The Use of Learning Assessment Data: Case Studies from Ghana and Senegal

The Education 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goal 4 in particular widened the range of focus from access to education (Millennium Development Goal 2) to a more comprehensive approach that includes equity and learning for all. The effective use of learning assessment data is instrumental in ensuring continued improvements in the national education systems. Over the past two decades, national governments and donors have invested significant resources in shoring up learning assessment systems and generating data for planning and management. But are these efforts paying off with more informed decision-making?

To answer this question, USAID joined the research project initiated by UNESCO’s International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) on the use of learning assessment data in the educational planning cycle. The aim of the six-country study in sub-Saharan Africa is to generate context-specific knowledge on the use of learning assessment data in planning processes. USAID and IIEP are making the findings available to national decision-makers, so that learning assessment data can inform educational planning cycles, including strategy choice, resource allocation, and the monitoring of plans.

Visit IIEP-UNESCO website for additional information, including policy briefs and information sheets on Ghana, Guinea, Namibia, Senegal, The Gambia and Zambia.