By Luis Benveniste, Practice Manager, Global Engagement and Knowledge at World Bank, and Silvia Montoya, Director of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics

There has been an important shift in the global measurement of learning. The Inter-Agency Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators (IAEG-SDGs) has decided to ‘upgrade’ SDG Indicator 4.1.1 on learning outcomes: the proportion of children and young people who achieve at least a minimum proficiency in reading and mathematics. Once a ‘Tier III’ indicator (an indicator that does not yet have established methodologies or standards), 4.1.1 has been upgraded to a ‘Tier II’ indicator for two points of measurement (end of primary and lower secondary), which means it meets methodological criteria although data are available for less than 50% of countries in each region.   Continue reading →

By Silvia Montoya, Director of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, and Dankert Vedeler, Co-Chair of the Global Education 2030 Steering Committee

The members of the Global Education 2030 Steering Committee, gathering in Paris this week, have much to discuss, and also much to celebrate – particularly on the all-important data that will track progress towards the world’s education goals.

So much is happening. The SDG 4 – Education 2030 indicator framework is taking shape. Partnerships spanning countries and international organizations are putting down roots, including the Technical Co-operation Group (TCG) that is building consensus around the framework, ensuring that the monitoring of progress and the creation of baselines will begin in 2017, as noted in a recent blog. Continue reading →

By Silvia Montoya, Director of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)  and Karen Mundy, Chief Technical Officer of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE)

Right now, the Inter-agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Indicators is meeting in Geneva to iron-out ways to resolve some of the technical glitches surrounding the indicators. The good news is that education is among the areas in best shape. But we still have our work cut out for us, especially when it comes to learning outcomes.

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Also published by Norrag
By Luis Crouch, Chief Technical Officer, International Development Group, RTI, and Silvia Montoya, Director of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics.

The gaps in education data have become a recurring theme in this blog. Indeed, most observers would agree that if data on education were a human body, it would be a sick patient at the moment. We see the gaps in the data each day, and the struggles of statisticians as they try valiantly to plug those gaps. And this is the reality: we lack the basic data of sufficient quality to track global – or in many cases, national – progress towards the educational goals. Continue reading →