UNESCO Member States have formally adopted revisions to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED). The amended classification takes into account significant changes in education systems worldwide since the last ISCED revision in 1997.
The product of four years of extensive international and regional consultations with education and statistical experts, coordinated by the UIS, ISCED 2011 includes changes in the classification of early childhood and tertiary education and introduces educational attainment in the framework.
The ISCED classification structure was first designed in the 1970s to serve as an instrument to assemble and present national education statistics internationally. In 1997, a revision was approved as part of efforts to increase the comparability and quality of these data.
The first data collection based on the new classification will begin in 2014. The UIS is working closely with Member States and partner organizations (such as OECD and Eurostat) to map education systems to the new structure and revise collection instruments.
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