Measuring equity in education: review of the global and programmatic data landscape

The Education Equity Research Initiative (also referred to as the Equity Initiative) aims to inform policy and programming on effective ways of strengthening equity in and through education systems. It will build on past and existing research and analytical efforts to create a comprehensive, shared understanding of the causes and effects of inequity in education, and of successful strategies to increase equality in education outcomes. The Equity Initiative is comprised of a set of interrelated research work streams: Measurement and Metrics, Learning and Retention, Conflict and Fragility, and Finance and Resource Allocation. The Measurement and Metrics work stream will contribute to developing an understanding of inequality and equity in education by producing clarity in definitions and in measurement. This work stream will establish priority dimensions and indicators of equity; develop needed tools, protocols and measurement methodologies; establish common approaches to data analysis; and set a common agenda for data collection and reporting that will allow for a more comprehensive examination of the drivers of inequality in education and the effectiveness of equity-oriented policy and programming solutions. As a first step, the Measurement and Metrics working group has undertaken a review of the current equity measurement landscape. This report presents the results of the landscape review, covering data collected by international sources and within development projects. The present document serves as an attempt to bring together information on the types of group disaggregation available for education data, the extent to which group measures are comparable, and how (and whether) they are being used to analyze education equity. In doing so, the landscape review aims to create a common reference point for the Equity Initiative as it moves forward with its research agenda.