Analysis of attendance at learning spaces and planning for an influx

International NGO · Written recruitment test

Practical exercise

Education in Emergencies Programme Officer

Duty station: Kaya, Centre-Nord region (Burkina Faso)
Time allowed: 75 min
Marks: 100 marks
Pass mark: 60 %
Profile: Officer, 2 to 4 years of experience

Instructions

The test lasts 75 minutes. It is marked out of 100; the pass mark for the interview is 60.
Answer in English, in a structured way. Show your workings: a correct result without workings receives only half the marks.
Calculator and spreadsheet allowed. Any outside help (another person, artificial intelligence) is forbidden.
The documents are fictional but built on realistic data. State any assumption you make.

Original practice test, built on the format of written tests used by United Nations agencies and international NGOs. The context and figures are fictitious.

Documents provided

Document 1. Enrolment and average attendance in October, temporary learning spaces (TLS), children aged 6 to 11

TLS	Enrolled (girls)	Enrolled (boys)	Average attendance girls	Average attendance boys	Teachers
TLS 1 Bollé	64	58	51	49	2
TLS 2 Bollé	70	66	38	57	2
TLS 3 Delwendé	55	61	47	53	2
TLS 4 Delwendé	82	75	44	63	2
TLS 5 Tiwêga	48	52	42	46	1
TLS 6 Tiwêga	60	57	52	50	2
TLS 7 Sector 6	73	70	39	61	2
TLS 8 Sector 6	44	50	40	43	1
TLS 9 Watinoma	58	63	50	55	2
TLS 10 Watinoma	66	59	35	51	1
TLS 11 Kaya Est	52	49	46	44	2
TLS 12 Kaya Est	61	64	53	56	2

Document 2. Characteristics of the TLS

Separate latrines for girls and boys: present everywhere except TLS 2, 4, 7 and 10. Female teacher: TLS 1, 3, 6, 8, 11 and 12. Water point less than 200 m away: all except TLS 4 and 7.

Programme standards: 1 teacher per 50 enrolled pupils; a 42 m² tent accommodates 40 pupils per shift, 2 shifts per day; 1 pupil kit per child plus a 10% reserve.

Announced influx: 640 children aged 6 to 11 in the next 6 weeks.

Question 130 marks

Calculate for each TLS and overall: the attendance rate of girls, that of boys and the pupil-teacher ratio. Present the results in a table.

Your answer

0 words

Model answer

TLS	Girls' attendance	Boys' attendance	Pupils per teacher
1	79.7%	84.5%	61
2	54.3%	86.4%	68
3	85.5%	86.9%	58
4	53.7%	84.0%	78.5
5	87.5%	88.5%	100
6	86.7%	87.7%	58.5
7	53.4%	87.1%	71.5
8	90.9%	86.0%	94
9	86.2%	87.3%	60.5
10	53.0%	86.4%	125
11	88.5%	89.8%	50.5
12	86.9%	87.5%	62.5
Total	73.3% (537 / 733)	86.7% (628 / 724)	69.4 (1,457 / 21)

Girls account for 50.3% of enrolled pupils: parity is achieved at enrolment, not in attendance.

Marking grid

Correct attendance rates by sex (14 marks)
Correct pupil-teacher ratios (10 marks)
Totals and distinction between enrolment and attendance (6 marks)

Your mark for this question / 30

Question 225 marks

Analyse the results together with document 2. What do you observe and what actions do you propose?

Your answer

0 words

Question 325 marks

Plan the reception of the 640 new pupils: tents, additional teachers (at overall programme level, for current and new pupils) and pupil kits.

Your answer

0 words

Question 420 marks

Write a message of 120 words maximum for the parents' committees, to be read out at meetings, to encourage regular attendance by girls.

Your answer

0 words

Other tests for this profession

Panel interview question for this profession

Describe an action you led to increase the participation of girls or another excluded group in education in emergencies.

Competency assessed : Inclusion of girls and the most excluded children

What the panel expects : An analysis of barriers based on disaggregated data, adapted measures, community participation, monitoring by sex and a quantified result.

Possible follow-up questions

How did you gather the views of the girls themselves?
Which measures did not work?
How did you ensure pupils' safety?

Strong answer

In a displacement site in Burkina Faso, the gender parity index of our learning spaces was 0.58. I organised 10 separate focus group discussions with girls, mothers and teachers: distance, the lack of separate latrines and looking after younger siblings came up most often. We built 18 separate latrine cubicles with locks and lighting, opened a childcare space for under-6s next to each learning space, recruited 11 women as teachers or assistants, and organised journeys accompanied by volunteer mothers. A parents' committee, half of whose members were women, monitored attendance every month. In one year, girls' enrolment rose from 610 to 1,140, the parity index to 0.91, and the girls' dropout rate fell from 19% to 8%.

Weak answer

"We raised parents' awareness of the importance of school for girls." This answer shows no analysis of barriers, no concrete measures and no measured result.

← All tests

Instructions

Documents provided

Question 130 marks

Model answer

Marking grid

Question 225 marks

Model answer

Marking grid

Question 325 marks

Model answer

Marking grid

Question 420 marks

Model answer

Marking grid

Result

Common mistakes that cost marks

Useful references