Measurement for what? The Quality Education for All Challenge Pauline Rose, Professor, International Education
When do the benefits of measurement and assessment get out-weighed by the reductionism of simplifying complexity? Should we not measure anything? OR When does measurement have its uses?
Numbers can be a powerful call for ac1on Source: 2013/4 EFA Global Monitoring Report
ensuring a focus on the disadvantaged Children comple1ng primary school and achieving minimum learning standards in mathema1cs, sub- Saharan Africa and La1n America 100 Children of primary school age (%) 80 60 40 20 Rich Poor 0 Chad Senegal Mauritania Côte d'ivoire Burkina Faso Madagascar Benin Cameroon Burundi Congo Zambia Mozambique Malawi Uganda Namibia Lesotho Zimbabwe U. R. Tanzania Kenya Swaziland Guatemala Nicaragua Dominican Rep. El Salvador Panama Paraguay Ecuador Peru Colombia Brazil Argentina Chile Uruguay Costa Rica Central and West Africa Southern and Eastern Africa Latin America
...and for holding governments to account % grade 5 students unable to read a paragraph, by school type, India Source: ASER 2012
and for planning 6 Total primary teacher recruitment needed (millions) 5 4 3 2 1 0 Additional teachers 1.4 million Replacement for attrition 2.6 million 2011-2015 60% 0.7 Sub-Saharan Africa Source: UIS (2013)
to identify where gaps exist across countries In one out of three countries, less than three-quarters of teachers are trained to national standards 160 140 Pupil/trained teacher ratio Pupil/teacher ratio 120 Pupils per teacher 100 80 60 40 20 0 Barbados Dominica Qatar Kyrgyzstan Guyana Nicaragua Solomon Is. Belize Liberia Comoros Lesotho S.Tome/Principe Nigeria Equat. Guinea Togo Guinea Ghana Sudan (pre-secession) Sierra Leone Mozambique Cameroon Bangladesh Senegal Mali Benin Chad Ethiopia Guinea-Bissau C. A. R. Source: UIS database.
and within countries
and that sufficient finance is allocated C. A. R. Liberia Guinea Bissau D.R. Congo Madagascar Zambia Uganda Mozambique Comoros Rwanda Chad Guinea Sierra Leone Gambia Togo Niger Mali Congo S. Tome/Principe Burundi Cameroon Burkina Faso Malawi Benin Angola Senegal Cape Verde Côte d'ivoire Eritrea Ethiopia Slovak Republic Poland U. R. Tanzania Mauritania Hungary Estonia Nigeria Kenya Mexico Morocco 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Source: Pole de Dakar database; OECD (2013). Daily salary of a primary school teacher, 2011 PPP US$ In at least 8 countries, teachers are paid less than US$10 a day not enough to support their families.
Highlights challenge of reaching even basic post-2015 target Selected countries in southern and eastern Africa 100 All children assessed Progress needed for post-2015 goal Learned the basics in reading (%) 80 60 40 20 All school age children All children assessed All school age children Business as usual 50% 0 2000 2007 2015 2020 2025 2030 2000 2007 2015 2020 2025 2030 Rich urban boys Poor rural girls
Global versus national targets 100 Progress needed for post-2015 goal Progress needed for post-2015 goal 80 Learned the basics in reading (%) 60 40 20 Business as usual 72% Business as usual 22% 0 2000 2007 2015 2020 2025 2030 2000 2007 2015 2020 2025 2030 U. R. Tanzania Malawi
7 domains of Learning Metrics Task Force
But numbers aren t end in themselves What is measured and why: Combine post-2015 targets for outcomes with inputs and processes. Eg teacher target for achieving equitable learning Use as basis for policy analysis and to spur policy action, and hold governments to account Measurement not only for global and national planning different approaches for use within classrooms What to avoid: Prevent unintended/adverse consequences valuing only what can be measured over what cannot