In Argentina,
only 6 out of 10 school directors (63.8%) declare having accessed reports
with their school's results in the Learn 2019 test, standardized evaluations to measure students' abilities in different subjects.
Returning these data to institutions is a
low-cost policy
that
can positively impact
the learning of
Mathematics
and
Language
.
And even reduce school repetition.
These conclusions are reached in the report
“Use of standardized tests for continuous improvement”
, from the Observatory of Argentines for Education.
The authors of the study, Alejandro Ganimian (
New York University
), Leyre Sáenz Guillén and Martín Nistal, from that observatory, evaluated access to reports in the Argentine provinces, and how governments and management teams use that data.
Among other cases, through a controlled experiment in La Rioja they specifically demonstrated that providing this information to schools
"has positive effects on their performance
."
In Argentina, only 6 out of 10 school directors (63.8%) declare that they have accessed reports with their school's results in the Learn test.
Photo Alfredo Martínez
To find out, they randomly assigned the schools to three groups.
The first received a report with its results and comparisons with other schools;
In the second, school authorities also conducted professional development workshops and school visits to supervisors, directors, and teachers;
and in the last group, the control, only standardized tests were carried out at the end of the study, without providing reports or providing any training.
Two years later, as detailed, the students in the schools that received the report with their results, "
managed to improve their performance
(0.33 standard deviations in mathematics and 0.36 in language), compared to the control group."
Furthermore, the principals of these schools tended to
use the results of the evaluations in making management decisions
, and students reported greater use of teaching strategies by their teachers.
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Standardized tests: giving information to schools is key to educational improvement
In percentage
Question answered by school directors in Learn 2022: Percentage of secondary school directors who participated in work spaces with the Learn 2019 report with provincial officials and teams on the use of data for continuous improvement, by province.
Ask the directors of educational establishments in Learn 2022: Did this school access the Learn 2019 Report?
how?
Secundary level.
Source:
ARGENTINES FOR EDUCATION
Infographic:
Clarín
In the group that also received visits, there were improvements, although smaller (0.26 and 0.22 standard deviations in mathematics and language, respectively).
A similar method was applied in Salta.
The results, an input to improve
Although governments distribute reports on the Learn test in each school – which principals can access with a username and password – that
does not necessarily imply that schools actually access those 20 pages
with the return of standardized tests.
"Making and sending reports on the results is an important part, but accessing and subsequently using those reports is also important," the document states.
In Argentina, 21.6% of secondary school principals affirm that their school did not access reports of these results, while
14.6% do not know if they did or not.
Try Learning at School No. 9 OF 1 "Familia de Cabezon"Perón 1140, CABA.Photo Alfredo Martínez
Of the 63.8% that did have access, 48.9% did so virtually and 14.9% in printed format, as reported by the directors themselves in response to a questionnaire included in the Learn 2022 operation on the tests. 2019.
The reports of these results, for example, show the level of performance of the students in
Language and Mathematics
in the school itself, and in comparison with the group of similar schools and also in the municipality, the jurisdiction and in the country as a whole.
Accessibility to reports varies greatly between provinces.
The school directors in Córdoba (89.9%) and Entre Ríos (84.5%) are the ones who accessed these reports the most.
Neuquén (33.5%) and Santa Cruz (38.6%) register the lowest levels
of access.
At the national level, 8 out of 10 directors (84.5%) who accessed the school report recognize that
it served as input
for educational management.
But among them, only 4 out of 10 (39.1%) participated alongside provincial officials and teams in work spaces on the use of this data for educational improvement.
“While the global diagnoses made with the Learn test data can inform educational policy priorities at the national and jurisdictional level, the evidence tells us that
its greatest value is as a diagnostic tool for schools
,” says Ganimian.
“We need to not only continue to return them in a timely manner to schools, but also think about how we can make them even more relevant to the needs of directors and teachers, to improve school management and classroom teaching,” he adds.
Some recommendations emerge from the report
.
The authors encourage school directors to deepen this feedback and explore the possibility of delivering the results - not only of Learn, but of the provincial tests - also to teachers.
Based on the data in the report, Daniel Pinkasz, FLACSO researcher, highlights that “the use of results information seems to be more effective when work is carried out that is relevant to the school and with the appropriate tools.”
In this sense, it stands out that the report "seems to be in line with studies and initiatives that point out the importance of considering
managers and teachers not only as mere audiences
, but as users with specific requirements that need to be known and accompanied," Pinkasz considered. .
The conclusions of Learn 2023
Half of 6th grade students (48.5%)
do not reach the desirable level in Mathematics
, according to the results of the Primary Learning 2023 test.
The figure represented a drop of 3.3 percentage points compared to the 2021 evaluation, which had also been census-based and with low results that had been attributed to the pandemic and the interruption of in-person classes.
In
Language
, meanwhile,
one in three students (33.5%) did not reach the satisfactory level
.
It marked an improvement of 10.5 points compared to Learn 2021, when 44% of students had been at the "basic" and "below basic" levels.
One in four Argentine students (24.4%) is at the lowest level of performance in Mathematics (“below basic”).
And only one in ten (11.5%) reaches the highest (“advanced”) level in this subject.
In the editions prior to the pandemic (2016 and 2018), almost twice as many students reached the advanced level.
MG