NEW DELHI, Jan. 15 -- For more than a decade now, the release of the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) has become a regular feature of the calendar of the country. The report which becomes available in the middle of January each year outlines the current status of schooling and learning in rural India. While the headlines from the report get discussed, the actual process of how the report comes together year after year is less known. Perhaps that is the most valuable contribution that ASER has made, not just to developing a stronger culture of measurement and evidence in India, but also for broadening the understanding of what needs to be done for improving children's learning in India.
It is widely accepted that the worldwide move ...