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African Harmonised Early-Grade Assessment Dataset

Africa
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Reference ID
af-ahead-v1
DOI
https://doi.org/10.25828/2287-mw84
Producer(s)
African Foundational Learning Data Hub
Collections
DataFirst - Harmonised Dataset Series
Metadata
Documentation in PDF DDI/XML JSON
Created on
Jul 02, 2026
Last modified
Jul 02, 2026
Page views
41
Downloads
2
  • Identification
  • Version
  • Scope
  • Coverage
  • Producers and sponsors
  • Sampling
  • survey_instrument
  • Data Collection
  • Data processing
  • Data appraisal
  • Access policy
  • Data Access
  • Metadata production
  • citation

    • Identification

    Survey ID number

    af-ahead-v1
    Title

    African Harmonised Early-Grade Assessment Dataset
    Abbreviation or Acronym

    AHEAD
    Country
    Name Country code
    Africa AFR
    Other identifiers
    Type Identifier
    DOI https://doi.org/10.25828/2287-mw84
    Abstract

    The AHEAD dataset pools and harmonizes microdata from Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) and Early Grade Mathematics Assessment (EGMA) surveys conducted in African countries. Each constituent survey was originally captured with its own variable names, numeric codes, and value labels. The harmonization assigns a single canonical variable name, code, label scheme to comparable items across surveys to produce one analysis-ready pooled data file suitable for cross-country and cross-time comparative research on early-grade literacy and numeracy across diverse educational contexts.

    Survey-level documentation, including assessment sub-tasks, sampling design commands, and source-linking instructions, is available in the AHEAD Study Catalogue: [https://datafirst-courses.github.io/egra-egma/]
    Kind of Data

    Harmonized survey microdata
    Unit of Analysis

    Individual pupil (learner)

    Version

    Version Description

    v1.1: Edited, anonymised data for public distribution
    Version Date

    2026-06-29
    Version Responsibility Statement

    DataFirst

    Scope

    Keywords
    Education Early grade reading Early grade mathematics Literacy Numeracy Learning assessment EGRA EGMA Early foundational learning

    Coverage

    Geographic Coverage

    National coverage
    Universe

    Early-grade primary school pupils assessed in the respective EGRA/EGMA samples. Exact target grades and eligibility rules differ by survey

    Producers and sponsors

    Primary investigators
    Name Affiliation
    African Foundational Learning Data Hub DataFirst
    Funding Agency/Sponsor
    Name Role
    Gates Foundation Financial support

    Sampling

    Sampling Procedure

    Constituent surveys used different sample designs. Harmonized survey design variables are present in the pooled file where supplied by the original survey. There is no single pooled sampling frame. Weighted and sampling error estimation analysis requires a separate survey design specification for each source.

    survey_instrument

    Questionnaires

    Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) and Early Grade Mathematics Assessment (EGMA) instruments. Original instruments, languages of assessment, and field protocols differ by constituent survey.

    Data Collection

    Time Method

    Cross-section [cross section]
    Data Collectors
    Name Affiliation Abbreviation
    United States Agency for International Development US Government USAID

    Data processing

    Data Editing

    Full description of the cleaning operations can be found in the Reference Guide in the Downloads tab.

    Data appraisal

    Data Appraisal

    Known limitations, residual unresolved codes, and cross-survey variable availability are documented in the User Guide and Appendix C (Variable Availability Matrix).

    Access policy

    Location of Data Collection

    DataFirst data repository
    URL for Location of Data Collection

    https://www.datafirst.uct.ac.za/dataportal/index.php/catalog/?page=1&ps=15

    Data Access

    Access conditions

    Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 attribution license
    Citation requirements

    African Foundational Learning Data Hub. African Harmonised Early-Grade Assessment Data [dataset]. Version 1. Cape Town: AFLEARN [producers], 2026. Cape Town: DataFirst [distributor], 2026. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25828/2287-mw84
    Deposit requirements

    Researchers agree to cite the data in their publications using the recommended citation in this metadata record, including the DOI (unique dataset identifier)
    Researchers agree to send DataFirst a link to any research publication based on the data

    Metadata production

    Producers
    Name Abbreviation Affiliation
    DataFirst DF University of Cape Town
    Date of Metadata Production

    2026-06-29

    Metadata version

    DDI Document version

    Version 1

    citation

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