USAID Education Data Activity Quarterly Performance Report Fiscal Year 2021 Quarter 1

The program is implemented by DevTech Systems, Inc. under Contract Number 72061118C00005, and is scheduled to run from April 9, 2018 to October 8, 2021. The program's goal is to provide assessment, data management, and research and evaluation services to monitor and track the progress of USAID's Let's Read Project bilateral activity. The objectives of the program include completing two large-scale Early Grade Reading Assessments (EGRAs), strengthening the capacity of the Examinations Council of Zambia (ECZ) to independently conduct EGRA in the future, and conducting research on topics agreed upon with USAID and in collaboration with the Ministry of General Education (MoGE). The program targets 4,250 schools in 425 zones, 56 districts in 5 provinces: North Western, Western, Eastern, Muchinga, and Southern. The target beneficiaries are Grade 2 learners and ECZ staff. The reporting period for this quarterly report is October 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020. During this reporting period, the program made significant progress in implementing its contracted tasks. The Year 3 Annual Work Plan was developed and submitted to USAID/Zambia on October 15, 2020. The plan outlines several scenarios for conducting key activities, including the Midline EGRA, National Estimates Research Study (NERS), and Endline Early Childhood Research Study (ECE). The program also conducted orientation training for research assistants, MoGE, and ECZ staff on November 9, 2020. The Midline Language Mapping Exercise was conducted between November 10 and 28, 2020, in five provinces: Luapula, Copperbelt, Lusaka, Central, and Northern. A total of 142 staff from MoGE, ECZ, and Education Data activity participated in the exercise, including 58 males and 84 females. The exercise involved gathering and analyzing national-level school databases, conducting in-person verification of school databases at provincial education offices, and verifying the database through key informant interviews with additional provincial, district, and headteachers conducted during field visits. The program also submitted the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Quarter (Q4) Financial Report to USAID on October 30, 2020, and the FY20 Annual Performance Report to USAID/Zambia on October 30, 2020. The report was revised based on USAID/Zambia feedback received on December 14, 2020, and resubmitted on December 17, 2020. The program's progress is a significant step towards achieving its objectives and contributing to the improvement of learning outcomes in Zambia. The program's collaboration with MoGE and ECZ has been instrumental in ensuring the success of the Midline Language Mapping Exercise and other activities.