Evaluation report of the UWI/USAID primary education project

Special evaluation covers the period 7/81-6/82 and is based on site visits, document review, and interviews with personnel from national Ministries of Education, Missions, UWI, and pilot schools. Good progress has been made. Curricula outlines, teachers' manuals, and teaching aids have been developed through Level III (ages 9-10). The Level III math, science, and social science curricula are excellent, but language arts materials need further work. Teacher interest in the project has increased as has the effectiveness of teaching in the pilot schools. However, despite provision of teacher training as scheduled and increased school visits by project staff, more teacher training is needed than was planned. Training of administrators and principals has increased in frequency and quality. Diagnostic and achievement tests have been developed in math, science, and social studies Levels I-III, but baseline data on student achievement are still lacking. The entire process of documentation and internal evaluation is behind schedule and needs to be simplified. This problem is especially critical due to the untimely death of the Project Evaluation Specialist. Further work is also needed on regional educational planning and on revising the exams for students over age 11 to relect project curricula. UWI's Research and Development and Inservice Education departments have increased their services to participating countries, but better cooperation among these entities and UWI's School of Education - the main implementor - is still needed. Significant progress has been made in developing individual countries' capabilities to develop curricula and in disseminating project curricula. Several countries have developed reading materials specifically for their children and project curricula have already been used in nonproject schools and teachers' colleges. However, a formal plan for wider dissemination is needed. It is recommended that the project be extended so it can disseminate the curricula to all schools in the countries involved. Other recommendations address the needs noted above.