Policy linking – Global Alliance to Monitor Learning

Policy Linking

National learning assessments are not comparable across countries due to differences in curriculum objectives, coverage of constructs and sub-constructs, assessment frameworks, and items used.

The Policy Linking methodology is a non-statistical method that uses judgment to align and match items from the national assessment with the Global Proficiency Framework (GPF). This process establishes the internationally comparable global benchmarks based on the descriptors of each benchmark specified in the GPF.

The Global Proficiency Framework is a useful global reference defining proficiency levels for reading and mathematics that learners are expected to demonstrate at the end of each grade level, from grades 1 to 9, as common reference. The four levels outlined in the GPF – Below Partially Meets, Partially Meets, Meets, and Exceeds Global Minimum Proficiency – form a common scale from low to high achievement. The GPF helps to detect gaps/misalignment and provides a global reference for revising standards, curricula, materials, teacher training, and assessments.

Three major tasks – alignment, matching and setting benchmarks – have to be done in a workshop of 5-6 days with 15-20 panelists (teachers), curriculum and assessment experts of each grade/subject, to identify and set, if feasible, the required benchmarks for international reporting on SDG indicator 4.1.1^(*): Proportion of children and young people (a) in grades 2/3; (b) at the end of primary; and (c) at the end of lower secondary achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in (i) reading and (ii) mathematics, by sex.

To produce reliable benchmarks for international reporting, the Policy Linking Toolkit (PLT) specifies five criteria. These include ensuring a sufficient number of national items are aligned with the GPF; samples are nationally representative; and national assessments are administered according to minimum quality standards. If the criteria are not met, the workshop will be considered a capacity building activity.

The Policy Linking methodology was proposed during the Global Alliance to Monitor Learning (GAML) meeting in 2017, piloted in 2019 for the first time, revised in 2020 and piloted again in 2021–2022. The PLT was then revised in January 2023.

^(*)The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) is not using Policy Linking results to report on SDG 4.1.1 as the tool is still in a piloting phase.

Timeline

Global Content Framework

Global Proficiency Framework

Toolkit

Countries

Resources

The Global Proficiency Framework (GPF) defines the global minimum proficiency levels that learners are expected to demonstrate at the end of each grade level, from grades 1 to 9. The GPF was developed by educators, curriculum experts, and psychometricians with extensive experience on developing and implementing programs in a wide range of countries and contexts. GPF were developed for both reading and mathematics.

Reading	Mathematics

English Spanish French Tables	English Spanish French Tables
The GPF is also available in other languages. Click ⁠here for more information.

The GPF was developed in the Spring of 2019 by multilateral donors and partners based on research conducted by the UIS on the content and assessment frameworks of more than 50 countries. It defines the global minimum proficiency levels (minimum knowledge and skills) which learners should be able to demonstrate along their learning progression from grade 1 to 9 in reading and mathematics. In addition to providing expectations for students who meet minimum expectations, it also includes expectations for students to partially meet minimum expectations and to exceed minimum expectations. The purpose of additional performance levels is to allow countries to show progress toward meeting and exceeding the target for SDG 4.1.1.

The Minimum Proficiency Levels define a minimum global proficiency level for each point of measurement and domain for international assessments, based on the Global Content Framework (GCF). The minimum proficiency levels at the global scale have been mapped to these assessment programmes: this was possible through an analysis by experts to accommodate countries with different socio- and economic-development stages at each of the 3 educational levels included in indicator 4.1.1 .

Minimum Proficiency Levels at the global scale have been mapped to assessment programmes from around the world.

The GPF provides detailed minimum proficiency expectations (called Global Proficiency Descriptors—GPD) that countries, along with regional and international assessment organizations, can use as a foundation for linking existing – and future – assessments for the domains of reading and mathematics to report on SDG 4.1.1 via Policy Linking or other linking methodologies. Once assessments are linked with the GPD, the results can then be compared across the different assessments and languages, both within and across countries.

The Policy Linking Toolkit describes the Policy Linking methodology used for measuring global learning outcomes. The toolkit was initially developed in 2019 and revised in 2020 and 2023 following implementation of the Policy Linking methodology in a number of pilot countries. It is designed for project teams, more specifically workshop facilitators, and resource persons – i.e., government officials, assessment agency officers, donor representatives, and partners – who will be organizing, funding, and/or implementing the Policy Linking methodology in their country or region and it includes clear guidelines for implementation.

Discover the revised Policy Linking for Measuring Global Learning Outcomes Toolkit (English – Arabic) 2023

Download the Policy Linking workshop presentations (English – Arabic) 2023

Changes in the revised Policy Linking Toolkit:

Six stages instead of seven
Easier-to-navigate document including navigating guides by role (e. g. content facilitator)
Preparing for workshop: activity planner, budgeting templates, roles and responsibilities, capacity building of local content facilitators
Adding workflow to help panelists with the process
Understanding advantages/disadvantages/requirements of different types of workshops (in-person, remote and hybrid)
Translating GPF/other documents and providing additional support to successful implementation of workshops

Updated stages of Policy Linking (2022)

Policy Linking was piloted by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) in Bangladesh, India, Cambodia, Lesotho, Nepal and Zambia (see table below).

Pilot Countries of UIS	Year	Grades	Language	Reports
Bangladesh	2019	Grade 3 and 5	Bangla	View report
India	2019	Grade 3 and 5	English	View report
Cambodia	2021	Grade 6	Khmer	View report
India	2021	Grade 8	Hindi	View report
Lesotho	2021	Grade 6	English	View report
Nepal	2021	Grade 5	Nepali
Zambia	2022	Grade 5	English	View report
CITO PL evaluation report	2022			View report

View reports

Policy Linking was piloted in a number of countries by other partners including:

USAID: Nigeria (2020), Morocco and Djibouti; forthcoming Kenya and Senegal.
WBG: Ghana and Gambia
USAID/FCDO/UIS: ICAN/PAL Network

Policy Linking Development Partners

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
World Bank Group (WBG)

Other Policy Linking Partners

Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER)
CITO
Global Reading Network (GRN)
International Common Assessment for Numeracy (ICAN)
Ministries of Education and/or the specialized agency or department for administering national learning assessments in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Djibouti, Gambia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Lesotho, Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Senegal
MSI
National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER)
People’s Action for Learning (PAL) Network
The Education Partnership (TEP Centre)
Zizi Afrique