Company Description
Education Development Center (EDC) is one of the world’s leading nonprofit research and development firms. Established in 1958, EDC designs, delivers and evaluates innovative programs to address some of the world’s most urgent challenges in education, health, and economic opportunity. Our services include research, training, educational materials, and strategy, with activities ranging from seed projects to large-scale national and international initiatives.

Job Description
ICYD midline (cohort 1) EGRA Assessment
Overview of the Early Grade Reading Assessment.
Research the world over has shown that the ability to read is one of the most fundamental skills for learning, particularly at the early grades of primary education. EGRA measures key skills that are necessary for children to read fluently and comprehend text. They are tested based on research regarding a comprehensive approach to reading acquisition across languages. The test is conducted orally and one-on-one with pupils.

ICYD will conduct a midline reading assessment as part of a performance measurement evaluation of the Early Grade Reading activities. In order to capture midline data prior to launch of this project, literacy testing and surveys will be completed in June through July 2021. In addition to working in direct intervention schools, the midline assessment will also include light intervention school to measure long-term impact of the ICYD Early Grade Reading activities. The midline assessment will use the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) tool to measure reading levels. The EGRA midline will test a representative sample of schools targeted by the ICYD, in Cohort 1 districts/language zones (see annex 1). It is anticipated that the reading assessment will target pupils in P2. The data from this midline will be used to measure project progress over the project’s 5-year period. The results of the midline school survey will be shared with USAID, Ministry of Education officials and donors working in education. The midline assessment will consist of four critical instruments. The first will be a standardized literacy test, assessing key foundational skills that a child needs to master in order to be able to read fluently. These tests have been translated to Luganda, Runyoro/Rutoro and Runyankole/Rukiga.

Position Summary:
ICYD, will recruit EGRA Assessors, supervisors and data quality assurance officers who will be responsible for collecting data for the cohort 1 midline assessment. They will be responsible for the standardized administration of the EGRA tools and survey instruments. They will organize the assessment materials, ensure their security, and submit the materials to ICYD at the end of field work. The Assessors will follow the directions set out by the ICYD M&E team. They will receive oversight from the assigned supervisors, data quality assurance officers and the ICYD M&E team.
The Assessors, supervisors will be contracted for a period of about 14 working days (June -July 2021). All honoraria and expenses will be paid by ICYD.
** Please note that this is a local position. Eligibility is limited to Ugandan nationals **

Responsibilities:
Before the Training, Participants must:
• Demonstrate ability to fluently read and speak the relevant local languages- Luganda, Lunyoro/Rutooro and Runyankore-Rukiga which are required for training and EGRA administration;
• Have previous experience administering assessments, particularly knowledge of letter sounds or serving as a data collector;
• Have experience working with primary-age children and youths;
• Be available during the data collection phase and ability to work in target areas;
• Have experience and proficiency using a computer or hand-held electronic device (tablet, smartphone).
During The Training, Participants Must:
• Participate in all training modules
• Arrive at the training venue on time and participate in all training sessions
• Be subjected to training rules and regulations and obey all instructions
• Participate in Inter-Rater Reliability (IRR) Test, be evaluated and score not less than 90% to be selected for data collection
During School Visit, Participants Must:
• Correctly and efficiently administer instruments, including knowing and following all administration rules
• Accurately record demographic data and responses (GPS Coordinate and other assessment data)
• Identify responses as correct and incorrect
• Correctly and efficiently use equipment, especially tablets
• Work well as a part of a team
• Adhere to school visit protocols
• Ensure to save and upload all assessment data for every school/center visit
• Attend daily debrief with the study team.
• Return all the tablets in good condition to team leader after each school/center visit and after data collection
• Pay for any damaged or lost tablets in his/her possession

Data Quality Assurance Officers Must:
• Possess a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree (preferably in education) with a minimum of 5 years’ experience as a data quality assurance officer for an EGRA data collection exercise.
• Exhibit leadership skills, have experience training teams on EGRA administration, and garner the respect of colleagues;
• Be organized and detail-oriented;
• Know EGRA administration procedures well enough to provide follow up training to assessors during the first days of field work to address identified gaps;
• Be able to provide active leadership and participate in assessor training, including assessor observation during training, preparation and recording of gold standards to be used during IRRs;
• Plan for data collection and work with supervisors, to ensure that all assessment teams have necessary supplies and equipment needed to undertake both electronic and paper data collection;
• Ensure that all the tablets and routers assigned to their team are in good working order and fully charged every evening;
• Organise transport for each team to get to the school by 7:30 AM. ICYD will provide transport during data collection but this needs to be coordinated by the DQA to ensure that transport provided is being used for the intended purpose;
• Ensure that data is collected in a standard fashion by making routine spot checks/team audits to ensure that the teams are in their assigned areas and that the sampled learners/other respondents are actually the people who are being assessed/interviewed;
• Complete “assessor observation checklist” for each assessor once during the first week of field work, then sporadically after that. Each assessor should at least be observed twice during fieldwork;
• Quickly communicate any problems arising to the ICYD M&E team.
• Routinely check assessments for completeness and errors. The database manager will compile regular data reports from the quality checks and these will be sent back to the DQAs to provide guidance to teams,
• Meet with assigned teams every evening to collect the tablets and charge them for the next day’s field work, count and review the material used during the day and see what needs to be replenished, review progress made on the routes assigned and if necessary, restructure according to needs, collect all completed hard copy questionnaires and UPLOAD all data onto the cloud
• Return all tablets assigned to his/her team to The Initiative M&E team after data collection
• Submit summary field report to the ICYD M&E team at the end of data collection
• Pay for any damaged or lost tablets in his/her possession
Language: Fluency in English and relevant local languages- Luganda, Lunyoro/Rutooro and Runyankore-Rukiga.