Issue briefs

In 2015, Member States of the United Nations agreed on 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including SDG 4 to ‘ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’ (UN DESA, 2022). Progress towards SDG 4 targets are measured using 11 global and 32...

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) seek to shift the world onto a sustainable and resilient path, ensuring that no one is left behind (United Nations, 2015). SDG 4 ensures inclusive and equitable quality education, promotes lifelong learning...

The 2021/2 Global Education Monitoring Report examines the role of non-state actors in education and the delivery of inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning for all. What follows is a summary of key findings and recommendations from the report (GEM Report). The share of...

Understanding what quality means varies between countries. Different education actors and organizations also have their own definitions. However, most tend to agree on three broad principles: the need for relevance, for equity of access and outcome, and for proper observance of individual rights...

To improve learning outcomes, policy-makers need to know what students are learning and what needs to be improved. Assessing learning is an essential part of measuring educational achievement, evaluating national education systems, and monitoring progress towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4...

In the past two decades, national learning assessments have become important for measuring educational achievement and monitoring progress towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4. These assessments are often administered as students transition from primary to lower-secondary grades and from...

The main purpose of any education system is to provide students with the necessary knowledge, skills, and values for effective participation in society. Most countries keep records that focus on counting schools, students, resource inputs, and outputs in terms of examination results. However, many...

There is a worldwide concern that learning outcomes have not kept pace with the expansion of education. The extent of the learning deficit is largely unknown because many countries have few systematic data on who is learning and who is not. Learning assessments provide data on the status of learning...

This brief explains how formative assessment can contribute to improving learning and what recurring challenges affect its implementation. It then provides policy recommendations that may help educators and policy-makers overcome these obstacles.