ADEA, SAQMEQ and PASEC discuss formalization of a partnership for the measurement of education quality at SACMEQ’s Annual Assembly of Ministers

Over the years, the Southern Africa Consortium for the Measurement of Education Quality (SACMEQ) and ADEA have collaborated on a number of initiatives in the SADC and Eastern Africa regions.

At the Annual Assembly of Ministers of SACMEQ held on November, 3, 2013 at the UNESCO International Institute of Educational Planning in Paris, SAQMEQ and ADEA – one of SAQMEQ’s key strategic partners – began talking about formalizing their collaboration through a memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

 ADEA, SACMEQ and PASEC (Program for the analysis of education systems of the CONFEMEN, the Conference of Ministers of Education of the Francophonie) subsequently discussed the need to formalize a partnership to promote measurement of learning outcomes across Africa. Key activities would be identified for joint implementation.

Although ADEA does not currently have a program on assessment, it is increasingly being approached by different international assessment initiatives such as the OECD (PISA) and the Brookings Institute (Learning Metrics Task Force) to explore areas of partnership. With ADEA’s convening power widely recognized, other institutions are bent on joining forces to address assessment as a one of the major policy issues in education today. ADEA’s work on education statistics and SACMEQ’s focus on measuring learning outcomes are complementary and form the basis for informing decision-making.

It was agreed that a meeting will be organized to work on the terms of the MoUs to be established between the three institutions.