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International Common Assessment of Numeracy - International Common Assessment of Reading 2025

2025
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Reference ID
int-pal-ican-icar-2025-v1
DOI
https://doi.org/10.25828/ah42-xw77
Producer(s)
People's Action for Learning Network
Collections
People's Action for Learning Network
Metadata
Documentation in PDF DDI/XML JSON
Created on
Apr 07, 2026
Last modified
Jun 16, 2026
Page views
26512
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  • Identification
  • Version
  • Scope
  • Coverage
  • Producers and sponsors
  • Sampling
  • Data collection
  • Data processing
  • Quality standards
  • access_policy
  • Metadata production
  • Citation

    • Identification

    Survey ID number
    int-pal-ican-icar-2025-v1
    Title
    International Common Assessment of Numeracy - International Common Assessment of Reading 2025
    Abbreviation or Acronym
    ICAN-ICAR 2025
    Other identifiers
    Type Identifier
    doi https://doi.org/10.25828/ah42-xw77
    Abstract
    The PAL Network’s International Common Assessment of Numeracy (ICAN) and Reading (ICAR) is a one-on-one oral assessment for children aged 5–16 that measures foundational numeracy and reading skills. It includes 36 numeracy items and 30 reading items. The numeracy items assess spatial reasoning, patterns, measurement, time, data, number knowledge, and arithmetic problem solving. The reading items assess listening comprehension, letter-sound knowledge, word reading, and reading comprehension across progressively more difficult texts.

    From July to October 2025, the PAL Network used ICAN and ICAR in a nationally representative, household-based survey of 89,185 children in 56,913 households across 2,917 enumeration areas. The survey covered both in-school and out-of-school children. It enables low- and middle-income countries to report on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicator 4.1.1(a), which measures foundational learning proficiency. It also provides evidence that countries can use to shape policy and track progress in early foundational learning.
    Kind of Data
    Sample survey data [ssd]
    Unit of Analysis
    Households and their individuals

    Version

    Version Description
    Version 1.1: Edited, anonymized data for public distribution
    Version Date
    2026-04-01
    Version Responsibility Statement
    DataFirst

    Scope

    Keywords
    Early Foundational Learning Reading Assessment Numeracy Assessment Learning Proficiency

    Coverage

    Geographic Coverage
    The study had national coverage of the countries covered. Assessments were conducted in Africa (Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda); Asia (Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan); and Americas (Mexico and Nicaragua).
    Geographic Unit
    The lowest level of geographic aggregation in the data is anonymised village
    Universe
    The universe of the study was households with children aged 5 - 16 years old.

    Producers and sponsors

    Primary investigators
    Name
    People's Action for Learning Network
    Funding Agency/Sponsor
    Name Abbreviation
    Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office FCDO
    Echidna Giving
    Hempel Foundation
    Gates Foundation

    Sampling

    Sample frame

    Sample frame name
    For each country, the sampling frame was constructed using the most recent national population and housing census.
    Custodian
    Government statistics agencies
    Number of units
    56 913 households in 2 917 enumeration areas in total
    Sampling Procedure
    The survey used a multi-stage, stratified probability sampling design to produce nationally representative estimates for children aged 5-16 years, including both in-school and out-of-school children. In the first stage, Enumeration Areas (EAs) were selected as the primary sampling units (PSUs) from the national sampling frame using probability proportional to size (PPS). The sample was stratified by geographic area and urban/rural residence. In the second stage, 20 households were selected in each sampled EA. Where a household list was available, the list was updated and households were selected systematically. Where no list was available, a spatial selection approach was used, including the 5th household rule; in Mexico, every 3rd household was selected because of higher nonresponse. Only households with at least one child aged 5-16 years were eligible. The planned sample size was 222 EAs per country and approximately 4,440 households per country. More information is provided in the documentation for the dataset.

    Data collection

    Dates of Data Collection
    Start End
    2025-07-14 2025-10-19
    Time Method
    Cross-section [cross section]
    Data Collection Mode
    • Face-to-face computer-assisted interviews [CAPI]

    Data processing

    Data Editing
    DataFirst used R software to apply labels to all variables and their associated value categories. The data was reviewed for direct identifiers and other confidential information, including respondents’ names, phone numbers, addresses, and similar sensitive fields. Variable value ranges were checked for consistency and validity. DataFirst also verified the completeness of the data file by cross-checking it against the questionnaire. Variable data types were converted where necessary to ensure that each variable was stored in the correct format. The data file was renamed according to a consistent naming convention to make its contents easier for researchers to identify. The final cleaned data file was saved in Stata format.

    Quality standards

    Standard compliance
    Benchmarking:
    The technical robustness of the ICAN-ICAR tool has been confirmed by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) as meeting the criteria for reporting on SDG 4.1.1(a).
    In collaboration with the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), PAL Network established global proficiency thresholds using the Pairwise Comparison Method (PCM).
    Data on learning conditions and child learning difficulties was collected using the Washington Group Child Functioning Module.

    Psychometric Validation:
    The survey applied Item Response Theory (IRT) and rigorous checks for Differential Item Functioning (DIF) to ensure measurement fairness across age, gender, and location.

    access_policy

    Access authority
    Name Affiliation URL Email
    DataFirst Support University of Cape Town support@data1st.org
    Muhammed Usman PAL Network (Assessment Unit) musman@palnetwork.org
    Confidentiality
    Is signing of a confidentiality declaration required? Confidentiality declaration text
    yes The data re-user agrees to make no attempt to re-identify data subjects from the data
    Access conditions
    CC-BY 4.0 attribution license
    Citation requirements
    PAL Network. International Common Assessment of Numeracy - International Common Assessment of Reading 2025 [dataset]. Version 1. Nairobi: PAL Network [producer], 2025. Cape Town: DataFirst [distributor], 2026. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25828/ah42-xw77
    Deposit requirements
    The data re-user agrees to send DataFirst a link to research publications that are based on the data.

    Metadata production

    DDI Document ID
    int-pal-ican-icar-2025-v1
    Producers
    Name Affiliation Role
    DataFirst University of Cape Town Metadata producer
    Date of Metadata Production
    2026-04-20

    Metadata version

    DDI Document version
    Version 1

    Citation

    Citation
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