With Africa for Africa. Towards Quality Education for All. 1999 MLA Project.

Monitoring Learning Achievement (MLA), a joint UNESCO-UNICEF international education assessment initiative, obtains information on the "effectiveness of basic education provision[s] in terms of actual learning achievement." The empirical evidence from the 1999 MLA project countries provides both a diagnosis and possible actions to be taken in terms of policy, curriculum, teaching, and learning. To assure comparability, procedures were taken to design and validate the common-core instruments and their results across markedly different countries and contexts. This document contains six chapters: (1) "Introduction" (Education for All; A Framework for Action; Goals and Targets; Monitoring Learning Achievement; Feedback for Improving Education Quality; Project Objectives; Key Project Characteristics; Expected Outcomes; Implementation); (2) "Design and Implementation" (Regional Approach; Description of Instruments; Tests; Questionnaires; Development of Instruments; Pilot Tests; Sampling Framework; Sampling Procedures; Implementation Strategies; Data Analysis; Reporting); (3) "Assessing Learner Performance: Equity-Quality Trade-Offs" (Achieving Quality of Education for All: Learner Performance Profiles across the Region; Knowledge on HIV/AIDS Transmission and Prevention Behavior; The 1992-1998 Monitoring Learning Achievement (MLA) Surveys in Africa: Repeated Lessons To Be Re-Learnt); (4) "Teaching and Learning Conditions" (Learner Background; Home Background; Home Learning Support; Teacher Background; Teaching Conditions; Teachers' Work Environment and Activities; School Head Background; School Characteristics; Conclusion); (5) "Factors Determining Learner Performance" (Global Model: Factors Influencing Learner Performance; Determinants of Learning Achievement and Their Inter-Relationships; Botswana; Madagascar; Malawi; Mali; Mauritius; Morocco; Niger; Senegal; Tunisia; Uganda; Zambia; The Regional Analysis: Similarities and Uniqueness; Conclusion); and (6) "Agenda for Action" (Quality of Education for All Can Be Attained; Improving and Sustaining Minimum Levels of Mastery Learning; Recognizing Specificity in Learning Environments; Understanding the Dynamics of Teaching and Learning; Challenge of Achieving Gender Parity; Redressing Urban and Rural Disparities; Adaptation of Schools to the Needs of the Children; Decisive Role of the Home Learning Environment; Limitations; General Recommendations; Conclusion). References, appendices, 28 tables, and 26 figures are included in the document. (BB)