Feasible Measurement of Learning in Emergencies: Lessons from Uganda

This article describes lessons learned from piloting a new education assessment tool in education centers and schools in the Rwamwanja and Kyangwali refugee settlements in western Uganda. The tool aims to provide a rapid, holistic understanding of displaced learners’ needs covering literacy, numeracy, social and emotional learning, and executive functioning. It also includes questions on demographic and household characteristics, socio-economic status, home learning environment, and disability. Three challenges emerged from the pilot: (1) in situations where several language are spoken, it is advisable to conduct a comprehensive language mapping before translating the tool, create a sampling frame based on languages spoken, engage assessors that speak the languages fluently, and incorporate child-friendly language; (2) rapid training of assessors in emergency situations can undermine the reliability of scoring; and (3) assessment results should be explicitly linked to tailored learning content.