Led by IREX in close partnership with School-to-School International (STS), the Asas project has played a central role in strengthening Jordan’s early grade education system through data-driven, Ministry-led reform. From the outset, Asas prioritized building the Ministry of Education’s capacity to collect, analyze, and use high-quality data—laying the groundwork for sustainable improvements in teaching, learning, and system oversight.
Together, IREX and STS supported all phases of Jordan’s Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) assessment, with STS serving as a technical lead on assessment design, data systems, and capacity building. This assessment of early grade students helps the Ministry identify areas that need support to evaluate improvement plans at the national level. Through hands-on training and ongoing technical support, Ministry staff gained the skills needed to manage the full LQAS assessment cycle independently. This culminated in November–December 2024, when the Ministry successfully implemented its own annual LQAS assessment using Tangerine software—an important milestone demonstrating institutional ownership and readiness. The Ministry repeated this success in late 2025 with minimal support, demonstrating the sustainability of these reforms.
How the USG-funded Asas Project, led by IREX and STS, is building Ministry of Education capacity for data-driven early grade education in Jordan
Beyond LQAS, Asas advanced system-wide quality assurance through the development of the Quality Assurance and Early Grades Assessments Strengthening Road Map. Developed through extensive stakeholder engagement and technical leadership from STS alongside IREX, the roadmap provides a clear, shared framework for strengthening early grade assessment and monitoring. The project also conducted desk research on early childhood development (ECD) and social and emotional learning (SEL), including a detailed mapping of SEL domains and constituent skills relevant to Jordan.
Asas further strengthened the evidence base by conducting a national school readiness study using the International Development and Early Learning Assessment (IDELA), making Jordan only the second country globally to establish national IDELA benchmarks. Findings showed that 71 percent of KG2 students were developmentally on track. Complementary assessments—including a rapid teacher training needs assessment and a survey of Ministry staff on data use for decision-making—helped identify priority areas for future support.
Following a brief pause in mid-2025, the Asas project is now active again, building on this strong foundation to deepen the Ministry’s capacity, advance evidence-based decision-making, and sustain gains in early grade education across Jordan.
