FCA Needs Assessment Summary and Plan of Action

The assessment aimed to identify the challenges and opportunities for implementing FCA in Ethiopian schools. The study involved a literature review, review of Ethiopian FCA manuals, and teacher interviews and observations in three regions: Debre Birhan of Amhara region, Modjo and Bishoftu of Oromia region, and Mekele of Tigray region. The literature review revealed that there is no standard definition of formative assessment, and the terms are often used interchangeably. The review also identified several challenges to implementing high-quality FCA, including perceived increased workload for teachers, fear of inability to finish the required curriculum, difficulty of marking and tracking progress of all learners with large class sizes, and lack of materials to successfully implement formative assessment. The review of Ethiopian FCA manuals showed that there is no shortage of information about FCA, but many of the manuals never actually made it into teachers' hands, and even those that did are text-heavy and un-user friendly. The manuals also assume that teachers have a certain base knowledge about formative assessment and that they are incentivized to incorporate it into their teaching. The teacher interviews and observations helped identify several emerging trends in FCA classroom practice, including the need for diagnostic reading skills assessment tools, assessment tools to identify reading disabilities, and specific formative assessment strategies and techniques for large classes. The findings also highlighted the challenges of managing students with varying learning disabilities and providing individual assessment and feedback in large classes.