Assignment Reports
HEART is a consortium of leading organisations offering short-term technical support, including reviews and evaluations, strategy think-pieces, specialist reports and programme design. Wherever possible, we make assignment reports available on our website.
Please email [email protected] for more information on how to access these services or if you are a consultant and would like to add your CV to our database.
This review examines the quality and range of tools used to measure literacy and foundational learning in developing countries. It covers the assessment of language and literacy skills in children from age 3 to 14 and includes assessment tools from studies published between 1990 and 2014, rated as ‘Moderate’ or ‘High’ in methodological quality. There… Read more
This report serves as a user guide for a mapping exercise of research on the use of technology in low-resource environments. It should be read in conjunction with the map itself: an excel sheet titled ‘Education technology evidence database’. The map and user guide are intended to be resources for all those in the sector… Read more
This brief highlights how Sierra Leone can improve the sustainability of the free health care initiative (FHCI) financing, lower household out-of-pocket (OOP) payments on health care, and decrease its dependence on donors. A secondary analysis provides insights into how Sierra Leone could work towards achieving its longer-term health goal of Universal Health Coverage (UHC). If… Read more
As part of the review of Sierra Leone’s Free Health Care Initiative (FHCI), researchers assessed its monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system, strengths and weaknesses, and the changes that took place as a result of the FHCI. This brief notes that a strong M&E system is crucial to help improve performance and achieve results. Several key… Read more
In 2010, the Free Health Care Initiative (FHCI) abolished health user fees for pregnant women, lactating mothers and children under five. This was a response to very high mortality and morbidity levels among mothers and children and reports that financial costs were a major barrier to health service uptake and use by these groups. This… Read more
In 2010, the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) took steps towards establishing the Free Health Care Initiative (FHCI). At its core, this was the removal of user fees (on drugs and consultations) for pregnant women, lactating mothers and children under five. This brief is based on an independent review of FHCI completed in 2016, which looked… Read more
Assessment in education in Uganda takes many forms: for example, the Primary Leaving Examination (PLE) and Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) examinations, the National Assessment of Progress in Education (NAPE) and other system-wide tests, practice examinations used in schools, formal and informal classroom assessment. Uganda’s assessment system is a complex and interconnected web of all… Read more
A school’s success in promoting learning is often measured in terms of the examination results of the students. Value added measures are designed to account for the ability of a school’s intake to provide a fairer and more accurate indication of performance. They are being increasingly used to provide more accurate data about the quality… Read more
This Narrative Report has been written to accompany the 2016 Annual Review of the Working to Improve Nutrition in Northern Nigeria (WINNN) programme. The WINNN programme aims to deliver evidence-based, cost effective interventions in five northern states in Nigeria: Zamfara, Katsina, Kebbi, Jigawa, and Yobe, while improving government capacity, leadership, and financial commitment in relation… Read more
The Working to Improve Nutrition in Northern Nigeria (WINNN) programme continues to be successful achieving most of its objectives, is well managed and year on year is improving its effectiveness and increasing its reach. This summary sheet captures the headlines on programme performance, agreed actions and learning over the course of the review period. Summary… Read more
Improving student learning outcomes is one of the top priorities for the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology & Sports (MOESTS). Valid and reliable measures of the quality and distribution of student learning outcomes are essential components in the drive for improved education quality. However, improved learning achievement depends not only on the resources invested in… Read more