Improved Collection and Use of Student Reading Performance Data

Innovation: Improved Collection and Use of Student Reading Performance Data

Innovator: Education Development Center, Inc.
Location Applied: Philippines: Mindanao
Potential Impact: 35,000 children





Improved Collection and Use of Student Reading Performance Data in the Philippines provides innovative and affordable technology that will enable teachers to submit on-the-spot student reading performance test data from their classrooms to a Department of Education- administered database via mobile phones through SMS technology. Given that the majority of Filipino teachers have access to a mobile phone, each teacher can be tasked to submit his/her own student reading test data directly into the database from their classrooms using simple text messages.

Research shows that timely feedback—given as soon as possible after a student assessment occurs—can influence the learning process,  and that results data from regularly administered assessments can provide teachers with reams of information about their instruction, what worked, what did not, and what to do next.

Inspiration: After confirming that 85.7 percent of teachers in the Philippines are active mobile phone users, EDC developed its plan. “In the Philippines,” explains William Potter, “the Department of Education still uses a paper and pencil data collection system that produces results 12-18 months after testing – too long for the data to be used effectively to inform instruction at the school or district level.”