Studying school exams: a new database

The database on public examinations brings together information from disparate national sources to show which countries in Africa and South Asia hold exams at primary and lower secondary levels, and the purposes of these tests. Looking back over the past 15 years for each country, we can report where and how things have changed, pointing to useful policy lessons, potential reform mechanisms, and opportunities for future research. This note, and the database, introduce information which is essential to the debate around examination reform in low- and middle-income countries. First, we summarise some of the conceptual reasons to study exam systems, and the best empirical evidence on how exams impact outcomes. And second, we introduce the new database and highlight a few things that it covers.