Mapping the Landscape of One-on-One Foundational Learning Assessments in Africa 

In many African contexts, classroom-based or large-scale standardized assessments often fall short – either because they are not age-appropriate or because classroom-wide methods are not suitable for young learners still acquiring foundational skills. One-on-one (1:1) assessments offer an alternative: they are typically verbal and individually administered, designed to yield richer and more developmentally appropriate insights into emerging skills that lead to reading and numeracy proficiency, especially for early grade learners who cannot – and should not – be assessed using tools designed for older children. 

These assessments are not only beneficial for school-going learners, but also play a vital role in reaching out-of-school children, especially when administered in households. With such assessments, teachers and education stakeholders are better equipped to identify children who are falling behind in foundational skills early in their schooling, and to respond with appropriate instructional and policy interventions. 

Over the past decade, 1:1 assessments in Africa have generally been conducted with external support and often for different use cases – from monitoring learning outcomes, to informing instruction, to fulfilling global reporting requirements.  

1:1 assessments in Africa have been commonly implemented through four major initiatives: 

• PASEC (CONFEMEN): A regional Grade 2 assessment in Francophone Africa covering reading and mathematics in local or official languages. Conducted every 4-5 years, its cyclical nature influences how readily data can be linked to ongoing policy cycles. PASEC has expanded from 14 countries in 2014 to 21 countries in 2025. 
• PAL Network: Citizen-led, household-based assessments that capture foundational learning outcomes at scale, including for out-of-school children. The focus is on contextual relevance and community engagement, assessing children in their homes, often in rural areas. Conducted annually in 8 African countries, the assessments are designed for contextual relevance and community action. 
• EGRA (USAID, RTI and others): An open-source framework that enables countries to develop locally-relevant, language-appropriate assessments to evaluate  the building blocks of reading. Unlike other assessments, the EGRA tool is typically created from the ground up rather than translated from a master version – an important distinction, especially in multilingual settings where early learners may be assessed in either their home language or the language of instruction. The EGRA has been applied in more than 70 languages across more than 30 African countries with the frequency of use varying with each country’s implementation context and needs. 
• MICS-FLM (UNICEF): Conducted every three years as part of the MICS household survey, this module includes literacy and numeracy components assessed 1:1 with children aged 7-14. Its household-based administration allows it to capture both in-school and out-of-school children, providing data that supports both population-level and school-enrolment-based learning statistics. Nineteen African countries participated in the sixth round of MICS.

While some countries have participated in multiple assessment cycles, others have only done so with the lifespan of specific donor-funded programs, with no follow-up. This pattern raises concerns about sustainability and the integration of assessment data into long-term policy decision-making – especially  given assessments’ critical importance in intervening in the early years. 

The uneven use of  1:1 assessments across countries highlights the need to better understand where challenges emerge in the assessment-to-action pipeline – whether in design and planning, technical capacity, or financial ownership. Rather than focusing only on the technical tools, we must consider how 1:1 assessments can be embedded within national assessment systems, used formatively to improve instruction, and leveraged to track system-level progress over time. 

The discontinuation or irregular use of these assessments following reduction in externally-funded programs risks deepening existing gaps – particularly in the availability of early grade reading data, as well as  technical capacity, local ownership, and data use among national decision-makers. In some countries, this could result in a widening divide that limits timely, targeted support for learners.  

This convening seeks to confront and close this emerging gap, ensuring that our collective focus remains where it has the greatest potential for impact on children’s learning: in the foundational learning years, when interventions are most critical for long-term educational success. 

To support a clearer understanding of the 1:1 assessment landscape across Africa, we have developed two interactive maps: 
This map highlights nationally representative 1:1 assessments across countries. 

This map focuses on EGRA implementations, showing where, when and in which languages these assessments have been conducted. 

Linked is a table presenting a detailed snapshot of 1:1 foundational assessments conducted across African countries⁽¹⁾. The table includes: 

• Country 
• Assessment program 
• Year(s) of administration 
• Target grades or age groups 
• Subjects covered 
• Type of sampling used 

The table covers assessments conducted primarily over the past two decades (2004 - 2025) and reflects the diversity in scope, implementation models, and levels of national ownership. It serves as both a reference and a conversation starter for the discussions ahead. 

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⁽¹⁾ The information presented in the table is based on the resources available to us at the time of compilation and may not capture all 1:1 assessments or the full range of years in which they were conducted. We welcome input from participants to help identify any missing data so that we can update the table and ensure it reflects the most accurate and comprehensive picture possible.