Background
With the ratification of the Law on Education for Individuals with Special Education Needs (instigated by Mission East and Bridge of Hope, our local partner, during the development of the DANIDA funded "Towards Education for All" project), there is an emerging need to develop a child assessment tool to appraise the abilities of children, aged up to 14 years, on one hand, and to determine the individual’s need to state services as well as their eligibility to state benefits on the other hand. It opens a possibility to develop an assessment tool that could fulfil the purpose for assessing children entering school and for appraising children’s abilities at any stage of their individual development.

Building on this knowledge, Mission East and Bridge of Hope conducted interviews with different agencies, local NGOs and UNICEF and the Ministries of Health, Education and Social Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, to establish what action was being taken to improve the situation. We were keen to see the consideration of the rights of children with learning difficulties in the education sector at the local level which would ensure a child centred approach. In response the project design was elaborated.

Project Action
The aim will be achieved through the development and trialling of academic assessment tools to be developed through an expert group in the educational sector in Armenia, with the help of an international consultant.

Once developed, trialled and reviewed and a core team of teachers trained in their application, the tools will form part of the important educational reforms envisioned in the law on Education for Individuals with Special Education Needs.

The tools will also help better implement inclusive Flexible Curriculum Package developed as part of the DANIDA funded Towards Education for All Project, which will be adopted and replicated nationally upon completion.

Project Aims:
Mission East and its Partner Organisation Bridge of Hope aim to implement a project to develop national academic assessment tools for inclusive and special education in order to change academic practices towards greater achievements of children with learning difficulties in the Armenian education system.

Major Donor: DMCDD

Project Code: ARM-DMCDD-003
Location: Armenia