NLSA assessment

The Center for Educational Assessment and Teaching Methods (CEATM), an independent firm not linked to the Ministry of Education and Science, is the institution responsible for carrying out NLSAs in the Kyrgyz Republic. Building on previous NLSA rounds conducted in 2007 and 2009, and with the support of the READ Trust Fund, CEATM implemented another NLSA of Reading, Mathematics, and Science in grade 4. In 2013, CEATM worked together with primary school teachers and assessment experts in the Ministry of Education and Science to develop updated versions of the testing instruments and questionnaires. A pilot to validate the new tools was conducted in 20 schools from two different regions. Based on the results, the main survey instruments were finalized. In April 2014, the NLSA was implemented in a randomly selected sample of 204 primary schools across the country. In August 2014, CEATM finalized the analysis of the results and prepared the final report for dissemination to key stakeholders. During previous NLSA rounds, few documents were available to the public on the more technical aspects of the NLSA exercise. The report produced for 2014 provides information on these technical aspects, including test specifications, item construction, analysis of the pilot results, and scoring criteria. This enhanced reporting improves the ability to ensure the quality of NLSA activities.