Background

The United Republic of Tanzania (Tanzania), comprising the Mainland and Zanzibar regions, has put a strong emphasis on high-stakes examinations, with annual exams and assessments conducted at various grade levels primarily for student promotion. Additionally, Zanzibar is preparing to pilot sample-based large-scale assessments in 2026 for Grade 4 and Form 2. These assessments will provide valuable information to policymakers and practitioners regarding overall performance levels within the education system and the factors contributing to that performance. Despite these efforts, the key challenge remains: Tanzania still lacks a measure for learning poverty and is not reporting on the SDG indicator 4.1.1 (proportion of children and young people (a) in grades 2/3; (b) at the end of primary; and (c) at the end of lower secondary achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in (i) reading and (ii) mathematics, by sex).

The World Bank is committed to supporting governments in strengthening their education systems to ensure that every child has access to quality learning opportunities. In line with these efforts, the World Bank has recently launched the Accelerating Learning Measurement for Action (ALMA) program, designed to advance learning measurement and monitoring practices worldwide, with a particular focus on generating actionable learning data to guide improvements in education systems and addressing existing inequities and inefficiencies. Through ALMA, the World Bank aims to strengthen national capacities in learning assessment, support the generation of internationally comparable learning data, and ultimately enhance countries' abilities to track progress on international learning indicators, such as SDG 4.1.1. learning indicators.

Through the ALMA program, the World Bank has provided a grant to the United Republic of Tanzania to support its efforts in reporting on SDG 4.1.1 indicators by strengthening the national capacity in designing and implementing student assessments of learning outcomes at the end-of-primary education through the AMPL.

Objectives of the consultancy

The World Bank’s Education Global Practice is intended to hire services of a consultancy firm (the vendor) to support the design and implementation of the Assessment for Minimum Proficiency Levels (AMPL) in mathematics and reading at the end of primary education in the United Republic of Tanzania, including Mainland and Zanzibar regions. The firm will work closely and support capacity building at the Ministries of Education and the national examination councils, namely the National Examination Council of Tanzania (NECTA), the Zanzibar Examination Council (ZEC), and the Zanzibar Institute of Education (ZIE) .

AMPL will provide an accurate measure of whether students achieve the minimum level of competency by the end of primary education, thus enabling them to report against the SDG 4.1.1 indicators in a way that is consistent with the Global Proficiency Framework. The vendor shall support the administration of AMPL tools (AMPL b for the end of primary education), inform World Bank teams about technical requirements for the effective implementation of AMPL, guide planning and implementation of the assessment activities, help in the AMPL data analysis and results reporting, and ensure the quality of the process and outcomes. The results of this consultancy will inform the World Bank to carry out dialogue with or advise the government. In addition, the selected vendor is expected to carry out capacity-building activities to strengthen the client country's ability to continue undertaking activities linked to the monitoring of student learning outcomes, maximize the use of learning data, and report on international learning indicators on their own in the future. Throughout the exercise, the vendor will work in close collaboration with the World Bank and provide timely reporting on all activities.

The specific objectives of the consultancy are:

1. Review and strengthen the national assessment program: review the large-scale assessment programs in the United Republic of Tanzania, ensuring its alignment with the UIS technical criteria for SDG 4.1.1 reporting and providing technical guidance on areas that need strengthening to meet these criteria.

2. Support in AMPL design and implementation: guiding the government throughout the entire AMPL design and implementation process.

3. Capacity building: support capacity building of staff at NECTA, ZEC, and ZIE through training workshops, development of guidelines, or coaching in practical assessment activities that will enable staff to develop the necessary skills for improving the national large-scale assessment program, comply with the UIS technical criteria for SDG 4.1.1 reporting, and report on international learning indicators independently in the future.

SELECTION OF CONSULTING FIRMS BY THE WORLD BANK GROUP

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (EOI)

Electronic Submissions through WBGeProcure RFx Now

ASSIGNMENT OVERVIEW

Assignment Title: Consultancy to design and implement AMPL in math and reading for primary education in Tanzania

Assignment Countries:

• Tanzania, United Republic

ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION

Background

The United Republic of Tanzania (Tanzania), comprising the Mainland and Zanzibar regions, has put a strong emphasis on high-stakes examinations, with annual exams and assessments conducted at various grade levels primarily for student promotion. Additionally, Zanzibar is preparing to pilot sample-based large-scale assessments in 2026 for Grade 4 and Form 2. These assessments will provide valuable information to policymakers and practitioners regarding overall performance levels within the education system and the factors contributing to that performance. Despite these efforts, the key challenge remains: Tanzania still lacks a measure for learning poverty and is not reporting on the SDG indicator 4.1.1 (proportion of children and young people (a) in grades 2/3; (b) at the end of primary; and (c) at the end of lower secondary achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in (i) reading and (ii) mathematics, by sex).

The World Bank is committed to supporting governments in strengthening their education systems to ensure that every child has access to quality learning opportunities. In line with these efforts, the World Bank has recently launched the Accelerating Learning Measurement for Action (ALMA) program, designed to advance learning measurement and monitoring practices worldwide, with a particular focus on generating actionable learning data to guide improvements in education systems and addressing existing inequities and inefficiencies. Through ALMA, the World Bank aims to strengthen national capacities in learning assessment, support the generation of internationally comparable learning data, and ultimately enhance countries' abilities to track progress on international learning indicators, such as SDG 4.1.1. learning indicators.

Through the ALMA program, the World Bank has provided a grant to the United Republic of Tanzania to support its efforts in reporting on SDG 4.1.1 indicators by strengthening the national capacity in designing and implementing student assessments of learning outcomes at the end-of-primary education through the AMPL.

Objectives of the consultancy

The World Bank’s Education Global Practice is intended to hire services of a consultancy firm (the vendor) to support the design and implementation of the Assessment for Minimum Proficiency Levels (AMPL) in mathematics and reading at the end of primary education in the United Republic of Tanzania, including Mainland and Zanzibar regions. The firm will work closely and support capacity building at the Ministries of Education and the national examination councils, namely the National Examination Council of Tanzania (NECTA), the Zanzibar Examination Council (ZEC), and the Zanzibar Institute of Education (ZIE) .

AMPL will provide an accurate measure of whether students achieve the minimum level of competency by the end of primary education, thus enabling them to report against the SDG 4.1.1 indicators in a way that is consistent with the Global Proficiency Framework. The vendor shall support the administration of AMPL tools (AMPL b for the end of primary education), inform World Bank teams about technical requirements for the effective implementation of AMPL, guide planning and implementation of the assessment activities, help in the AMPL data analysis and results reporting, and ensure the quality of the process and outcomes. The results of this consultancy will inform the World Bank to carry out dialogue with or advise the government. In addition, the selected vendor is expected to carry out capacity-building activities to strengthen the client country's ability to continue undertaking activities linked to the monitoring of student learning outcomes, maximize the use of learning data, and report on international learning indicators on their own in the future. Throughout the exercise, the vendor will work in close collaboration with the World Bank and provide timely reporting on all activities.

The specific objectives of the consultancy are:

1. Review and strengthen the national assessment program: review the large-scale assessment programs in the United Republic of Tanzania, ensuring its alignment with the UIS technical criteria for SDG 4.1.1 reporting and providing technical guidance on areas that need strengthening to meet these criteria.

2. Support in AMPL design and implementation: guiding the government throughout the entire AMPL design and implementation process.

3. Capacity building: support capacity building of staff at NECTA, ZEC, and ZIE through training workshops, development of guidelines, or coaching in practical assessment activities that will enable staff to develop the necessary skills for improving the national large-scale assessment program, comply with the UIS technical criteria for SDG 4.1.1 reporting, and report on international learning indicators independently in the future.

FUNDING SOURCE

The World Bank Group intends to finance the assignment / services described below under the following:

• BB: Bank Budget
• TF0C6501: SABER

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

The World Bank Group invites eligible firms to indicate their interest in providing the services. Interested firms must provide information indicating that they are qualified to perform the services (brochures, description of similar assignments, experience in similar conditions, availability of appropriate skills among staff, etc. for firms; CV and cover letter for individuals). Please note that the total size of all attachments should be less than 5MB. Firms may associate to enhance their qualifications unless otherwise stated in the solicitation documents. Where a group of firms associate to submit an EOI, they must indicate which is the lead firm. If shortlisted, the firm identified in the EOI as the lead firm will be invited to the request for proposal (RFP) phase.

Expressions of Interest should be submitted, in English, electronically through WBGeProcure RFx Now

NOTES

Following this invitation for EOI, a shortlist of qualified firms will be formally invited to submit proposals. Shortlisting and selection will be subject to the availability of funding.

Only those firms which have been shortlisted will be invited to participate in the RFP phase. No notification or debrief will be provided to firms which have not been shortlisted.

If you encounter technical difficulties while uploading documents, please send an e-mail to the Help Desk at corporateprocurement@worldbank.org prior to the submission deadline.