The first Russia Education Aid for Development (READ) Trust Fund Program, which ran from 2008 to 2015, had the goal of helping countries improve their capacity to support student learning through the design, implementation, and use of strong assessment systems. A 2015 independent evaluation of the program noted its positive impacts in many areas—global knowledge development in the area of student assessment, targeted support for eight countries’ assessment systems, and development of Russia’s capacity as a key donor and player in the area of education quality. At the same time, the evaluation concluded that much work remained to be done in the areas of learning outcomes and student assessment, both globally and at the country level. The READ 2 Trust Fund Program is a response to these identified needs. It builds on the successes and lessons learned from the first program while continuing to help countries improve their capacity to support student learning through the design, implementation, and use of strong assessment systems.
The READ 2 Trust Fund Program places particular emphasis on helping countries to:
- Strengthen the capacity of key stakeholders to use assessment data to improve teaching and learning;
- Strengthen or reform high-stakes examinations programs that make decisions about student promotion, graduation, or admission; and
- Strengthen or pilot programs for training and professional development of teachers in the use of classroom assessment practices.
Together, these emphases will allow the READ 2 Trust Fund to create a body of evidence and experience in areas of critical importance to developing countries and to the attainment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal for education. Countries need support to develop and implement assessments that will enable them to meet national, regional, and global monitoring requirements. They also need support in effectively analyzing and using data from all of their assessment activities to inform teaching and learning and to more effectively address equity and quality gaps in the classroom and beyond.
The READ 2 Trust Fund Program will run until 2019.
