Using Evidence to Improve Teacher Placement in Ghana

Ministry of Education in Ghana requested more evidence to guide policy decisions and introduce more systematic processes with which to implement teacher rationalization-which effectively means how to plan for the effective placement of teachers. Rather than conducting a standard assessment, USAID and its implementer, Social Impact worked with the Ministry of Education to design a utilization-focused assessment. This assessment effectively integrates collaboration, learning and adapting by bringing in the users of the assessment into the design of the assessment, into the review and interpretation of results, and into the data collection itself. 

From an organizational perspective, this approach provides users with data that is more in line with their needs, the tools they need to advocate for use of data, and the opportunity for decision-makers from different units and divisions to discuss and interpret results collaboratively. On a wider scale, this approach has implications for a wider use of data for decision making in the Ministry and also has important implications for government transparency. The data gathered here when available to the public can help stakeholders can better understand how their government makes important decisions about the education of the country's children.