| Country or Region | Sri Lanka |
| Year | 2012 |
| Producer(s) | National Educational Research and Evaluation Centre - University of Colombo |
| Metadata |
 Download the documentation
|
Created on
Mar 13, 2015
Last modified
Mar 13, 2015
Overview
Identification
Summary
Abstract
The National Assessment of Achievement has been administered every three years since 2003 by the National Educational Research and Evaluation Centre to grade 8 (ISCED 2) students in general education programmes in public schools. The National Assessment of Achievement is a low-stake assessment. It is a written assessment, administered face-to-face and delivered through paper-pencil tests. All test-takers are presented with the same cognitive booklets or tests, which are aligned with the national curriculum.
The National Assessment of Achievement, administered in grade 8, serves the following purposes:
- supporting teachers (training, relevant materials, etc.)
- school or educator accountability
- sub-national level monitoring of learning outcomes
- monitoring education quality levels
- planning education policy reforms
- diagnosing student abilities
- revising curriculum
The assessment accommodates students with special needs, by providing the following arrangements:
- Hearing impairment: hearing instruments
- Visual impairment: test materials in braille
Kind of Data
Random sampleUnits of Analysis
Results are available at the school, sub-national and national level. Data are disagregated by sex, geographic location (urban and rural), and type of school (there are three types of public schools at the lower-secondary education level in Sri Lanka).Results are published in reports, which are available in print and online.
Scope
Notes
The National Assessment of Grade Eight Students comprises three mandatory subjects. The subjects and the duration of each test are listed below:- English language, 60 minutes
- Science, 60 minutes
- Mathematics, 60 minutes
Note: The main language of instruction is Sinhala or Tamil. Students take the Mathematics and Science tests in their main language of instruction.
Description of test items: Test items consist of multiple choice questions with three or more response options and open-ended questions requiring short constructed responses.
Description of stimuli: Test stimuli consist of mixed texts.
Reporting metrics: Student performance is reported by average score for each subject. The minimum requirement to meet the national standard is a score of 50 out of 100, or 50%.
Scores are broken down and reported by content domain (and type of task).
Content domains for English: grammar, reading, writing and vocabulary.
Content domains for Science: biology, chemistry, earth science, and physics.
Content domains for Mathematics: knowledge and skills, communications, relationships, reasoning and problem solving.
Coverage
Geographic Coverage
NationalUniverse
Students enrolled in grade 8 ( ISCED 2) in general education programmes in public schools. Exclusion:
Public schools with less than 10 students enrolled in grade 8 were excluded from the sampling design.
Producers and Sponsors
Primary Investigator(s)
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| National Educational Research and Evaluation Centre | University of Colombo |
Other Producer(s)
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| National Educational Research and Evaluation Centre | University of Colombo | Test development and administration; data processing and dissemination; programme development |
| Ministry of Education | Government | Test development; data dissemination; programme development; financial support |
| International organizations | N/A | Financial support through grants and donations |
Metadata Production
Metadata Produced By
| Name | Abbreviation | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Educational Research and Evaluation Centre | NEREC | University of Colombo | Data collection |
| UNESCO Institute for Statistics | UIS | United Nations | Design the questionnaire for the metadata collection, review and publication in the UIS catalogue, available online |
Date of Metadata Production
2014DDI Document ID
LKA-NA-Grade8-2012