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<b><span lang="EN-US">From:</span></b><span lang="EN-US"> press-releases-bounces@lists.spc.int [mailto:press-releases-bounces@lists.spc.int]
<b>On Behalf Of </b>SPC Media<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Friday, 24 March 2017 12:14 PM<br>
<b>Subject:</b> [SPC-News] PREPARATIONS FOR NEXT PACIFIC LITERACY AND NUMERACY ASSESSMENT UNDERWAY<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:13.0pt">MEDIA RELEASE <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:14.0pt"> <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;line-height:115%">Preparations for next Pacific Literacy and Numeracy Assessment underway<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">24 March 2017
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">Nadi, Fiji</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"> – Permanent Secretaries and Literacy and Numeracy experts from 15 Pacific Island Ministries
of Education are in Fiji this week to discuss crucial aspects of the region’s next numeracy and literacy assessment.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">The workshop, convened by the Pacific Community’s (SPC) Educational Quality and Assessment Programme (EQAP), is aimed at revisiting the Literacy and Numeracy Regional
benchmarks that were reviewed in September 2016.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">These benchmarks will be used to develop the 2018 Literacy and Numeracy framework and the test blue prints. With these in place, test items will be developed to
be trialled in October 2017 on some Year 4 and Year 6 students. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">The Pacific Island Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (PILNA) which is supported by the New Zealand Aid Programme was initially carried out in 2012, then 2015 and
is now headed towards its third cycle in 2018. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">The Pacific Community’s EQAP Director, Dr Michelle Belisle stated that apart from developing some aspects of assessing the students’ knowledge and skills on literacy
and numeracy (cognitive instrument), the workshop also aims to share information on the sampling strategies and finalize commonalities that would need to be investigated in a contextual questionnaire.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">This workshop follows the Pacific Board of Educational Quality (PBEQ) meeting, a strategic time to discuss ways in which the assessment of basic skills of Pacific
children will impact Pacific education at large and vice versa. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">The 2015 PILNA assessment involved 45,000 students from some 700 schools in 13 countries.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">Results highlighted how girls demonstrated higher performances in numeracy and literacy across the region and substantial improvement on numeracy achievement across
the region as students progressed from Year 4 to Year 6. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">Participating countries had taken their 2015 results and made headways in incorporating their PILNA recommendations and agreed intervention strategies.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">“We hope the workshop will iron out issues relating to PILNA as a regional mechanism and also country needs during this preparatory phase as a national assessment,”
said Dr Belisle. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">The workshop concludes this afternoon.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">Media contacts:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">Solo Matthewsella<b>
</b>Public Relations Assistant <a href="mailto:solomonim@spc.int">solomonim@spc.int</a><b>
</b>OR +679 9360903<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify">
<b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">About Us:<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify">
<span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%">SPC is the principal scientific and technical organisation in the Pacific region, supporting sustainable development since 1947. It is an intergovernmental development organisation owned and governed by its 26
country and territory members.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%">Photo caption:
</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%">PILNA Results workshop conducted in the Kingdom of Tonga<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:115%"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
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