USAID/Uganda Literacy Achievement and Retention Activity Activity Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plan (AMELP)

The activity began on April 7, 2015, and concluded on April 6, 2020. The LARA theory of change posits that improved literacy outcomes can be achieved through a combination of interventions, including improved planning and management of early grade reading, increased community and household involvement in promoting literacy attainment, and strengthened capacity of the education system to implement SRGBV-related policy. The activity's results framework outlined six intermediate results, including improved planning and management of early grade reading, improved early grade reading in P1 to P4 classrooms, and increased community and household involvement in promoting literacy attainment. To monitor and evaluate the activity's progress, LARA employed a performance monitoring approach and system, which included strategic data transfer, monitoring processes, data collection, and management. Key instruments for original data collection included surveys, assessments, and evaluations, which were conducted by RTI International and other stakeholders. Data quality assessment was an essential component of the monitoring and evaluation process, and roles and responsibilities of other essential M&E stakeholders were clearly defined. The activity's monitoring and evaluation plan included several studies, including an evaluation of the impact of literacy achievement and retention activity interventions on primary 2 and primary 4 reading, a primary 2 annual performance assessment, a quasi-longitudinal study of primary 1 to 4 reading skills, a rapid formative school-related gender-based violence assessment, and an impact assessment of the interventions to establish positive and supportive schools and to prevent school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV) interventions. The LARA activity's monitoring and evaluation plan was designed to provide evidence-based information to inform decision-making and improve literacy outcomes for primary school students in Uganda. The plan included a schedule of monitoring and evaluation tasks, which outlined the specific activities and timelines for each study. The plan also included a framework for sharing, learning, and adaptive management, which aimed to build upon evidence and use M&E results in an ongoing review and learning process.