ACTRC has been contributing to a four-year longitudinal study on early years education and school performance. The project, known as The Philippines Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Study, is funded by UNICEF and the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. It is implemented by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) in collaboration with the South East Asian Ministers of Educational Organisation, through its Regional Centre for Educational Innovation and Technology (SEAMEO INNOTECH) and ACTRC.
ACTRC has provided the cognitive assessment tools for the study. The tools assess student achievement in literacy and mathematics and are derived from the LearnARMM study, which produced a suite of instruments in the languages of Tagalog, Meranao and Maguindanao. For the ECCD study, the tools have also been translated and harmonized into Sinugbuanong Binisaya. ACTRC has also been involved in the training of test administrators and the conducting of data analysis for this study.
ACER has released summary findings from the first assessment round of the longitudinal study.