ASER Pakistan’s work in documenting learning levels among children and youth through household surveys has contributed immensely to how decision makers and policy analysts view education quality in the country. Citizen led assessments, such as the one conducted in Pakistan, have been mainstreamed as a category in the UIS Catalogue of Learning Assessments, and constitute important bottom-up efforts to monitor progress on the global goal on education (SDG 4) in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. ASER Pakistan’s creation of detailed databases on learning also contributes to serious education and pedagogical reform in the country, especially as reflects an engagement with diverse stakeholders (community, school and government). Clearly, ASER Pakistan’s work has become an important social accountability lever to improve learning among the most disadvantaged and underachieving populations.
Aaron Benavot