USAID/KOSOVO BASIC EDUCATION PROGRAM EVALUATION FINAL REPORT APRIL 2017 This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared by Management Systems International Inc., A Tetra Tech Company. E3 Analytics and Evaluation Project: Concept Paper - SERVIR Evaluation 1 USAID/KOSOVO BASIC EDUCATION PROGRAM EVALUATION FINAL REPORT April 24, 2017 Award No: AID-167-TO-17-00002 Prepared for Urime Abdyli United States Agency for International Development/Kosovo Ismail Qemali (Arberia), House 1 Pristina – Kosovo 1000 Prepared by Management Systems International (MSI), A Tetra Tech Company 200 12th St South, Suite 1200 Arlington, VA, USA 22202 DISCLAIMER The authors’ views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government. CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................... ii ACRONYMS .................................................................................................................................. iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 4 BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................. 5 Background of BEP ............................................................................................................................................................6 BEP Results and Achievements.......................................................................................................................................7 METHODOLOGY .......................................................................................................................... 8 Limitations ...........................................................................................................................................................................9 FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................. 10 Introduction...................................................................................................................................................................... 10 Evaluation Question 1 .................................................................................................................................................... 10 Evaluation Question 2 .................................................................................................................................................... 21 Evaluation Question 3 .................................................................................................................................................... 24 Evaluation Question 4 .................................................................................................................................................... 26 Evaluation Question 5 .................................................................................................................................................... 28 LESSONS LEARNED ................................................................................................................... 29 BEP FINAL REPORT ANNEXES ................................................................................................ 31 Annex 1 – Scope of Work (SOW) ............................................................................................................................ 31 Annex 2 – Team Composition .................................................................................................................................... 34 Annex 3 – Work Plan .................................................................................................................................................... 35 Annex 4 – Sample Frame for Index KOSOVO Mini-Surveys .............................................................................. 44 Annex 5 – Questions Posed in Mini-Surveys ........................................................................................................... 47 Annex 6 – Schedule of Qualitative Study Interviews ............................................................................................. 55 Annex 7 – Questions Posed in Qualitative Interviews ......................................................................................... 56 Annex 8 – Schedule of Interviews Held in Pristina ................................................................................................ 64 Annex 9 – Management Training Courses Attended ............................................................................................ 65 Annex 10 – Certified Teachers and School-Based Facilitators Attending Formative Assessment Training .............................................................................................................................................................................. 67 Annex 12 – Teacher Training Courses Attended and Equipment/ Kits Delivered ....................................... 69 Annex 13 – ‘Wish List’ for Future USAID Programming ..................................................................................... 70 Annex 14 – Municipal Education Directors, Professional Development Center Coordinators, School Directors, Teachers & Parents (Qualitative Interviews) ...................................................................................... 71 Annex 15 – Teachers & SBFs Attending BEP Course ‘Developing Reading Skills in Early Grades,’ by Municipality ....................................................................................................................................................................... 73 Annex 16 – Bibliography/References ......................................................................................................................... 74 Annex 17 – Disclosure of Conflict of Interest Forms ........................................................................................... 75 USAID/KOSOVO BASIC EDUCATION PROGRAM (BEP) EVALUATION i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS MSI and the Evaluation Team (ET) would personally like to thank all of the participants in this study who so graciously provided their time and thoughtfulness in answering all the questions posed. Special thanks go to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) for addressing a project that had ended almost a year ago when most MEST senior staff had different positions. Their willingness to take time to discuss their experiences with BEP was commendable. Also admirable was the time and energy that former BEP staff members took to answer our questions and provide documents when they had already gone to other positions. The ET faced a number of challenges in trying to find municipal education directors (MEDs) who were in their positions at the time of BEP implementation. We especially appreciated the MEDs who took time to contact these former officials so we could interview them. Throughout this study, the ET worked together under a unified purpose of identifying how BEP ultimately benefited the children of Kosovo in their efforts to realize their dreams. With the improvements that BEP instituted, we hope that the children are well on their way to realizing those dreams and that any subsequent project will do even more to further that process. — MSI and the Evaluation Team USAID/KOSOVO BASIC EDUCATION PROGRAM (BEP) EVALUATION ii ACRONYMS AED Academy for Educational Development A-EGRA Early Grade Reading Assessment in Albanian AI Administrative Instruction BEP Basic Education Program COP Chief of Party EFA Education for All EGRA Early Grade Reading Assessment EQ Evaluation Question ET Evaluation Team EU European Union EUR Euros FHI Family Health International FoE Faculty of Education (University of Pristina) GOK Government of Kosovo HQ Headquarters IED Institute of Educational Development (University of Pristina) IK Index Kosova IMF International Monetary Fund KCF Kosovo Curriculum Framework KESP Kosovo Education Strategic Plan MED Municipal Education Director MEST Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (Kosovo) MDG Millennium Development Goals MLF Master Learning Facilitators MOU Memorandum of Understanding MSI Management Systems International PDC Professional Development Center PDCC Professional Development Center Coordinator PUE Pre-University Education SBF School-Based Facilitator SBPD School-Based Professional Development SCTL State Council for Teacher Licensing SD School Director SO Strategic Objective SOW Scope of Work TPD Teacher Professional Development TPI The Pedagogical Institute USAID United States Agency for International Development USAID/KOSOVO BASIC EDUCATION PROGRAM (BEP) EVALUATION iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Basic Education Program (BEP) contract was awarded to the Academy for Educational Development (AED) by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/Kosovo in August 2010, and subsequently re-awarded to Family Health International (FHI) 360. The five-year initiative was funded first solely by USAID, but the Government of Kosovo (GOK) and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) provided an additional