I have been looking into the first data I received from our Early Grade Reading Assessment, done in grades 1, 2 and 3 across the country. This assessment, developed by USAID for a quick (and somewhat unscientific) snapshot of the reading status of students in (developing) countries, tracks letter-, word- and story reading skills, and … Continue reading Improving early education outcomes (1)
Parachutes: no significant effect on death reduction or major injury
I have often wondered why there are life jackets on board, especially when flying e.g. inside Europe. There are not that many oceans and lakes to land on – and I am confident that I could swim across a typical European river. Have you thought the same? Well – here is the answer: We don’t…
Don’t trust anything that promises “The best {10,15,20,…} X of 2019”
Whereas some people think of our times as the "information age" (and some don't like to think of it as such), I have come to view our time and mentality as the "age of lists and rankings". I don't know when it started, but I feel myself surrounded by lists and rankings of all sorts. … Continue reading Don’t trust anything that promises “The best {10,15,20,…} X of 2019”
Teacher quality
Preliminary data A couple of years back, while we were not really focusing on education quality but rather trying to create a functioning administrative unit to take charge of our 29 schools, we did a test with most of our teachers in order to get a first understanding of their skill levels. The test is … Continue reading Teacher quality