Anguilla participated in the recently concluded Introduction to Sampling and Analysis Methods in International Large Scale Assessments (LSA) workshop organised by the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) and facilitated by contemporaries from the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) held in Barbados. The IEA is an independent, non-profit, international cooperative of national research institutions and governmental research agencies. The IEA aims to:
? Provide international benchmarks that may assist policy-makers in identifying the comparative strength and weaknesses of their educational systems
? Provide high-quality data that will increase policy-makers understanding of key school- and non-school-based factors that influence teaching and learning
? Provide high-quality data which will serve as a resource for identifying areas of concern and action, and for preparing and evaluating educational reforms
? Develop and improve educational systems capacity to engage in national strategies for educational monitoring and improvement
? Contribute to development of the world-wide community of researchers in educational evaluation
These aims are accomplished through the conduct of high quality, large-scale comparative studies of education across the world in order to provide educators, policymakers, and parents with insights into how students perform and factors that may contribute to their performance.
The workshop sought to deepen participants’ understanding of sampling procedures in international LSA, the beginnings and significance of such assessments and introduce or for that matter, reintroduce participants to basic quantitative statistical methods using appropriate software.
The areas covered included complex understanding of bias and precision, cluster sampling, stratification and computing sampling weights, including introduction to statistical methods using the IEA IDB Analyzer.
Following the conclusion of the workshop, participants would have gained more understanding of the crucial determinants of statistical sampling and the resulting implications of such sampling for analysis and interpretation of results. In addition, the ability to develop optimal sample designs and master fundamental statistics, which are the basis for analyzing data from
LSA were also part of the outcomes of the workshop. Armed with such knowledge and skill participants developed an even further appreciation of statistics and an even more critical eye of when and how certain statistics should be used.
The workshop was attended by Education Planners/Statisticians within the region, with the exception of Anguilla. The Anguilla Statistics Department (ASD) seeks to work with Ministries and Departments in Anguilla to produce and improve the quality of administrative and survey data across Government. Given the nature of the workshop the ASD was asked to represent the Ministry of Education, Anguilla with the view of advising and working collaboratively on LSA when the need arises.
Anguilla participated through the assistance of CXC and was represented the Chief Statistician, Mrs. Lori-Rae AlleyneFranklin of the Anguilla Statistics Department of the Government of Anguilla.
– Press Release
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
