Report: Malawi Chichewa Self-Administered EGRA/EGMA Pilot Results
Executive Summary
This report summarizes the findings of an effort to develop and validate tablet-based, selfadministered assessments of Chichewa-language foundational literacy and numeracy in the early grades in Malawi. RTI International developed the two assessments, known respectively as the Self-Administered Early Grade Reading Assessment (SA-EGRA) and the Self-Administered Early Grade Mathematics Assessment (SA-EGMA), with the support and at the direction of Imagine Worldwide. The assessments are deemed “self-administered,” because children complete the assessments independently in response to instructions and stimuli imbedded in the tablet-based software. However, adults typically supervise the organization and conduct of the assessment as well as the collection of individual data from the tablets for analysis.
The effort to develop these Chichewa instruments took place throughout 2023, beginning with an adaptation workshop with language and curriculum experts in January where items were adapted and revised based on the needed specifications. The tool then went through a round of User Testing with nearly 40 students, focusing on the specific experiences of Malawian students. Minor changes were made to the instrument in response to the feedback from User Testing (and incorporated into previous versions of the tool where applicable), and the revised tools were then Field Tested with over 500 students in each of Grade 2 and Grade 4 at 21 schools in the Zomba District of Malawi. IRT and Factor Analysis from this Field Test led to more minor alterations to the tool and the cutting of some lower performing items. The final version of the tools were then Pilot Tested in June and July to assess internal consistency, reliability, and concurrent validity with the traditional EGRA and EGMA tools. This report presents the results of this final Pilot Testing phase.