were produced during the reporting period by teachers from RTS beneficiary school.
b. Teachers reduced their dependency on commercial, they increased the use of instructional aids they
developed from locally available resources with less or no cost.
c. Teachers increased the use of reading shelters and reading trees to increase children’s reading practice
time
3. Teacher Group Meetings have become more productive Arising from innovativeness and creativeness of teachers, training and sharing of good practices has been brought
to the door steps of schools and revitalized school-based training through teacher group meetings. Learning from
each other, teachers are now more interested to produce their own materials. The result is that there is an increased
level of self-motivation, drive and passion to do more with less. Teachers are also more interested to share their
experiences with other colleagues and hence, TGMs are held on regular basis allowing teachers to share their best
practices and lessons learned. This has been further enhanced by the availability of user friendly Teacher Group
Meeting Modules and the school-based coaching handbook developed and delivered by RTS in project year five.
4. Assessment data influences teachers’ actions and greater collaboration
Teachers conduct school-based assessment on an ongoing process as reflected in the revised curriculum.
The assessment data informs teachers how well or bad their children learn. Many teachers were observed
to use the assessment data to improve their reading lessons. Others organize remedial classes for those
children who are not performing well in collaboration with the head teachers and parents.
16
SIR 1.2: Head Teacher and Senior Manager CPD and Support Program Strengthened
Education Leadership and Management (ELM) are regarded as key success factors in school
improvement process. In this vein, RTS’ Task (1b) addresses the need to develop the capacity
of education managers at school, zone and district levels to provide instructional leadership
and collect and use school performance data to make decisions that lead to improved learner
performance in early grade reading. This includes decisions about school monitoring and
support by ZEST and DEST.
Administratively, the planned down-scaling of this component at the end of June (with
reduction of the ELM team from five staff members9 to 1) somehow affected the pace of
activity implementation and monitoring for this component. However, the revised scope of
work and additional funding that were recommended by Creative Associates and approved
USAID/Zambia on September 2 will provide adequate resources to fully support the ELM
component up to the end.
For year five, RTS achieved the following under this component:
Delivered a two-day refresher training module for 1,244 head teachers, zone heads
and district staff in February/March 2016 (109 of these are new school
administrators)
Disseminated (through RTS Provincial and DEBS offices) GALA instruments and
classroom observation forms to all RTS-supported schools in time for the data
collection cycles in October 2015 and February 2016.
Received data from the schools in the Zambia School Gateway, produced school,
zone and district Grade 2 Literacy Progress Reports (G2LPRs) and disseminated
them during the refresher training in February/March
Supported the rest of the RTS team with the development of the Centers of
Excellence Coaching Strategy.
Negotiated with service providers to extend the lifespan of the Zambia School
Gateway (ZSG) to the end of the 2016 calendar year.
Implemented a field research survey on effective school leadership in a sample of
326 schools.
Facilitated District Reflection Meetings in all 20 RTS-supported districts, during
which the district G2LPRs were used to develop differentiated support plans for
high- and low-performing zones.
Delivered refresher training for 33 districts, provincial and national MOGE
statisticians on management of the school performance data in the Zambia School
Gateway, in Kabwe in November 2015.
Facilitated awards for 24 head teachers, 19 zone heads and 15 district officials who
have rendered outstanding leadership leading to improvements in learner
performance in early grade reading
Task 1.2.1 Design and develop Head Teacher CPD Modules and Materials
Most of the materials prepared earlier as well as those for the refresher training of head teachers
in February 2016 are being used to develop three modules to complete RTS ELM training
packages for head teachers and other managers. Accordingly, work on induction manuals for
head teachers and zonal head teachers continued. Additional ideas for the contents of the
9 A senior Technical Advisor, three provincial technical coordinators and a fiancé administration officer.
17
manuals was solicited from MOGE counterparts and RTS colleagues during the RTS Exit
Strategy Meeting in June 2016. Ideas were also gathered during monitoring visits to zone
schools and through consultations with the Directorate of Teacher Education and Specialized
Services. The manuals will be submitted to MOGE for approval in October 2016.
In additional RTS, in consultation with the district education officers, developed and
disseminated criteria and indicators for a zone school to become a Center of Excellence. Head
Teachers were orientated on the concept of Centers of Excellence during the training.
Task 1.2.2. Deliver Head Teacher CPD Modules
As noted in the executive summary, re-orientation training meetings for head teachers and
district officials were held in February, 2016. Topics for the re-orientation covered all the
projects components. A total of 1,244 (995 Males and 249 Females) officers were reached. Out
of these 109 (73 males and 36 females) were new school administrators representing 143% of
the annual target. The training followed a cascade model: Provincial Resource Center
Coordinators (PRCCs) were trained in Lusaka, and they then trained District Resource Center
Coordinators (DRCCs) and other DEBS officials at Provincial level. The DRCCs trained zone
head teachers at district level, and the zone heads held two day workshops for head teachers at
the zone centers. RTS provincial teams gave logistical support at provincial, district and zone
levels, and a lot of project training packages and instructional materials across all components
were distributed during these events.
Task 1.2.3. Strengthen School Monitoring and Support
School monitoring and support is an integral component of RTS, especially at this stage of the
project. Both RTS and MOGE staff jointly visited schools and provided “on-the-spot” technical
assistance on different issues on school effectiveness and early grade reading. To enhance
monitoring and improve support to schools, RTS has been encouraging MOGE officials to use
evidence gathered from schools. Using the Group Administered Literacy Assessment (GALA)
whose results are transmitted through ZSG system, RTS has increased interaction between the
district officials and schools. Collection of End of School Year (EoSY) and Beginning of
School Year (BoSY) learner and teacher data was successfully conducted in
October/November 2015 and February/March 2016 respectively. GALA and classroom
observation forms were distributed to all schools and this enabled them to submit data to the
ZSG system on time.
RTS is proud to be able to show how the
percentage of schools that submit reports
using the ZSG have improved over time as
can be seen from Graph 1. It is clear from the
graph that the percentage of learner data that
was captured in October 2014, October 2015
and February 2016 improved from only 62%
in 2014 to over 100% in February 2016.
Please note that there is some duplicate data
remaining to be cleaned from the system, so
the figures for 2016 are slightly over 100%.
The trend in submission is steady over the
three-year period from, 62% to 96% and
100% in 2014, 2015 and 2016 respectively.
Graph 1: Trends in submission of learner performance data 2014-2016
18
Based on evidence gathered from the field during routine monitoring school visits that
confirmed the findings of the RTS midline survey, this improvement is due to the following
factors:
Schools and zones receive reports on an annual basis. Those who have not
submitted all their data receive partially or completely blank reports, which can be
seen by the head teachers and their supervisors. This encourages schools to submit
their data.
The RTS team has worked steadily with district statisticians and zone heads, who
have become more effective in following up on schools that do not submit.
The distribution of the GALA, classroom observations instruments and the reports
is increasingly effective as it spurs discussions between parents and teachers on the
performance of learners.
The schools, zones and districts find the exercise sufficiently worthwhile to make
the effort to submit the data as the findings from the data helps to undertake focused
visits to schools that need support the most.
The value of the data collected can be seen, for example, from the chart below which shows
the percentage of Grade 2 learners who achieved an “Outstanding” level of proficiency at the
beginning (February) and end (November) of 2014 and 2015 and the beginning of 2016, by
province.
Although there is considerable variation between provinces, there is a consistent trend in all
provinces of fewer learners achieving “Outstanding” at the beginning of each year (the yellow,
blue and red bars)
and more doing so at
the end of the year
(the green and black
bars) which is what
one would expect.
Moreover, the Grade
2 cohort of 2015 did
better than the 2014
group, which is also
to be expected given
that 2014 was the
first full year of PLP
implementation in
Grade 1 and
consolidation in Grade 2
(including dissemination of
the PLP Learners’ Books and Teacher’s Guides) took place in 2015. The picture for the
beginning of 2016 (red bar) is more complex, with the 2016 Grade 2 cohort clearly doing better
at the beginning of the year than the 2015 cohort in Northern and Western Provinces,
marginally better in Muchinga and Eastern and slightly worse in Luapula and North Western
provinces. (Data for the end of 2016 will only be available by January).
Graph 2: Percentage of Grade 2 learners achieving “Outstanding level of reading proficiency at different time of the GALA test GALA
48.2 48.8
19
The project and the MOGE can use the chart to stimulate a discussion and learning between
provinces, concerning the reasons for the differences, for example how have Northern and
Western Provinces achieved such significant gains each year, compared to Muchinga, Eastern
and North Western? What caused the slight fallback in the learners’ performance in February
2016 in Luapula and North Western? What best practices could be borrowed from the provinces
that are performing well, compared to those that are achieving less?
MOGE and RTS are currently preparing the GALA instruments to use them during the next
data collection cycle in October and November 2016.
During this project year, the “E-SIMON” coaching program10 was replaced by “Centers of
Excellence” which is a broader concept by which zone heads are assisted by RTS provincial
teams, to become exemplary leaders in implementing and sustaining RTS project interventions.
The zone heads in turn coach staff at other schools to follow the lead given by the zonal schools.
The Centers of Excellence criteria were distributed to all RTS supported schools during the
head teachers’ refresher meetings early this year. All RTS provincial teams provided additional
support to all the zones but identified two schools in each province which were given additional
support. It is expected that the success stories from the two zonal schools per province would
be replicated to other zones. Northern Province provincial team organized one-day Centers of
Excellence coaching meetings at zonal level and have so far provided support to 14 zones.
These meetings were participatory because the team used local staff (practicing head teacher
and early grade teachers) to facilitate coaching sessions.
Task 1.2.4. Promote Exchanges and Learning Among Head Teachers
Since the inception of RTS, it has been part of its vision to recognize and reward head teachers
and zone heads who do outstanding work in supporting learner performance in early grade
reading. As the project began its fifth year,
RTS observed that some head teachers had
done outstanding work over three years of
working with them.
To ensure ownership and transparency,
RTS initiated a nomination process,
through the ZESTs and DESTs, to identify
deserving head teachers and zone head
teachers for recognition as “Leaders in
Literacy”. In June 2016, MOGE Director:
TESS and USAID/Zambia Education
Team Leader signed the certificates of
recognition which were handed over to the
PEOs during the RTS Exit Strategy Meeting at the Intercontinental Hotel in Lusaka. Table 3
captures the number of awards made on that day, by province.
SIR 1.3. School Effectiveness Improvement Process in Place in Schools
School effectiveness improvement process has always been the cornerstone of all RTS
interventions. The project continues to promote coordinated planning at school level. Working
10 Zone heads visit the schools in their zones to coach the head teachers on ELM themes, including how to interpret the data contained in the
school G2LPRs and respond to the weaknesses through the Learner Performance Improvement Plans (LPIPs
Table 3: Number of head teachers awarded with
certificates
Province
Number
of Head
teachers
awarded
Number of
Zonal
Head
teachers
awarded
Total
Western 5 5 10
Luapula 4 4 8
Muchinga 3 3 6
Eastern 6 1 7
North
Western
4 4 8
Northern 2 2 4
Total 24 19 43
20
with partners, there has been steady progress, in collaboration with UNICEF, USAID STEP-
UP and TTL, to harmonize different approaches to school improvement planning. As a result
of coordinated effort among partners, the MOGE Directorate of Planning is now leading the
process, and they are expected to call a stakeholder workshop in October regarding how school
improvement planning should be done in all schools in Zambia.
SIR 1.4. School Effectiveness Improvement is supported by Districts
This SIR (Task) addresses the need to build the capacity of the District Education Support
Teams, and other district staff such as District Planning Officers (DPOs) and Assistant
Statistical Officers (ASOs) to support the schools to effectively implement the PLP.
Task 1.4.1. Build Target District Capacity to Support LPI Planning
At this stage of the project, capacity building is a critical element of RTS’ approach to
implementation as it guarantees sustainability. In this vein, a draft manual for DESTs, entitled
“Differentiated Support for Better Reading in Your District” has been developed in
collaboration with MOGE with final version completion date re-scheduled from September to
end of November 2016 to ensure broader participation of stakeholders and MOGE. The manual
will focus on how districts can use school performance data to prioritize weaker zones for
closer monitoring and support; and builds on the content and lessons learned from the district
level Grade 2 Learner Progress Report (G2LPR) reflection meetings that RTS facilitated in
2015 and 2016. This manual will serve as the step-by-step guide to effective planning and
proper data use by DPOs and statisticians.
In year five third quarter, ELM staff facilitated district level reflection meetings in all RTS
supported districts where they reviewed the district G2LPRs based on data collected through
the ZSG. The expected outcome from the workshops was that DEST should provide
differentiated support to schools. This entails that DEST should increase the amount of support
given to weaker zones and reduce support to zones that are performing better than others. For
example, Mufumbwe DEST categorized their zones into 3 groups: Strong, Medium and Weak.
Based on this classification, they resolved to conduct week long visits to two weakest zones,
including individual schools, and to coach the ZEST; while leaving support of the two strongest
zones in the hands of the ZEST.
An important question that arose during reflection meetings was the question how realistically
DESTs can deliver their own locally-designed support programs to schools given the amount
of time that district officials spend implementing national programs (e.g. examinations,
monitoring re-opening of schools in the first week of the term) and attending
workshops/meetings etc. The amount of time available varies considerably among officials,
and is also unevenly distributed throughout the year. During the discussion, it was suggested
that DRCCs are relatively available most of the time, since they are not involved with
examinations. RTS believes that it is possible for districts to prepare meaningful local
intervention plans provided that they are mindful of their calendars.
Task 1.4.2. Reinforce Target District Capacity to Create and Use Diagnostic Assessment
Tools Including School Report Cards
In the first quarter of year five, RTS held refresher training workshops for district, provincial
and national statisticians in Kabwe, to explore with them the value of the data in the ZSG. The
objective was to remind them about tasks that need to be done and the techniques for doing so
21
for the ZSG to function effectively. During the training, RTS also clarified, with the help of
the Chief Statistician from MOGE Headquarters that working on the ZSG is regarded by
MOGE as part of DPOs and statisticians’ routine work. The benefit of this workshop was felt
immediately because following the meeting, the Assistant Statistical Officers (ASOs) ensured
submission of EoSY and BoSY learner and teacher performance data (See 1.2.3. above) by
high number of schools. The RTS ELM team also continues to support the ASOs informally
by phone, e-mail, Skype and WhatsApp and during face-to-face visits.
Task 1.4.3. Promote Innovation in District-School Partnerships
RTS has been working closely with MOGE over the years to encourage creativity and
innovation among the district leadership. The ZSG and the Extended School In-Service
Monitoring (E-SIMON).
Both of these initiatives were introduced to all RTS districts and officials received them with
varied degrees of interest. The majority of target districts showed a lot more commitment and
passion. As a result, 15 district officials were identified to receive certificates of recognition
for their sterling work in promoting the PLP in their districts. As with the certificates for head
teachers (See Task 1.2.4.), the certificates were signed by MOGE Director: Teacher Education
and Specialized Services (TESS) and the USAID/Zambia Education Team Leader, and were
handed to the DEBS during the RTS Exit Strategy Meeting on 8th June.
Although many district official could have been nominated, 13 of the certificates went to
DRCCS and Assistant DRCCs since these are the officials who have mainly involved in
supporting implementation of PLP in schools. RTS’s analysis of staff involvement in
implementation of national programs such as the PLP reveals that their success relies mostly
on one or two individuals in each district office. This situation adds to the challenge of
coordination and extensive follow ups for quality implementation at ground level.
22
IR2 (Task 2): Performance Assessment Tools and Their Use to Strengthen & Improve
School Effectiveness
In the reporting period, the RTS Learner Assessment Team (LAT) accomplished the following:
Completed development of the SBA Monitoring System and procedure
Developed five posters on Homework, PLDs SBA Scheme, SBA task maps
and SBA Monitoring System
Supported development of scripts for SBA video vignettes
Prepared a document for lessons learned on SBA
Developed a draft framework for the scale up strategy for SBA, PLDs,
Homework and TGM Modules.
Supported MOGE with technical assistance through a consultant – a
Psychometrician who evaluated Grade 1 and Grade 4 Competence tests.
SUMMARY OF RTS/ELM MAIN OUTCOMES
1. Local capacity has enabled ZEST to handle CPD:
RTS demonstrated that zones can play a role in continuing professional development of Head Teachers. Although
MoGE originally established zonal structures to facilitate and support Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
through activities such as GRACE meetings and SIMON visits, the CPD offered at this level targeted teachers, and
there were few opportunities for head teachers to receive training or coaching. RTS has changed this through
implementing a short cascade model for ELM/ILD whereby a) the district team prepares zone heads to deliver ELM
CPD at district level b) zone heads train the head teachers of schools in their zones at the zone center. c) Zone Heads
then visit their colleagues for site-based coaching, which is properly documented.
2. School performance reporting practice led to implementation of targeted strategies for improvement:
The Grade 2 Literacy Progress reports that were disseminated to all project-supported schools, zones and districts in
2015 and 2016 enabled officials to use objective evidence to understand weaknesses in the teaching of literacy, and to
design and implement targeted strategies for improvement.
3. RTS Head Teachers Incentive Mechanism encouraged head teachers to do more with less
RTS developed a process and criteria for recognizing outstanding managers who have successfully made extra efforts
to improve the teaching of the PLP/ Early Grade Reading. This came to fruition earlier in 2016 when 24 Head Teachers,
19 zone heads and 15 district officials received certificates of recognition. What is unique in these awards is their
emphasis on the role of management in improving reading outcomes. The recognition of outstanding teachers excited
other head teachers to do their level best within the resource constrained work environment; to do more with less.
4. Implementation of a full cycles of reflection meetings led to informed decisions at different levels:
RTS has supported PEO and DEBS offices and zones to host reflection cycles where two levels of the system at a time
(e.g. PEO and DEBS; DEST and zones: zones and schools) have met to conduct focused discussions on learner and
teacher performance in Early Grade Literacy based on data generated through head teacher classroom observation and
GALA. The reflection meetings informed decision on how to improve early grade reading.
5. The Zambia School Gateway stimulated communications among schools, zones and districts:
The ZSG has stimulated progress in several ways:
Electronic reporting by schools: The reporting rate has improved from around 30% during the pilot cycle in late
2013 to about 100% in 2016. We believe that this is attributable to the support and feedback that schools, zones
and districts received from the project.
The improved level of support for the reporting process rendered by DEBS Statisticians (ASOs) and zone heads,
is attributable to training workshops and coaching provided by the project team. Demand for data on learner performance by district officials has increased.
23
SIR 2.1: Assessment Policies, Strategies and Procedures to promote Teaching and Learning
Strengthened
Over the past four years, RTS developed strategies and procedures on SBA, PLDs, PLs and
homework guidelines. Some of the procedures have been adopted for national-wide use. For
example, all schools now conduct and document 5th Week and 10th Week assessments.
Information obtained from target provinces indicated that teachers were rightfully conducting
scheduled summative Week 5, Week 10 and End of Term assessments and maintaining results
according to PLs i.e. Below Minimum, Minimum, Desirable and Outstanding and use the
results to initiate discussions on how to improve teaching and learning processes, an impact
that RTS is proud of.
In year five, RTS worked with MOGE to institutionalize assessments and ensure sustainability
via step-by-step SBA Guide. The guide contains procedures on how to generate assessment
data and use it for decision making to improve teaching and learning in schools. The SBA
Monitoring Guide was piloted in three schools in Lusaka and three other schools in Solwezi.
Debriefing workshops were held for 18 participants in Lusaka on 13th June, 2016 and another
set of 16 participants in Solwezi on 15th June, 2016. Altogether 32 participants were involved
including four officials from the Examination Council of Zambia (ECZ), Curriculum
Development Center (CDC), Standards and TESS Directorates, 12 class teachers, 6 School In-
service Coordinators (SICs), 2 Zone In-service Coordinators (ZICs), 6 zonal head teachers, 2
DRCCs, 6 head teachers, and 2 Provincial Resource Center Coordinators (PRCCs).
Development and editing of the SBA Monitoring Guide was led by Creative Subcontractor,
School to School International (STS). The document is now ready for handover to MOGE.
SBA monitoring guide has an important section on procedures to guide on how to effectively
introduce, rollout and sustain SBA in schools.
RTS has also prepared a Lessons Learned document to serve as a guide for project/program
implementers regarding implementation of SBAs in schools.
To further enhance coordination and strengthen assessment procedures, RTS continued to
collaborate with key stakeholders during key events. For example, RTS participated in the ECZ
2016 Performance Review Workshop as well as in the 10th Conference for the Southern Africa
Association for Educational Assessment (SAAEA). RTS Performance Monitoring Advisor
jointly presented a paper with experts from other organizations, such as Research Triangle
Institute (RTI) and ECZ entitled: “Role of Benchmarks and Targets in Monitoring the Quality
of Education – The Case of Grade 2 National Survey –Zambia”. At the same conference, the
RTS Performance Monitoring Adviser also presented his research paper entitled: “An
Investigation into Reading Assessment: Teacher’s Perceptions of Effective Practices at Grade
2 and Grade 3 in Lusaka”. RTS considers participation in national events as an important
avenue to promote project ideas of all RTS project components, which is integral to the
National Reform process.
SIR 2.2: Assessment Instruments (Including EGRA Expanded and Improved)
Developing and expanding assessment instruments have been an on-going exercise for RTS.
In this transitory year, RTS management believes that comprehensive support to MOGE in all
forms is critical. Instructional material development is one way of enshrining sustainability. In
preparation for project transition and scale up, RTS printed and distributed to all the RTS target
districts; 1,500 copies of the Revised SBA Teacher’s Guide, 1,500 copies of the PLD Teacher’s
Guides and 1, 500 copies of the Teacher Group Meeting (TGM) Modules. In addition, 25
24
posters of the PLDs and 25 posters of the Homework Guidelines were printed and distributed
to all RTS supported District Resource Centers. DRCCs have reported that the posters are
useful during orientation workshops as they summarize the key concepts in the PLDs and
Homework Guidelines. Part of the expansion of assessment instruments will be in form of both
instructional and promotional videos. This is equally part of the sustainability plan as videos
will continue to be used by education officers even after the project is closed. Therefore, RTS
is confident that use of PLD and SBA procedures has expanded assessment instruments used
in schools and in districts by officials.
SIR 2.3: Develop
Procedure for
Effectively Using
Assessment Data
Procedures for
reporting and acting
on SBA results by
teachers,
communities,
provinces, districts
and zones were
developed as part of
the tools for the SBA
Monitoring System
Guide (refer to SIR
2.1 above). As also
noted in SIR 2.1
above, teachers are
already using PLs and
PLDs. In the next
reporting period, RTS
will conduct
sensitization
workshops with
teachers, school
managers and district
officials to illustrate
how to use SBA
Monitoring Guide and
the tools contained in
it.
IR3: School-based HIV/AIDS-Mitigating & Equity-Enhancing Student Support and
Services Improved
The main focus of IR3 is to promote interventions that support holistic growth of school
children. The USAID/RTS project considers learner-support to be at the center in the child’s
learning cycle. The project supports the provision of, psychosocial support to leaners through
functional G&C committees and an efficient group of trained AOCs who support the work of
G&C teachers in reaching out to their peer groups with HIV/AIDS prevention messages in
SUMMARY OF RTS MAIN OUTCOMES IN SCHOOL BASED ASSESSMENT
1. School based assessment practices have been institutionalized: RTS has been
instrumental in the introduction of the concept of school-based and its integration into
the National Literacy Framework and the revised curriculum. Project support to SBA
scheme implementation has resulted in regular conduct of daily, weekly, monthly and
end of term assessments in all schools in the country. Use of assessment data by
teachers and head teachers significantly increased. The Deputy Head Teacher a
primary school has the following to say: One Deputy: “Previously assessment was
done monthly and termly but now I have learned that in literacy, it is supposed to be
conducted daily, weekly, monthly and finally end of term to continuously monitor
pupils’ reading progressions and use the data for improvement.”
2. The introduction of the four Proficiency Levels (PLs) and Performance level
Descriptors (PLDs) helped teachers to better understand their students: With the
introduction of the four-level PLs teachers are able to use the same language in
interpreting learner performance in terms of below minimum, minimum, desirable
and outstanding and organize a differentiated support system to assist each category.
The Head teacher of a school attests to this as follows: “As a teacher, it (Performance
Level Descriptors) help me to know where the learners are. This way I can help all
(pupils) better, even those needing remedial work.”
3. In School Based Assessment, RTS influenced the education system nationwide:
a. Integration of assessment and teaching: The RTS SBA Scheme encourages
the use of formative assessment which fosters teachers’ integration of daily and
weekly assessment in their teaching has been integrated into the NLF and the
revised curriculum for nationwide use.
b. The RTS supported SBA scheme and guidelines has been integrated into the
MOGE’s Official Standards and Evaluations Guidelines published in 2015.
c. Administration of Homework Policy Guidelines developed by RTS
incorporated into MOGE’s Official Standards and Evaluations Guidelines
published in 2015. Prior to RTS, homework was being conducted across the
country, though each school had its own guidelines and procedures for
administering homework. In order to ensure the application of homework best
practices in all schools, RTS in collaboration with MOGE developed
standardized guidelines for the implementation of homework, including
standards for frequency, length of assignments, scoring, and how to use results.
25
focus group discussions. Through School Community Partnership Committees (SCPCs),
parents participate in enhancing psychosocial support to their children. Parents and other
members of the community take part in implementation of Learner Performance Improvement
Plans (LPIP) at school level.
In this year, the RTS Learner Support and Services Team (LSST) accomplished the following:
Organized meetings and facilitated discussions on final steps for Communication
Strategy on Teenage Pregnancy
Supported school-based provision of G&C through mentorship and monitoring visits.
Provided on-going support towards initiatives such as Agents of Change (AoC) in
schools.
Monitored implementation of Learner Performance Improvement Plans (LPIPs)
Administered school grants.
Conducted refresher meetings of SCPCs on guidelines for effective community
participation.
SIR 3.1: School Health Policies and Framework Harmonized
Task 3.1.2 School Health Management Framework Harmonized
There is continuous project effort towards a harmonized school health management framework.
RTS supported the dissemination of the information about the School Health Management
Framework developed in 2015 to various actors in the RTS target districts during this reporting
period. RTS will continue to advocate for full implementation of the framework for the benefit
of learners. All schools are monitored within the context of the framework.
SIR 3.2. School Guidance and Counseling System Operationalized
Provide Technical Assistance in Finalizing a Communication Strategy on Teenage Pregnancy
During this year, USAID/RTS continued supporting MOGE in the finalization and adoption
process of the Communication Strategy on Teenage Pregnancy. The strategy came as a result
of a study conducted by the RTS project on causes of teenage pregnancy11. The study
highlighted that lack of clear communication channels stifles support mechanisms to reduce
teenage pregnancy and provision of support when the girls got pregnant in an unfortunate
situation. The Strategy is near final. RTS has arranged for a final meeting with MOGE and
other stakeholders to run from the 25-27 October, 2016. The aim is to finalize the document
and have it endorsed by MOGE officials. This document will help schools to address issues
surrounding teenage pregnancy in schools especially those located rural areas where support is
limited.
Support School-based Provision of G&C Services through Mentorship and Monitoring Visits
The RTS project continuously engaged G&C teachers in order to ensure that they provide
services that promote the social, educational, personal and career development of learners. One
of the strategies employed has been the coaching and mentoring of G&C teachers in our target
11 Formative Assessment of Teenage Pregnancies Primary Schools, Read to Succeed Project, 2015, Zambia Lusaka
26
schools. The project also works through G&C committees. These committees comprise of the
head teacher, G&C teacher, PTA/SCPC member, 2 teachers (male and female) and 2 learners
(male and female). This committee is responsible for the planning of G&C activities in the
school. This approach has helped to operationalize G&C in schools.
Throughout year five, RTS and MOGE officials stepped up field monitoring and on-the-spot
coaching. This is because schools authorities and officials need to be well prepared for self-
sustenance beyond the project life cycle. Through monitoring and support visits, G&C teachers
were reached out to and were mentored in improved methodologies of providing psychosocial
support to learners, including effective support to AoCs before, during and after they conduct
meetings with fellow learners. This helped teachers to be more informed of their
responsibilities regarding the provision of G&C services in schools.
Support Initiatives such as Agents of Change
RTS continued to support the
AoC initiative as peer to peer
interaction has been seen to be an
effective mechanism to reach out
to learners with messages and
behavioral change activities. To
sustain the initiative, new AoCs
are trained and take over from
those who graduate and leave the
school. In year five AoCs-
disseminated key HIV/AIDS
prevention messages were to
fellow learners at regular
monthly small group meetings.
Influenced by what has been
happening in RTS supported
primary schools, some secondary schools introduced AoC activities. As a result of these
activities, some secondary schools in Muchinga Province such as Isoka Boys, Chinsali Girls
and Mpika Boys have adopted the use of AOCs as a mode for peer counseling and information
sharing amongst learners. This has demonstrated the influence of AoC initiative and the
practice beyond primary schools.
Over the reporting period, AoCs reached out to a total of 30,411 (15336 males 15,075 females)
people with HIV/AIDS preventive messages against an annual target of 21,656, representing
140% annual performance. See Table 4 for details.
Figure 6: Mabumbu Primary School Agents of Change during some performances in
Western Province of Zambia
27
Table 4: People reached with HIV/AIDS preventive messages in year five
Province District
Age Category
Grand Total 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-49 50+
M F T M F T M F T M F T M F T M F T
Eastern
Chipata 227 270 497 248 206 454 5 5 10 10 9 19 0 0 0 490 490 980
Lundazi 826 890 1,716 593 287 880 6 20 26 35 29 64 18 6 24 1,478 1,232 2,710
Sub-total 1,053 1,160 2,213 841 493 1,334 11 25 36 45 38 83 18 6 24 1,968 1,722 3,690
Luapula
Mansa 980 1449 2,429 788 619 1,407 31 5 36 187 171 358 45 62 107 2,031 2,306 4,337
Mwense 680 577 1,257 352 260 612 29 33 62 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,061 870 1,931
Sub-total 1,660 2,026 3,686 1,140 879 2,019 60 38 98 187 171 358 45 62 107 3,092 3,176 6,268
Muchinga
Chinsali 1,261 1,279 2,540 681 441 1,122 82 65 147 87 71 158 66 26 92 2,177 1,882 4,059
Isoka 1,682 1,796 3,478 631 528 1,159 55 36 91 88 81 169 40 41 81 2,496 2,482 4,978
Sub-total 2,943 3,075 6,018 1,312 969 2,281 137 101 238 175 152 327 106 67 173 4,673 4,364 9,037
Northern
Mporokoso 537 543 1,080 444 442 886 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 982 986 1,968
Mungwi 409 366 775 85 349 434 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 494 715 1,209
Sub-total 946 909 1,855 529 791 1,320 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,476 1,701 3177
Northwestern
Mufumbwe 138 297 435 117 229 346 295 247 542 168 42 210 120 10 130 838 825 1,663
Solwezi 253 400 653 212 193 405 182 167 349 250 141 391 107 98 205 1,004 999 2,003
Sub-total 391 697 1,088 329 422 751 477 414 891 418 183 601 227 108 335 1,842 1,824 3,666
Western
Mongu 854 1,138 1,992 965 544 1,509 4 4 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,823 1,686 3,509
Sesheke 177 359 536 276 237 513 9 6 15 0 0 0 0 0 462 602 1,064
Sub-total 1,031 1,497 2,528 1,241 781 2,022 13 10 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 2,285 2.288 4,573
Total 8,024 9,364 17,388 5,392 4,335 9,727 699 589 1,288 825 544 1,369 396 243 639 15,336 15,075 30,411
28
SIR 3.3: School-Community Partnerships to Support School Effectiveness and Students Strengthened
Community involvement is a crucial factor in ensuring school effectiveness. Besides participating in
school construction projects, RTS mobilized community members through SCPCs to engage in
learners’ academic processes.
Community members are now
more active in actual learning of
their children. For example, they
inspect teacher attendance, and
sometimes they sit in classrooms
to observe lessons. There are
various initiatives being
encouraged by RTS. Some
communities support school
feeding initiatives while others
participate in sensitization
meetings and construction of
reading shelters popularly known
as reading trees (Figure 7) and
others participate in writing short
stories.
Monitor and support LPIPs Implementation
The LPIP is an essential tool as far
as all initiatives pertaining to the
improvement of learner
performance are concerned. As
such, its implementation allows for
an effective process of timely
monitoring of progress. If need
arises, it allows for the incorporation
of measures that will ultimately
enhance learner performance and
also mitigate on the prevailing
challenges. In North Western
province the LPIP was identified to
be an effective and practical tool to
use to improve learner performance
consequently, the Provincial Education Officer (PEO) for North Western Province has rolled out the
formulation of LPIPS to all Primary and Secondary Schools in the Province. The LPIPs have been
linked to District strategic Plans. From the on spot checks, some schools have demonstrated that they
are implementing their action plans. One example is a strategies outline as displayed on the picture
above from Matushi Primary School in Mufumbwe District.
Administer School Community Partnerships Grants
All schools in RTS target provinces received the second tier of grants. The zonal schools received two
types of grants: one grant for making the zonal school a Center of Excellence through in-house capacity
building, and the other grant was given for training of new AOCs as well as conducting RWCs. A total
of $362,175 was disbursed by RTS to all target districts during the reporting period. This brings the
total grant amount disbursed over the Life of the Project to $692,533. All schools conducted the
Figure 7: A reading shelter in one of the schools in Mungwi District of Northern
Province
Figure 8: Strategies set by Matushi Primary to improve learner performance
29
activities as planned at school and zone levels. The DEBS office monitored activities to ensure that
schools implemented the grants according to their approved action plans and funds were used properly.
The district officials also organized and attended district level RWCs which took part in the literacy
month of September.
Sensitize SCPCs on Policy Guidelines and Document Best Practices
All newly established SCPCs in 41 newly
upgraded community schools were
sensitized on importance of community
participation. They all developed action
plans that guided their implementation. A
total number of 3,492 (2,295 male and
1,197 female) members of the community
were sensitized. Sensitization meetings
were held and addressed the most critical
issues that affect learner performance in
schools and communities ranging from
absenteeism, HIV/AIDS mitigation, early
pregnancy, child abuse, early marriage and
homework policy to Re-entry Policy.
SCPCs are having an impact in schools. For
example, in North Western Province some
schools have been able to address the
problem of teenage pregnancy and early
marriages through community participation
and local policies. A Primary in Kalumbila
District reduced the pregnancy rate from
5% in 2014 to 1.2% in 2016. Equally,
another Primary School in Mufumbwe
District created strong linkages with
communities. The village headman
provided land for the cultivation of sweet
potatoes and groundnuts for the school
feeding program. This is an initiative which
has contributed to a reduction in
absenteeism. In Muchinga Province, the
efforts of the SCPCs in ten schools recorded
the following achievements: (a) Traditional
leaders (chiefs and headmen) have used
their influence to curb early pregnancies,
absenteeism, and gender violence, and
promoted reading (b) SCPCs have been responsible for encouraging income generation and health and
nutrition through their involvement in school IGAs, (c) Parents have continued to support the schools
with teaching and learning materials, especially through folk stories narration, and (d) SCPCs have
continued to provide support to schools in the absence of the Parents Teachers Associations PTAs).
SUMMARY RTS OUTCOMES IN IMPROVING
LEARNER SUPPORT AND SERVCIES
1. Community and parental support has increased
learner support services in target schools
The introduction of the School Community Partnerships
Committees (SCPCs) in all the target schools led to
increased participation of communities in school affairs.
Communities were involved in the construction of reading
shelters, reading trees, stores for school feeding programs,
and contributed local stories. Parents and communities
have also drawn local policies to reduce absenteeism, early
marriages, teen pregnancies and gender based violence this
resourcefulness has immensely contributed towards
improving of the reading levels in school as evidenced
during the mid-term study report.
2. Agent of Change has influenced the wellbeing of their
peer groups positively
Through their monthly meetings, AoCs reached out to a
huge number of pupils and influenced their lives. As the
result, absenteeism, early marriage and teenage
pregnancies have reduced while re-entry has increased in
target schools.
3. Development and adoption of policy guidelines and
frameworks resulted in operationalization of school
Guidance and Counseling
RTS in collaboration with MOGE and other stakeholders
developed a number of policy guidelines including
Guidelines for Administration of Guidance and
Counseling, draft five year G&C strategy (first draft 2013
revised draft 2016), School Health Management
Framework, boosted the operation of G&C in schools.
Following the introduction of these policy guidelines,
G&C positions have been formalized at school and district
levels by the government. Schools have now functional
guidance and counseling services which has been
fundamental in supporting learners in the area of
HIV/AIDS prevention and in the development of other
critical life skills.
30
IR4: Increased Engagement of Higher Education Institutions in Research to Enhance Evidence-
based Decision Making
The purpose of IR4 is to: (a) strengthen the collaboration between the higher education institutions of
Zambia and MOGE so that education research addresses priority issues of the MOGE; (b) increase the
capacity of the Higher Education Institutions to conduct research studies that focus on reading and
meet high standards; and (c) build university students’ practical research capacity through participation
in the RTS Internship Program.
SIR 4.1: Strengthen National Research Agenda
From the project beginning, RTS promoted the culture of evidence-based decision making among
players in the education sector. Over the years, RTS continued to invest time and resources in research.
This year, two studies were completed. The two are: (a) The Re-Entry Policy and Girls Education in
Zambia – A Case of Read to Succeed Learner Support Services and (b) The Institutional Impact of the
Research Collaboration between the MOGE and Zambian Higher Education Institutions. The study
assessed RTS’ contribution towards girls’ education where results showed that RTS’s learner support
services model is increasing girls’ opportunities for education in benefiting schools. The second study
focused on fleshing out lessons learned with respect to the way RTS worked with MOGE and higher
education institutions on research activities. The study highlighted leadership strategies, meeting
frequencies, prioritization, structural constraints, and lack of initial funding all affected the outcomes
of collaboration efforts. The final version has been submitted to USAID and findings will be shared
once they are approved by USAID.
In July 2016, RTS designed two more research studies; (a) A Study of Differentiated Early Grade
Reading Assessment (EGRA) Administration Approaches and (b) A Qualitative Study of the
Implementation of RTS-supported Primary Literacy Program (PLP) interventions in Primary Schools
in Zambia. The former aims to test whether different EGRA administration approaches affect learner
performance during EGRA tests. The latter will test the fidelity of implementation or explore the extent
to which RTS supported interventions were implemented in the classroom. Data collection for the first
study had commenced at reporting time while training for the other one is scheduled for the last week
of October with data collection earmarked for first week of November 2016.
SIR 4.2: University and College Research Strengthened
RTS, in collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh, conducted a research study to document the
institutional impact of the research collaboration between the MOGE and Zambian higher education
institutions (ZHEIs). IT was fund that the MOGE does not have sufficient allocation of funds for
research and dedicated staff to coordinate the research activities. It has also become apparent that
institution of higher learning are also in the same situation as the MOGE. Based on the findings, the
study recommend further actions to enhance research collaboration between MOGE and ZHEIs. The
study recommended that both MOGE and MOHE should play leading roles in guiding the future
collaboration of research development nationwide. Commitment of substantial and sustainable
resources would be required and that civil society organizations and cooperating partners would
continue to play an important role in this process, with the MOGE driving the process.
There was on-going RTS support during this period of reporting, to three colleges of education (COEs).
Both students and lecturers frequently visited RTS field offices to seek guidance on research topics
related to literacy. For example, two students sought guidance from RTS office in Chipata, one lecturer
31
received technical guidance on how to frame his topic and one student was helped with procedures on
how to analyze data using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) computer software. They
also reached out to the project for technical consultation for study designs, data analysis and
presentation of results. RTS created room for attachments or internship opportunities for students from
COEs. Equally, some lecturers that enrolled into university post graduate programs also sought help
from RTS research team with regards to their study designs and data analysis procedures. This is
because RTS believes that working with lecturers and students from COEs and universities helps to
link academic work to practical problems which affect teaching and learning, especially in reading.
SIR 4.3: Enhance Operations of the RTS Internship Program
The RTS internship program continued to develop and mentor future researchers and teaching
professionals in the education sector. This year, eight more interns had an opportunity to work with
RTS to conduct research on topics related to literacy. To recruit interns, RTS worked with UNZA and
COEs in target provinces. Working with students helped RTS discover new information about its
interventions. For example, one of the students whose topic focused on parental involvement in
children’s learning shared her findings with RTS. Results showed that many teachers and head teachers
fail to effectively engage with parents because they lack the necessary skills as the teacher training
syllabus for pre-service training does not cover this component. This disconnect between the
curriculum and actual practice is one issue that RTS has shared with MOGE.
To get student perceptions about benefits of internships, RTS always conducts exit interviews when
students complete their internships and many say they appreciate the opportunity given to them to
work with RTS in the office or to conduct research. In year five, the following are some of the captions
about student experiences at RTS: One said, “I am now conversant with working with an online data
entry system”, another one said: “there is a lot of team work”, and yet another said, “I am now
exposed to office setup and I feel I can run/coordinate an office with little supervision”.
Over the years, the internship program developed and mentored a cumulative total of 51 future
researchers and teaching professionals that are expected to contribute to improvement of quality of
education in Zambia. The Project reached 102% of the LOP target of 50.
Project Monitoring and Evaluation
Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) is at the center of RTS Project’s performance management. The
M&E system collects, collates, analyzes and churns out reports with relevant information for project
implementation tracking and for strategic project decisions.
a. M & E System Implementation
Data Quality Assessment (DQA)
Conduct Quarterly Systematic DQA: DQAs are on-going as the M&E team consistently interrogates
all information that comes from provinces. Before reporting, all data is cross-checked against trends
of each province and any spikes are queried until realistic explanations are given. Field visits to
provinces are continuing and on-the spot data quality verification in respective provincial offices has
shown that all provincial staff pay critical attention to the way data is generated, summarized, analyzed,
stored and reported and utilized.
32
Recent DQA trips to provinces indicated data
meets all validity, reliability and integrity
elements. Data files are neatly kept and well
labelled in provincial offices.
Strengthen M&E Practice in MOGE
Over the years, RTS M&E teams, at both province
and national levels, worked and continue to work
closely with MOGE officials on effective data
management and use. In collaboration with MOGE
colleagues from planning and statistics units, RTS
advocated for integration of some project M&E
tools to collect additional data that MOGE is not
currently collecting such as early grade reading
performance data, early marriages and gender based violence cases. In principle, the MOGE has agreed
to update the data collection templates and start collecting the relevant data. We expect the data will
be part of the annual EMIS report for 2017.
Part of the project effort is to make sure that schools
and MOGE officials create demand for data and
information use. In this vein, all head teachers were
oriented on the instruments used by RTS to collect
data and how to undertake simple analyses.
Provincial Statisticians, DPOs and DEBS were
inducted in data generation, management and use.
RTS continued to stress the practice of transforming
zonal schools to ‘data hubs’. This component is part
of the Centers of Excellence strategy aimed at
making zonal schools distinctive in all departments
so that other schools in the zone can learn and adapt
relevant good practices. Field visits show that many
zonal schools have improved data processing and
use. They also provide coaching to other schools on
data management. See picture above for details.
Routine Data Analysis, Progress Review & Reporting:
The M&E team ensures that all progress reports are prepared as required: Quarterly, Semi-annual and
Annual reports. The reports go through an elaborate channel of quality assurance; starting with
Provincial Team Leaders, then to Technical Leads in Lusaka before consolidation by M&E Director
in Lusaka who later submits to the Chief of Party. Further editing and formatting are done by the RTS’
Communication and Knowledge Management Specialist with additional input from Creative
Associates Home office in Washington before the report is submitted to USAID. All progress reports,
research reports and project manuals have been completed, approved and have been uploaded to the
USAID Development Experience Clearing house (DEC). It is important to note that upon preparation
and review of all reports, critical issues are analyzed and follow up is made with the relevant officials
for their action.
b. School Effectiveness Assessments (Preparation for Endline Survey)
Survey Implementation and Management
Figure 9: Mr. Paul Chipita a senior teacher at Sesheke Primary School
receiving a token of appreciation from Dr. Theresa Wambui Gathenya, Education Advisor USAID. Looking on are Mwewa Katongo, Project
Design, Monitoring Specialist & Mission Environment Officer, USAID
and Towela Kolya a class teacher from Sesheke Primary School, on the
right and left respectively.
Figure 10: Some schools have adopted RTS M&E coaching
techniques as shown in this poster from a school in Northern
Province
33
Preparations for the Endline survey are at an advanced stage. Working closely with Time to Learn
(TTL), RTS and TTL have developed reading fluency passages in 7 official local languages spoken in
Zambia at the request of ECZ as the national EGRA will cover all languages. The passages applicable
to RTS and TTL were piloted to determine how similar or dissimilar they are to the 2012 passage. For
RTS, a psychometrician was hired to conduct the analysis and produced a report. The report indicated
that overall, passages were similar even though some subtasks had considerable differences. In this
case, comparative ratios were provided. Ratios will be used to calculate values comparable to the 2012
EGRA.
For other logistics, RTS is ready to conduct the Endline survey as key preparatory activities have been
put in place. For example, all computer tablets are ready and Information Technology (IT) Officer has
already installed relevant software. Assessors’ training workshop will take place in the first week of
October (3-6) 2016. The IT technician from Creative Home office has already programmed all data
collection forms in software called Tangerine. The same programmer will come to train selected
assessors. Survey assessors were recruited and are all ready to attend training. Other logistics such as
vehicle hire were being done at the time of reporting. Data collection will start on 10th October and
will be completed in the first week of November 2016.
c. Longitudinal Studies (LS)
RTS conducted the Longitudinal Study since 2013, where performance of a small group of learners
was tracked from Grade 1 (2013) to Grade 3 (2015). The study happened in three districts (Chipata,
Mungwi and Solwezi) with 5 schools in each district consisting of 50 learners.
The 2015 Longitudinal Study Analytical Report has been completed. Analytical reports for 2013 and
2014 performance were produced in early 2014 and 2015 respectively and these reports have been
shared with MOGE and other partners. The LS is an internal study designed and managed by the RTS
M&E team.
The LS has provided additional information about learner performance in its target provinces. Some
of the key observations were that distance to the school from DEBS office has no statistically
significant bearing on academic performance of leaners. This means that learners can perform
according to expectations regardless of where a school is located. The results pointed out that the
greatest influencer of learner performance is school leadership.
Results further showed that if the teacher administering end of term test is different from the usual
class teacher, there is a higher chance that some learners won’t perform well in the test because they
are not used to the new teacher. The RTS Longitudinal Study conducted in 2014 and 2014 indicated
also that student get scared to take the test with confidence when new teachers administer tests
including when a teacher is moved to another class before the term ends affect learner performance in
their end of term exams.
Key recommendations included training head teachers in leadership skills, minimizing teacher
transfers during the term and ensuring the class teachers actually administer tests and preparing
learners for eventual change.
34
Public Private Partnerships (PPP)
Over the years, RTS successfully garnered support from the private partners to sponsor different
initiatives under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) component. Reading Tools in a Box (RTBs)12 is
the most popular among five PPP initiatives, attracting over $300,000 this far. RTBs contain assorted
reading and playing materials such as story books, dictionaries, and assorted markers and in some
cases, soccer balls and financial fitness reading materials.
All materials in RTBs have been approved by the MOGE and are suitable for the early grades. The
other four initiatives are: (i) Reading & Writing Competitions; (ii) Outstanding Teachers’ & Head
Teachers’ Awards; (iii) Information & Technology Support for Reading Improvement; as well as (iv)
School Block Grants & Community Development activities that are yet to be fully effected.
All schools in RTS target provinces have received at least one RTB. The provincial RTS teams work
closely with DEBS and zonal heads to monitor and track effective use of RTBs in all schools through
routine school visits and monitoring.
In year five, the USAID Zambia Mission Director, Dr. Michael Yates visited the Eastern Province for
the official hand over of RTBs. The event took place on Tuesday, 26th January 2016 at Gondar Primary
School in Chipata District and was also attended by the Monsanto Fund Regional Director, Mr. Donald
Mavindidze; the Acting Provincial Education Officer, Mrs. Pimpa Mutolo and Chipata DEBS Mr.
Herbert Mwiinga. The RTS team was led by the Chief of Party, Dr. Tassew Zewdie.
The USAID Mission Director and Monsanto Fund Regional Director jointly handed over one hundred
and sixty (160) RTBs to Eastern Province MOGE officials from the two hundred seventy five boxes
sponsored by Monsanto Fund. The 160 RTBs were made up of 120 directly funded by Monsanto Fund,
and the other forty (40) being sponsored by Maiden Publishing House through their Corporate Social
Responsibility worth 15% of the total cost of the Monsanto Fund’s sponsorship. Picture below gives
pictorial highlights of the handover ceremony.
In his remark, Dr. Yates emphasized the importance of the private sector to support education sector.
He applauded efforts of Monsanto Fund for the sponsorship and called on other private organizations
to be involved in issues of education especially early education as it forms a strong foundation.
12 The RTB concept aims to provide schools with low cost reading materials that can help learners improve their reading skills and subsequently improve
their fluency and comprehension. Based on MOGE recommendations, reading materials are produced in children’s native languages with emphasis on
life skills, including cross-cutting issues like HIV/AIDS, gender and the environment.
Figure 11: USAID Mission Director being welcomed by the School Head Teacher at Gondar Primary School, Mrs. Zulu. Curtseying in the background is Mr. Chando Mapoma, USAID Zambia Senior DOC Specialist. On the right, Monsanto Regional Director, Mr. Donald Mavindidze speaking during
the handover of RTBs. Looking on are the Acting PEO, Mrs. Pimpa Mutolo and the USAID/Zambia Mission Director, Dr. Michael Yates.
35
Key Activities for the period October – December 2016
Teacher Effectiveness
Finalize Facilitation Manual and teachers ‘Handouts to include contents for grades 2, 3 & 4
Monitor and support Centers of Excellence
Review teacher written stories for sample printing
Making of video vignettes for instructional and promotional purposes
Provide support to target provinces to orient non-RTS districts on RTS interventions
Education Leadership and Management
Completion of manuals for Head Teachers, Zone Head Teachers and DESTs
Support Centers of Excellence coaching in 2 high-performing zonal schools per province.
Implementation of the EoSY 2016 GALA
Write head teacher study report
Provide support to target provinces to orient non-RTS districts on RTS interventions
Write end of project report
Assessment
Finalize and produce SBA monitoring guides and tools
Printing and distribution of 1,300 Posters for PLDs, Homework, SBA Scheme and SBA Monitoring
System
Ongoing support to teachers
Provide support to target provinces to orient non-RTS districts on RTS interventions
HIV/AIDS Mitigation
Work with MOGE counterparts and finalize the Teenage Pregnancy Communication Strategy
(Deliverable)
Provide on-going support to G&C teachers and AoCs
Provide support to target provinces to orient non-RTS districts on RTS interventions
Provide technical assistance RTS provincial teams to implement Centers of Excellence
Community Mobilization
Continued sensitization meetings.
Discuss sustainability plan with districts
Research and M&E
Conduct Endline survey and start data analysis and cleaning
Write research report for the Differentiated EGRA Study
Conduct research on Fidelity of Implementation of RTS support interventions
Write end of project report
Project Closeout
The project closeout events will start with high level discussion with MOGE on sustainability and
scale up plan end of October or early November 2016
RTS will take a key role in the organization and implementation of research symposium by MOGE in
November 2016
Discussion at national level will be followed by dialogue at provincial level during the RTS
orientation workshop to non-RTS districts end of November 2016
Public Private Partnership Workshop is rescheduled for the second week of December, 2016
Culmination events at provincial national levels are all rescheduled in January 2017.
36
Annexes
Annex I: Activity Table
Read To Succeed Y5 Matrix (Oct 1 2015– Sept. 30, 2016)
Task (Activity
Cluster)
Activities/outputs
planned for
October 2015 –
September 2016
Outputs achieved during Year5
Oct 1– Sept. 2016
Comment/notes
/feedback
Activities/outputs
planned
for Oct – Dec 2016
IR1 (Task 1): Decentralized education management practices to improve teacher accountability and sustain learner
performance modeled
SIR1.1: (Task 1a) Teacher effectiveness CPD and support program improved
Task 1.1.1
Design CPD
training manuals
and learning
materials to
enhance reading
Activity 1: Support
MOGE to develop
teaching materials at
national level as
requested
Supported MOGE to develop and
finalize Grade 3 and 4 Teachers’ Guides
and Learners’ Books for literacy in
English
Participated in the review of the
National Literacy Framework
The revised NLF
work will incorporate
transition from L1 to
L2 and Special
Education
The teacher guides
and learner books for
Grade 3 English
language are ready
for distribution to
schools.
Follow up the
distribution of grade 3
and 4 materials.
Activity 2: Advise
MOGE TE unit on
use of School Based
Coaching Handbook
Finalized, printed and distributed
1,500 copies to RTS target schools.
Revised the document for transition
from L1 to L2 – Teacher’s Manual
& School Based Coaching
Handbook
PTL made follow ups
on use of the materials
distributed
Elaborated purpose of
document, relationship
with TGs & LBs for G.
3 & 4, English sounds
found in Zambian
languages
Finalize Facilitation
Manual and
teachers’ handouts to
include grade 2,3 &
4 and produce for
delivery to districts
and zone schools
Activity 3: Provide
technical advice to
districts in writing
short Stories to
support early grade
reading
Provided guidelines for writing
short stories by teachers for
Reading and Writing competitions.
Made follow ups to ZEPH on the
printing of 11 stories
Three best stories collected by
provinces during RWCs.
Winning short stories at
provincial level to be
collected by RTS on
behalf of MOGE Sample winning stories
printed and shared with
MOGE
Activity 4: Support
use of ICT materials
as teaching and
learning tools for
reading in early
grades
Written video scripts for video vignettes
for teachers effectiveness for
instructional and promotional purposes.
Collaborated with CAPOLSA on
GG pilot in Katete
Helped ACR Makhalidwe Athu to
select, edit and level stories in ICT
format for printing
Shared the video scripts
with Consultant
Production of video for
instructional and
promotion purposes
Task 1.1. 2
Deliver CPD
training
Activity 1:
Orientation of
grades 1- 4 new
teachers in literacy
1,829 (885males, & 944 females)
new teachers trained in PLP
In-house, school-
based training model
was used to train new
teachers.
Continue to
encourage schools to
orient new teachers
in PLP
Activity 2:
Strengthening
school based
mentoring and
RTS delivered the school-based
coaching and Teacher group
Meeting modules handbook
developed by RTS to target schools
monitored their use.
Head teachers and
senior teachers started
to use the RTs
martials to improve
Assist the PEOs to
scale up the practice
to non-RTS districts
37
Task (Activity
Cluster)
Activities/outputs
planned for
October 2015 –
September 2016
Outputs achieved during Year5
Oct 1– Sept. 2016
Comment/notes
/feedback
Activities/outputs
planned
for Oct – Dec 2016
coaching
mechanisms
school-based
coaching.
Activity 3: Promote
writing of short
stories by teachers
to support early
grade reading
Schools & Zones prepared and
conducted RWCs during the literacy
month
Winning learners and
teachers identified
during the literacy
month of September
Stories identified
will be reviewed and
sample stories
printed and shared
with MOGE
Task 1.1.3
Motivate
professional
teacher behavior
and strengthen
accountability for
results
Activity 1 :
Reinforce individual
performance
improvement plans
worked with ZEST to support
teachers in preparation of additional
activities to consolidate reading
skills of learners
Additional lesson
plans kept in
teachers’ files and
checked by Head
teachers
Monitor and support
selected zone
schools as Centers of
Excellence
Activity 2: Create
demand for teacher
accountability
Ongoing support provided to
teachers to base their revision and
remedial teaching on assessment
results
Record keeping of
records in schools on
learner performance
in reading has
improved
Continue monitoring
visits and support
Activity 3: Engage
communities to
support enhanced
reading in schools
Community members attended
RWCs.
PTAs involved in the
planning of Reading
and Writing
competitions by
making contributions
Encourage
communities to share
stories, riddles &
poems with learners
at school
SIR1.2: Head Teacher and Senior Manager CPD and support program strengthened
Task1.2.1: Design
head teacher
modules &
materials
Activity 1: Finalize
induction package
for Head Teachers,
incorporating SBA
Monitoring
Framework and
school planning
Developed (in collaboration with all
other components) materials for
Refresher training of HTs in Q2.
Manual for HTs on how to support EG
literacy currently under development.
Development of HT
manual elaborated in
revised SOW approved
by client in early
September.
Finalization of HT
training manual on
supporting literacy,
which will incorporate
and extend previously
existing materials.
Activity 2:
Develop Manual for
Zone Heads
Research for ZHT manual, on how to
support LPI in Literacy at zone level is
under way.
Consultations with
TESS have been
initiated. Finalization of
manual is covered in
revised SOW approved
by client in early
September.
Finalization of ZHT
manual.
Task 1.2.2:
Deliver Head
teacher CPD
modules
Activity 1: District-
based trainings for
zone heads to
disseminate
Induction module
and ZHTs manual
Zone heads were trained in
February 2016, at district level.
Training was for two days and
covered all components of RTS.
Plans were slightly
altered to allow for
training on all
components of
project.
Support target
provinces to scale up
RTs interventions to
new districts
Activity 2: Zonal
meetings of head
teachers to
disseminate
G2LPRs, work on
LPIPs
Two-day trainings at zone level
followed directly after Activity
1.2.2.1.
ZHTs facilitated
training of head
teachers at zonal
level.
Support target
provinces to scale up
RTs interventions to
new districts.
38
Task (Activity
Cluster)
Activities/outputs
planned for
October 2015 –
September 2016
Outputs achieved during Year5
Oct 1– Sept. 2016
Comment/notes
/feedback
Activities/outputs
planned
for Oct – Dec 2016
Task 1.2.3.
Strengthen School
Monitoring and
Support
Activity 1:
Disseminate new
GALA stimulus
sheets and
classroom
observation
instruments
in time for G2
learner sampling
This was done at EoSY (October 2015)
and BoSY (February 2016).
Completed as planned. Dissemination of
GALA for EoSY 2016
sampling in October.
Activity 2: Head
teachers sample
Grade 2 learners’
reading and report
using Zambia
School Gateway
This was done at EoSY (October 2015)
and BoSY (February 2016).
Completed as planned. Next (final) cycle is
planned for October
2016
Activity 3: HTs
observe Grade 2
teachers teaching
reading and report
to ZSG
This was done at EoSY (October 2015)
and BoSY (February 2016).
Completed as planned.
A final EoSY GALA
administration and
classroom observation
will take place in
October/November
2016.
Activity 4: Produce
and disseminate
EoSY G2LPRs
This was done during the refresher
training of Head Teachers in
February.
Completed as
planned.
Next G2LPRs will
be available in
December, subject to
discussion with
MOGE
Activity 5:
ZESTs perform E-
SIMON visits to
coach head teachers
E-SIMON was replaced by “Centers
of Excellence” coaching focused on
zonal schools. However, the ZEST
continues to visit schools as part of
normal SIMON routine.
Centers of Excellence
is a sustainability
strategy targeting
selected zonal
schools.
Centers of
Excellence coaching
will continue until
the end of the 2016
school year.
Activity 6: Continue
to engage MOGE
and other
stakeholders to find
ways of sustaining
the ZSG.
Operation of ZSG has been extended to
end of calendar year.
Cost-effective solutions
have been found to
extend the life of the
ZSG beyond June 2016.
Mobile-based school
performance reporting
has proven viable.
Advocate use of this
kind of approach in
future interventions.
Need for the service is
felt mostly at the
school, zone and
district levels of the
system.
Task1.2. 4: Head
Teacher Awards
Activity 1: Support
DEBS with awards
process for HTs and
ZHTs
Process was initiated in October 2015,
and came to fruition in June 2016 when
24 head teachers and 19 zone heads
received certificates of recognition.
Recognition was for
leadership that made a
difference in terms of
EG learners’
performance in literacy.
Process of soliciting
nominations was very
slow and difficult,
particularly in larger
districts.
Include it the scale up
plan for MOGE so that
it is integrated into
provincial plans
Task 1.3.1.
Develop a LPI
Process Guide and
Tools
Activity 1: Work
with other players in
school planning to
develop a common
approach
A working group including RTS, TTL,
STEP-Up and UNICEF was formed and
some progress has been made.
MOGE Planning
Directorate has now
assumed leadership of
this process.
Continue collaborating
with MOGE and other
partners to develop
harmonized approach.
39
Task (Activity
Cluster)
Activities/outputs
planned for
October 2015 –
September 2016
Outputs achieved during Year5
Oct 1– Sept. 2016
Comment/notes
/feedback
Activities/outputs
planned
for Oct – Dec 2016
Activity 2:
Integration of good
practice case studies
into ELM materials
This activity grew into a survey of
RTS schools to find out what
effective leadership tasks are being
carried out by HTs that lead to
improvements in the teaching of EG
reading.
Head teachers and early
Grade teachers from 326
schools were surveyed
in July.
Analyze research data
and write survey
report. Report to be
ready by end of
November 2016
Task 1.4.1. Build
target district
capacity to
support LPI
Planning
Activity 1:
reflection meeting
between PEST and
DEST to review
progress with LPI
G2LPRs were disseminated to schools
and zones during HT refresher training
in February. Therefore, Activities
1.4.1.1 & 1.4.1.2 were combined and
turned into district reflection meetings.
RTS will advocate for
PEO offices to review
their own G2LPRs in
January 2017.
Will be part of the
provincial and district
dialogue as well as
scale up plan.
Activity 2:
Reflection meeting
between DEST and
zone heads to
review progress
with LPI (same as
activity
1.2.2.1)
See above District reflection
meetings, with PEO
officers participating,
took place in the 3rd
quarter.
Will be integrated into
discussions on Scale up
and sustainability plan
Task 1.4.2:
Reinforce target
district capacity to
create and use
diagnostic
assessment tools
incl. SRCs.
Activity 1: Ongoing
support for DEST
and PEST with
management of
ZSG and LPI
process
A refresher workshop on ZSG data
management for ASOs was held in
November 2015. Provincial and
national officials also attended.
Thereafter, ongoing support to
ASOs was rendered informally
according to need.
Data submission rates
for EoSY 2015 and
BoSY 2016 were very
good (above 80%)
which shows that the
workshop in
November 2015 was
effective.
District Assistant
Statistics Officers
will be supported
with EoSY 2016
data collection and
management.
Task 1.4.3.
Promote
innovation in
district-school
relationship.
Activity 1: Finalize
manual for DESTs
on best practice in
school support
Manual for DEST on differentiated
support is under development.
Manual development
is provided for in
terms of the revised
SOW, approved by
the client in early
September.
Finalize and get
MOGE approval for
DEST manual by
end of November
2016.
Activity 2; Solicit
nominations for
awards for district
innovations
Process was initiated in October
2015 and came to fruition in June
2016, when 15 deserving district
staff received awards.
In most districts, only
DRCCs and A-
DRCCs were eligible
to receive awards as
these are the only
officials who engage
with the PLP on a
regular basis. One
district nominated an
ASO who has
managed ZSG data
well for that district.
Activity was
successful, however
RTS does not plan to
repeat it at this stage
in the project life
cycle. The issue will
be part of the
discussion on scale
up and sustainability
plan
Task (Activity
Cluster)
Activities/outputs
planned for
October 2015 -
September 2016
Outputs achieved during Year5
Oct 1– Sept. 2016
Comment/notes
/feedback
Activities/outputs
planned
for Oct – Dec 2016
IR2 (Task 2): Performance Assessment Tools and their use strengthened to improve school effectiveness
SIR 2.1:
Assessment
Policies,
Strategies, and
Procedures to
Activity 1.
Development of
SBA Monitoring
System
The SBA Monitoring procedure and
tools developed, piloted and
finalized.
Piloted in Lusaka and
Solwezi with six
schools in total and 32
participants including
Printing
Dissemination of the
SBA Monitoring
Guide
40
Task (Activity
Cluster)
Activities/outputs
planned for
October 2015 –
September 2016
Outputs achieved during Year5
Oct 1– Sept. 2016
Comment/notes
/feedback
Activities/outputs
planned
for Oct – Dec 2016
Promote Teaching
and Learning
Strengthened
teachers, SICs,
DRCCs, ZHTs. Head-
teachers and ZICs.
Activity 2. Trialing
and finalization of
SBA Monitoring
System
Lessons from the pilot used to edit
and finalize the SBA Monitoring
Guide.
SBA Monitoring
Guide/System
finalized and
integrated in the
institutionalization of
the implementation of
the SBA
Discussion on scale
up and sustainability
plan will include
briefing to MOGE
senior officials
Activity 3.
Orientation of
MOGE to
procedures for
implementing SBA
Monitoring System
Districts held refresher or
orientation workshops. In Solwezi,
16 participants benefited from the
SBA monitoring orientation
workshop
MOGE stakeholders
and officials to be
oriented during RTS
dissemination
activities
Support PEOS to
scale up to Non-RTS
districts
Activity 4. SBA
training support
materials developed
RTS developed Posters for SBA
Scheme, PLDs, Homework and
SBA Monitoring Guide. SBA
Teacher’s Guide was revised and
rebranded.
SBA Teacher’s Guide
and PLD Teacher’s
Guide rebranded and
printed.
1,500 Posters of each
of the 5 types of
Posters to be printed
and distributed.
Activity 5.
Document RTS
lessons learned
Document produced but requires
further improvement to include
lessons learned from the learners
and teachers in the schools.
Anecdotes to include
in the draft document
for Lessons Learned
to be captured during
the shooting of the
video vignettes.
Finalize the lessons
learned document on
SBA
Activity 6. Develop
scale up strategy for
MOGE
Draft scale up and sustainability
strategy developed across all RTS
components
Draft scale up and
sustainability plan
developed through a
consultative process
Plan will be shared
with MOGE and
RTS will support
PEOs to take initial
actions to scale up. .
Activity 7. Provide
ongoing technical
assistance to MOGE
Collaborated with other MOGE
stakeholders in developing the CA
Teacher’s Guide and conduct of
orientation workshops.
Participated in the ECZ
Performance Review meeting in
March.
Participated in the 2016 May-June
Semi Annual review and support
the development of Literacy and
Numeracy tests for Grade 2s.
Participated in the 10th Conference
of the Southern Africa Associations
for Education Assessment
(SAAEA) in May, 2016; Presented
2 Papers.
RTS provided TA
through a consultant –
a Psychometrician to
build the capacity of
MOGE experts in test
development and
analysis for Grade 1
and Grade 4.
Support the MOGE
in finalization of the
Grade 1 Tests in
Literacy and
Numeracy and
accompanying
Guidelines.
41
Task (Activity
Cluster)
Activities/outputs
planned for
October 2015 –
September 2016
Outputs achieved during Year5
Oct 1– Sept. 2016
Comment/notes
/feedback
Activities/outputs
planned
for Oct – Dec 2016
SIR 2.2:
Assessment
instruments
(including EGRA)
Expanded and
Improved
Activity 1. Revise
SBA Teacher’s
Guide on Grade 2,
3, and 4 assessment
SBA Teacher’s Guide was revised
to include Grade 2, 3, and 4 work. It
was cross-referenced with the
“Enriching Our Teaching: Teacher
group meeting (TGM) Modules. It
was further rebranded, printed and
distributed
Document rebranded
and reorganized for
final production and
delivery.
Printing, distribution
and dissemination of
the final version of
SBA Teacher’s
Guide.
Activity 2. Develop,
print, and distribute
posters on SBA,
PLDs and
Homework.
Printed 20 sample laminated posters
each for PLDs and homework and
distributed them to all the 20
Districts Resource Centers.
Additional Posters on
SBA Scheme, SBA
Task Maps and SBA
Monitoring Guides
developed and 1500
copies of each to be
printed on non-
laminated manila A1
and distributed to all
the 1500 plus RTS
schools.
Printing and
distribution of
posters.
SIR 2.3. Develop
Procedure for
Effectively Using
Assessment Data
Activity 1. Develop
procedures for
reporting and acting
on results of SBA
assessments by
teachers and head
teachers and
communities (these
procedures will
monitored by the
SBA monitoring
system
Procedures developed in form of
data collection forms incorporated
into the SBA Monitoring Guide.
Procedures for
effectively using
assessment data are
integrated into the
SBA Monitoring
Guide.
Printing and
distribution of SBA
Monitoring
procedure and tools
Activity 2. Develop
procedure for
reporting and acting
on results of SBA
assessments by
Provinces, Districts
and Zones, (these
procedures will
monitored by the
SBA monitoring
system)
Procedure for reporting and acting
on results of SBA assessments by
Provinces, Districts and Zones,
(these procedures will monitored
Included in the annex of the SBA
Monitoring Guide.
The procedures were
piloted together with
other guidelines of
the SBA Monitoring
Guide and the
necessary
modifications were
made.
Printing and
distribution of SBA
Monitoring
procedure and tools
Task (Activity
Cluster)
Activities/outputs
planned for
October 2015 -
September 2016
Outputs achieved during Year5
Oct 1– Sept. 2016
Comment/notes
/feedback
Activities/outputs
planned
for Oct – Dec 2016
R3 (Task 3): School-based HIV-AIDS -mitigating & equity-enhancing student support and services provided
Task 3.1. School
Health policies
and frameworks
harmonized
Activity 1: Support
the launch of policy
documents
Senior MOGE officials from RTS
target provinces oriented on all
policy documents
PEOs and PRCC
were oriented on
policy documents
Support school based
orientation of policy
document
42
Task (Activity
Cluster)
Activities/outputs
planned for
October 2015 –
September 2016
Outputs achieved during Year5
Oct 1– Sept. 2016
Comment/notes
/feedback
Activities/outputs
planned
for Oct – Dec 2016
Activity 2: Assist
MOGE to finalize
the communication
strategy on teenage
pregnancy
Teenage Pregnancy Communication
Strategy Finalized
Strategy endorsed by
the MOGE but awaits
final signature
Print and distribute
communication
strategy
SIR3.2: School
guidance &
counseling system
operationalized
Activity 1: Facilitate
sensitization
meetings on the new
G&C policy
guidelines and other
policy guidelines
Sensitization meetings were held in
the RTS target provinces
This is an ongoing
activity
Continue to support
school based
provision of
Guidance and
Counseling through
mentorship and
monitoring visits
Activity 2: support
school based
provision of G&C
services through
mentorship and
monitoring visits
Monitoring and mentoring support
to G&C teachers provided
This is an ongoing
activity
Support school based
provision of
Guidance and
Counseling through
mentorship and
monitoring visit
Activity 3: Support
initiatives such as
AoC
New AOCs trained. Monthly
meetings facilitated by AoC and
reports/attendance registers of
PEPFAR data for meetings
documented
A total of 17,661
(8,808 males and
8,853 females)
individuals reached
out with relevant
messages
Continue to conduct
monitoring and
support visit to
mentor AoC
SIR3.3: School-
community
partnerships to
support
improvement of
school
effectiveness
strengthened
Activity 1: Follow
up LPIPs
Implementation
SCPCs conducted meetings to
review Schools Action Plans to
improve learner performance.
Parental and
community meetings
were found to be
useful
RTS Project and
MOGE joint
monitoring and
support visit to
provide mentorship
to SCP will continue
Activity 2:
Administer School-
Community
Partnership Grants
Action plans were submitted and
grants disbursed. Schools have
started implementing according to
their plans
All districts have
reported that schools
have received the
grants and action
plans are being
implemented
Districts to prepare
grant completion
certificate report
Activity 3: Sensitize
SCPs on Policy
Guidelines and
Document Best
Practices
Sensitization of SCP committees
has been conducted
More sensitization
need to be conducted
as the project develops
scale up and
sustainability
strategies
Share scale up and
sustainability
strategy with target
provinces and
districts
Task (Activity
Cluster)
Activities/outputs
planned for
October 2015 -
September 2016
Outputs achieved during Year5
Oct 1– Sept. 2016
Comment/notes
/feedback
Activities/outputs
planned
for Oct – Dec 2016
IR4 (Task 4): Universities and higher education institutions engaged in school effectiveness research
SIR4.1: Strengthen
National Research
Agenda
Activity : Support the RCC’s
planning and review
meetings
An evaluation study was concluded
this quarter.
Lessons learnt included
lack of strong leadership
by MOGE on steering
national research agenda
and weak demand for
research results
Evaluation findings
will be shared with
MOGE and other
stakeholders. Timing
of event will be
determined in
43
Task (Activity
Cluster)
Activities/outputs
planned for
October 2015 -
September 2016
Outputs achieved during Year5
Oct 1– Sept. 2016
Comment/notes
/feedback
Activities/outputs
planned
for Oct – Dec 2016
consultation with
MOGE
SIR4.2 university
and college
research
strengthened
Activity : Conduct a joint research
study on a topic that will
be identified in
consultation with the COE
The research study conducted under
SIR 4.1 covers involvement of
COEs in research.
Demand for research
activities in COEs has
been low. Participation
has been at individual
level.
Issue will be part of
sustainability and scale
up plan discussion with
target provinces
SIR4.3: Enhanced
operations of the
RTS Internship
Program
Activity Identify students to work
with on different issues
such research, data entry,
routine M&E tasks and
other tasks
8 interns were engaged for all the
RTS Provincial Offices
No more interns will be
recruited because the
project drawing to a
clause
Will continue to
engage students
depending on need.
More students are
expected to be
recruited during the
upcoming endline
survey.
IR 4 (Task 5) Project Monitoring and Evaluation
1.0 M & E System Implementation
1.1
Data Quality
Assessment (DQA)
Activity 1; Conduct quarterly
systematic DQA
All Technical Leads based in
Lusaka conduct DQAs whenever
they visit all provinces.
Comprehensive DQA
process done by M&E
were carried out in
North-Western,
Muchinga and
Continue conducting
DQA in the remaining
period of the project
1.2
Strengthen M&E
practice in MOGE
Activity 1: Conduct engagement
meetings with MOGE
officials about information
management at zonal level
All provinces as being supported
with initiatives to improve
information management through
the ZSG and regular data review
meetings
On-going
Enhance monitoring of
selected zone schools
as Center of
Excellence
Activity 2: Support data
processing at district level
All districts are being supported
with effective ways of data
processing
This is an on-going
effort and the concept of
Centers of Excellence is
helping institutionalize it
More effort in the
remaining period of the
project as part of the
sustainability plan
1.3 Routine Data
Analysis , progress
review & reporting
Activity 1: Prepare, Quarterly, Semi-
annual, Annual
performance data reporting
tables for the PMEP
indicators
Monthly, Semiannual and Annual
reports were prepared On-going
Quarterly and end of
project report will be
prepared
2.0 School Effectiveness Assessments (Endline Evaluation & Longitudinal Study)
Task 2.1
Survey
implementation and
management
Activity 1:
Preparation for Endline
Survey data collection
RTS has prepared for Endline
Survey and everything is ready
Developed reading
passage, piloted and
equated it to 2012
passage, all logistics
have been put in place
Collect data, analyze it
and write a report
Task 2.2
Longitudinal Study
Activity 1 Collect termly results,
analyze and write
analytical report at year
end
The 2015 Analytical Report was
prepared
This is the last
Longitudinal Study
report
Share LS analysis
report for 2015
together with other
research reports
44
Annex II: Success Story
AGENTS OF CHANGE TAKE ACTION TO REDUCE ABSENTEESIM
One of the challenges facing schools is the problem of increased absenteeism, especially as a
result of early marriages, teenage pregnancies and other social economic reasons. Other reasons
for absenteeism include psychosocial matters and bullying among learners.
In some instances, learners have simply left
school because they lacked essential basic
learning materials, while others have stopped
school due to long distances to and from
school. However, in most cases, social
economic factors have often played a key role
in keeping learners away from school.
With this realization and appreciation of the
challenge, USAID Read to Succeed Project
trained Agents of Change (AoC) at Kapimpa
Primary School in Muchinga Province of
Zambia, decided to respond to the challenges
facing their fellow learners, especially orphans and vulnerable children, who were habitually
missing school due to lack of basic learning materials and other factors aforementioned. As a
way of providing a solution to the identified challenges, the AoCs took an initiative of
beginning to utilize the locally available soil and water resources.
In consultation and liaison with their Guidance
and Counselling teacher, who in turn discussed
with the Head teacher of the school and the
School Community Partnership Committee
(SCPC), vegetable seeds were bought for the
group. The Village Headman provided the
group with a piece of land near the village
borehole. He further offered animal manure
from his kraal.
Additionally, the SCPC worked together with
the AoC to construct a large fence around the
garden to prevent straying domestic animals
from damaging vegetables.
Within a space of few months after planting, the garden blossomed with vegetable which were
harvested and sold at a profit.
So far, from the proceeds realized from the sale of vegetables, the AoC at Kapimpa Primary
School are now supporting ten (10) of their vulnerable fellow learners (5 boys and 5 female).
The AoC have also responded by buying uniforms for some of the learners from poor families,
especially OVC, who are now in school after staying at home for some time.
Plans are underway by the AoC to buy two goats, which they hope to multiply and support
more learners. They are also planning to secure a larger piece of land to cultivate a larger field
during the next rainy season.
Figure 12: Agents of Change at Kapimpa Primary School
Figure 13: AoCs working in their vegetable garden
45
This practical action has encouraged more learners to work with the AoC, so the group has an
increased audience during their meetings, which have an added life skill for every learner
attending such training meetings. This trend is also slowly being copied by neighboring
schools, whose learners have also taken to gardening to raise funds to support effective
learning.
The USAID sponsored Read to Succeed Project initiated to organize these groups because
young people have a lot to say and deserve to be heard, especially when it comes to issues
which affect them, their health and their future. AOCs have been effective in all 1,235 RTS
supported schools providing various services that affect the lives of many students.
So far, RTS has reached over seven hundred and eighty seven thousand (787, 000) learners in
1,235 schools as direct beneficiaries and over 1,800,000 indirect beneficiary learners across all
the six target provinces, to benefit from HIV & AIDS prevention messages and developing life
skills as the case is at Kapimpa Primary School.
46
Annex III. Technical Assistance Provided to MOGE on Request Te
chn
ical
are
a
S.No
Name What support have you provided?13
To which MOGE unit
When was that? date
Mat
eri
al D
evel
op
men
t
1 Dr. Francis Sampa, DCOP/Teacher professional Development Advisor
Requested by the MOGE/CDC a number of times to provide technical assistance in the development of Grade three and four pupils’ books and teachers’ guides in seven local languages and English course for grades 3 and 4.
Directorate of Standards and Curriculum/ CDC
October – December 2015
2
Dr. Francis Sampa, DCOP/Teacher professional Development Advisor
Dr. Sampa was requested to facilitate and assist with a review of the National Literacy
Framework to update the document and include issues such as managing transitioning from
teaching reading in Zambian familiar Languages to teaching reading in the English Language
and issue in special education. The NLF was revised which is in its draft stage. RTS will
continue to support the revision process until the document is finalized.
Directorate of Standards and Curriculum/ CDC
July 2016
3
Gr. Audrey Mwansa, DCOP/Guidance and Couseling Advisor
Dr. Audrey Mwansa assisted the MOGE at many occasions during the project year five until she left the project end of March 2016. She led policy dialogue on inclusive education and on behalf of the MOGE led the development of the Guidance on administration of school guidance and counseling, until the official documents were launched by the then Minister of Education.
MOGE School
Guidance
Services Unit in
collaboration
with UNICEF
October 2016- February 2016
4
Nephas Hindamu –
Communication &
Knowledge
Management
Specialist
RTS was requested to provide technical assistance to MOGE Communication
officer in designing and formatting as well as illustrations for seventeen (17) A3
Posters on Kicking Out Stigma and Discrimination Against Refugees in Zambia,
particularly in schools. As the result, about 15, 000 posters have been printed
and yet to be distributed to schools. In the same month RTS provided similar
TA to MOGE to design, format and illustrate eight (08) A5 Bookfolds on
Kicking Out Stigma and Discrimination Against Refugees in Zambia,
particularly in schools About five thousand (5, 000) copies of the booklets have
been printed by UNICEF and yet to be distributed to schools.
MOGE School
Guidance
Services Unit in
collaboration
with UNICEF
April, 2016
13 Many of the TA support to the MOGE have been on the official request of the MOGE and they were over and beyond contractual requirements.
47
5
Nephas Hindamu –
Communication &
Knowledge
Management
Specialist
In June 2016, the RTS Communications Officer was requested to provide his
usual technical assistance by the MOGE. He assisted with formatting, designing
and provided illustrations to twenty (20) Careers for Life Posters that the
Ministry planned to print and distribute to schools. About one hundred and
twenty thousand (120, 000) A2 posters have been printed (About 6, 000 copies
per poster). The Posters are yet to be distributed to schools. He also designed
two (02) A5 Career Booklets; (a) Choosing a Career, and (b) Study Skills. Thirty
thousand (30, 000) booklets have since been printed and waiting for distribution
to schools. (15, 000 copies per booklet).
MOGE/School
Guidance
Services Unit
June 2016
6
Nephas Hindamu –
Communication &
Knowledge
Management
Specialist
Designing two (02) A5 Career Booklets: (a) Choosing a Career, and (b) Study
Skills
Thirty thousand (30, 000) booklets have since been printed and waiting for
distribution to schools. (15, 000 copies per booklet).
MOGE/School
Guidance
Services Unit
June 2016
Sch
oo
l-b
ased
Ass
essm
ent
7
William .M Kapambwe, Performance Monitoring Advisor
Invited by the Ministry of General Education to present RTS experiences in school-based assessment at International Conference on assessment (Learning Champion in assessment- Learning Matrix Task Force) organized by the UNESCO Learning Metrics Task Force) hosted by MOGE in Livingstone supported by UNESCO in Livingstone.
Directorate of Standards and Curriculum
3rd to 9th February, 2016
8 William .M Kapambwe, Performance Monitoring Advisor
Requested by the Examination Council of Zambia to serve on the Editorial Committee for the 10th Conference for the Southern Africa Association of Educational Assessment.
ECZ April, 2016
9 William .M Kapambwe, Performance Monitoring Advisor
Requested by MOGE to assist in the development of Rapid Literacy assessment for use by Joint Annual Review (JAR). Developed the tools and oriented stakeholders on how to use the tools and administer the test in the field. He also participated in the field visit
Directorates of SC and Planning and Information
May-June, 2016
10 William .M
Kapambwe,
Performance
Monitoring Advisor
Requested by the MOGE to facilitate a workshop on school-based assessment. MOGE and CAMFED obtained funding from a donor to develop a Continuous Assessment Teacher’s Guide. Sharing the RTS experiences on SBA was requested and provided and William Co-facilitated the workshop with ECZ Officers.
Directorate of Standards and Curriculum
3rd to 5th August 2016
48
11 Dr. Michel
Rousseau- RTS
consultant
MOGE requested for expert assistance in the field of Psychometric. A consultant, Dr. Michel Rousseau was provided through RTS subcontractor to the MOGE to facilitate a workshop to develop Grade 1 and Grade 4 Competence tests. Mr. William Kapambwe co-facilitated the workshop. The consultant also built the capacity of CDC and ECZ officers in competency test development and procedures of establishing a test item bank.
Directorate of Standards
From the 30th August to 2nd September, 2016 in
Edu
cati
on
Lead
ersh
ip a
nd
M
anag
emen
t
12 Guy Bostock Assisted the MOGE to harmonize the school based planning. Guy shared the RTS school level planning experience ( Learner Performance Improvement Plan (LPIP). The consultative process is still continuing. RTS will remain committed to assist the MOGE to come up with one template for school level planning to be used by all stakeholders.
Planning and Information Directorate
Ongoing, throughout the reporting period
49
Annex IV: Home Office Support to RTS during Project Year Five
S.
No Name of the
expert
Organization Position Description of support Duration
From To
1 Lynn Evans14 Creative HQs Early Grade
Reading Expert
Led the planning, organization and conduct a workshop on
managing transitioning from teaching reading in Zambian
Languages (L1) to teaching reading in the English Language
(L2) and based on the workshop proceedings, assist in the
development of a teachers’ guide on transitioning from L1
to L2 for Zambian primary school literacy teachers.
03/11/16 03/18/16
2. Renuka Pillay Creative HQs Project Director Acquainted herself with the project and filed project
personnel, with the COP, conducted an overall review of
project progress and made recommendations for final
project closeout events.
03/10/16 03/19/16
3 Renuka Pillay15 Creative HQ Project Director The main purpose of the visit was quality assurance
(ensure adherence to the agreed design and standards)
and consolidation of RTS contract deliverables, and kick-
start the preparations for the endline evaluation
(preparation for training of enumerators was in progress);
helping in packaging of technical materials and other
lessons learned for feedback to the MOGE and USAID and
for use beyond life of the activity. Review the status of the
project deliverables and worked with technical leads and
the COP to refine project training packages and
deliverables. Worked with the Communication and
Knowledge management officer to create templates for
07/15/16
07/27/16
14 Please not that Dr. Lynn Evans has provided ongoing support to the project as reading expert and research expert on literacy. 15 The expenses were covered by Creative Associates international and not by RTS
50
the development of brochures across all project
components.
4. Karen Tietjen16 Creative HQ Technical
Director for
Practice Area
As in the project Director, the main purpose of the visit for
the technical Director was quality assurance (ensure
adherence to the agreed design and standards) and
consolidation of RTS contract deliverables, and kick-
start the preparations for the Endline Evaluation
(preparation for training of enumerators was in progress);
helping in packaging of technical materials and other
lessons learned for feedback to the MOGE and USAID and
for use beyond life of the activity Review the status of the
project deliverables and worked with technical leads and
the COP to refine project training packages and
deliverables. Assisted the Chief of Party and the Director
of Research and Monitoring and Evaluation in identifying
areas of research studies and provided research design
ideas.
06/30/16
07/20/16
5. Jacqui Creative HQ ICT expert Support started by report in the USA. Jacqui provided
critical assistance to the Director of Research and
Monitoring and Evaluation in uploading all Endline Survey
tools on to Tangerine platform and trained data collectors
on how to use Tablets.
09/29/16 10/07/16
16 The expenses were covered by Creative Associates international and not by RTS
51
6. Mitchell Rakusin Research
Trainable
Institute (RTI)
Project Director
for RTI
The purpose of the trip was to support the assessment of
Education Leadership and Management (ELM) best
practices to inform documentation and sustainability
strategies for RTS interventions generally, and train the
national and district planners on the Zambia School
Gateway, EMIS Toolbox and production of literacy
progress reports. He assisted with a number of activities
such as:
Training on Zambia School Gateway, EMIS Toolbox and Grade 2 Literacy Progress Reports.
Refresher training for national, provincial and district MoGE officials on how to manage the data in the Zambia School Gateway. The workshop was in Kabwe, and 33 officials attended.
10/26/15
11/12/15
7
Laura Harrington School to
School Int.
Project Manager Assisted the Performance Monitoring Advisor in the
facilitation of the school-based assessment the SBA
Monitoring Orientation Workshop to solicit inputs from
the MOGE relevant officers as entry strategy to the
development of the SBA monitoring procedures and tools.
02/8/16
02/15/16
8
Laura Harrington School to
School Int.
Project Manager Following the production of the SBA monitoring guides,
she was engaged in editing the draft guide and facilitated a
debriefing session with the MOGE officers to make sure
that they are all on board with the process.
06/10/16
06/18/16
9
Diane Proudfoot
School to
School Int.
Material
Development
expert
As a material development expert, the consultant did not
have to travel to Zambia. All TA was provided by remote.
Assisted in the development of SBA Monitoring Guides
and Tools, five SBA posters, revised the SBA teachers’
guide and RTS SBA Procure over time during the reporting
period.
02/05/16
09/15/16
52
10 Michel Rousseau
School to
School Int.
Psychometrician The consultant provided expert’s assistance to RTS EGRA
pilot test analysis from remote.
08/7/16 08/10/16
11
Michel Rousseau
School to
School Int.
Psychometrician As per MOGE’s request the consultant returned back to
Zambia to build the capacity of relevant MOGE officers in
development of test items and item bank for grades one
and fur reading competency tests.
08/30/16
09/06/16
12
Corinne
McComb17
School to
School Int.
Video Vignettes
production
expert
Assisted in the writing of video scripts, trained
videographers and directed the filming of footages. Editing
and final production to be completed during the next
reporting period.
09/17/16
09/30/16
13 James Jacob University of
Pittsburg
Researcher In collaboration with the RTS Research and M&E team,
conducted a study on the Institutional Impact of the
Research Collaboration between the MOGE and
Zambian Higher Education Institutions. The second
study focused on fleshing out lessons learned with respect
to the way RTS worked with MOGE and higher education
institutions on research activities. The study highlighted
leadership strategies, meeting frequencies, prioritization,
structural constraints, and lack of initial funding all
affected the outcomes of collaboration efforts.
04/17/16
04/30/16
17 This TA support will continue in the next reporting period.