Costa Rica: Equity and Efficiency of Education (World Bank)

The objectives of the Project are to: (a) reduce education quality gaps in Costa Rica primary and secondary education system in rural areas; and (b) improve the equity and efficiency in the allocation, administration and use of the Borrower#s education sector resources.

Implementation has continued improving over the last 6 months: Component 1 (school infrastructure in rural indigenous areas) is well underway. Contracts worth about $10 million to build 58 new schools (47 primary and 11 secondary) have been completed With respect to Component 2, three key consultancies are in progress with the objective of improving the management of equity programs, the management of administrative school councils and the organizational model of the equity programs unit. Component 3 has started implementation recently with several consultancies, mainly related with inter-cultural education.

Costa Rica: Equity and Efficiency of Education

Improving Instructional Quality: Focus on Faculty Development

The rapid expansion of higher education in Asia has been accompanied by challenges with no easy solutions and by issues that require innovative thinking and policy decisions. This publication focuses on the challenges in improving the internal efficiency of higher education institutions (HEIs) in Asia, examining the quality of the work done within these institutions; the efficiency and effectiveness of that work; and the problems, dilemmas, and barriers that HEIs in Asia face in fulfilling their missions. Recommendations are presented on how the Asian Development Bank and possibly other development partners can target project support to help HEIs improve their internal efficiency.

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are critically important to the well-being of the countries in which they are situated. In most nations in Asia, higher education is rapidly expanding, a development that promises economic and social benefits. At the same time, expansion is accompanied by challenges and issues that require innovative thinking and policy decisions, dedication from the academic staff and institutional leaders who carry out the work of the HEIs, and thoughtful wrestling with vexing challenges that have no easy solutions.

This publication focuses on the internal efficiency of HEIs in Asia, examining their work; the efficiency and effectiveness of that work; and the problems, dilemmas, and barriers they are facing in fulfilling their missions. It also offers recommendations for ways in which governments and HEIs themselves can improve internal efficiency, as well as suggestions for the role that development agencies, such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), might take in supporting such efforts.

HEIs in Asia are situated in a dynamic environment in which they face an array of expectations.

They must meet these expectations while holding costs down and keeping quality high. These expectations include

• offering support for the learning needs of a diverse student body as access to higher education expands;

• providing good teaching and offering up-to-date curricula that prepare graduates for the current labor market as well as for evolving workplace and societal needs;

• producing research that leads to innovation and economic growth in an international, competitive world market; and

• preparing citizens to understand their roles as leaders, citizens, and family members in diverse local and global societies.

Internal educational efficiency concerns both quality and cost-effectiveness. Internally efficient educational institutions optimally allocate and use available resources to improve the quality of education and increase the products of the educational process. Efficiency is greatest when the inputs to an educational organization maximize the outputs produced. Inputs relevant to internal efficiency include human and physical resources, such as facilities and equipment, while outputs refer to student learning outcomes and achievement (Hanushek 2001, Haddad and Jurich 2002, Tsang 2002). Qualitative internal inefficiencies may be lowered by such issues as weak preparation and teaching effectiveness of instructional staff, inappropriate or outdated curricula, inadequate availability of instructional materials and resources, and employment systems in which expectations and rewards are out of alignment. Quantitative internal inefficiency may be evident in low student completion rates, low student/instructor ratios, and low evidence of student achievement of intended learning outcomes.

The central argument of this publication is that the internal efficiency of HEIs in Asia is not sufficiently robust to enable nations’ goals to be fully met. In recent years, access has widened, resulting in significant enrollment growth. However, emphasis on access (maximizing the student flow) to higher education is not enough to ensure internal efficiency and the production of desired outcomes. The challenge remains to increase the quality and quantity of the products of higher education—well-educated graduates and productive, relevant research—without an infusion of higher levels of funding. In response to this challenge, a key priority for governments and HEIs should be enhancing instructional quality by improving the capacity of instructional staff. HEIs must not only provide wide access; they must offer those admitted a high-quality learning environment and produce graduates with the abilities and skills needed for employment and citizenship.

ADB. Date: January 2012.Type: Reports. Series: Higher Education In Dynamic Asia: Study Reports

Improving Instructional Quality: Focus on Faculty Development x

Educational upgrading and returns to skills in Latin America: evidence from a supply-demand framework, 1990-2010

It has been argued that a factor behind the decline in income inequality in Latin America in the 2000s was the educational upgrading of its labor force. Between 1990 and 2010, the proportion of the labor force in the region with at least secondary education increased from 40 to 60 percent. Concurrently, returns to secondary education completion fell throughout the past two decades, while the 2000s saw a reversal in the increase in the returns to tertiary education experienced in the 1990s. 

This paper studies the evolution of wage differentials and the trends in the supply of workers by educational level for 16 Latin American countries between 1990 and 2000. The analysis estimates the relative contribution of supply and demand factors behind recent trends in skill premia for tertiary and secondary educated workers. Supply-side factors seem to have limited explanatory power relative to demand-side factors, and are only relevant to explain part of the fall in wage premia for high-school graduates.

Although there is significant heterogeneity in individual country experiences, on average the trend reversal in labor demand in the 2000s can be partially attributed to the recent boom in commodity prices that could favor the unskilled (non-tertiary educated) workforce, although employment patterns by sector suggest that other within-sector forces are also at play, such as technological diffusion or skill mismatches that may reduce the labor productivity of highly-educated workers.

World Bank. Author: Gasparini, Leonardo; Galiani, Sebastian ; Cruces, Guillermo; Acosta, Pablo. Document Date: 2011/12/01.Document Type: Policy Research. Working Paper.Report Number: WPS5921

Educational upgrading and returns to skills in Latin America: evidence from a supply-demand framework, 1990-2010

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Achieving World-Class Education in Brazil: The Next Agenda

Brazil has made great strides in basic education over the past 15 years and has set audacious national goals for attaining OECD levels of quality  by 2021.Basic education in Brazil historically has consisted of a fi rst cycle of eight grades (called primary education in this report and known as “fundamental education” in Brazil) and a second cycle of three grades (secondary education). In 2006, the country adopted legislation extending the length of compulsory schooling by one year and creating a nineyear primary cycle. The offi cial entry age to primary school was lowered from seven to six. The preschool cycle was correspondingly shortened to cover ages four through fi ve rather than four through six. Because the new system was not implemented until 2009, we use the old system throughout this report for consistency in comparing historical data, unless otherwise specified.

The 2009 results for the Program for International Student  Assessment (PISA), which measures high school student learning levels in more than 70 countries, confi rmed Brazil’s impressive progress in raising educational performance. Brazil’s 52-point increase in math since 2000 indicates that students have gained a full academic year of math mastery over the decade, and the country’s overall score increase—from 368 to 401—is the third largest on record. Brazil’s scores still trail the averages for OECD and East Asian countries, and are no grounds for complacency. But few countries have made faster or more sustained progress.

How did Brazil move from one of the worst performing education systems of any middle-income country to strong and sustained improvement not only in learning but also in primary and secondary school coverage? What are the prospects for Brazil to achieve its goal of student learning levels on par with the OECD average over the next decade? What more could be done to accelerate Brazil’s education advance? These are the three central questions of this report. 

We focus on basic education, which is the foundation in every country for all other progress in education. By telling the story of Brazil’s remarkable  run of policy continuity and sustained reform over the past fi fteen years, we hope this report can serve as a resource for other developing countries seeking rapid progress in education. By benchmarking Brazil’s current education performance in a competitive global context, we identify issues that still need attention. In reviewing the latest research from Brazil and elsewhere that can guide the design of sound reforms and cost-effective programs, we hope to stimulate and support the federal, state and municipal governments in setting the education agenda for the next decade. This report will succeed if it persuades a broad audience of Brazilian policy makers and citizens that the country is making impressive progress in education, but the agenda ahead is crucial. 

World Bank.Author: Bruns,Barbara; Evans,David;Luque, Javier. Document Date: 2011/01/01. Document Type: Publication. Report Number: 65659.

This volume is a product of the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction  and Development / The World Bank. The fi ndings, interpretations, and conclusions  expressed in this volume do not necessarily refl ect the views of the Executive  Directors of The World Bank or the governments they represent.The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this  work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgement on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of  such boundaries.

Achieving World Class Education in Brazil: The Next Agenda

For  information about Projects in Brazil see Brazil Projects

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The power of primary schools to change and sustain handwashing with soap among children:the cases of Vietnam and Peru

Vietnam and Peru are two of four countries taking part in the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) Global Scaling up Handwashing Project. Funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Global Scaling Up Handwashing Project aims to expand handwashing practices among women of reproductive age (15-49 years) and primary school-aged children (5 to 12 in Peru; 6 to 10 in Vietnam)

The project focuses on applying innovative promotional approaches to generate widespread and sustained improvement in handwashing with soap practice. Started in December 2006, the project is implemented by local and national governments with technical support from WSP, and participation from the private sector and nongovernmental organizations. The present document describes the approaches to changing children's handwashing with soap behavior, first in Vietnam, then Peru, followed by some lessons learned and conclusions.

Author: Dutton, Pennelope ; Peschiera, Rocio Florez ; Nguyen, Nga Kim. Document Date: 2011/09/01.Document Type: UNDP-Water & Sanitation Program. Report.Number:66001.Volume No: 1 of 1

The power of primary schools to change and sustain handwashing with soap among children:the cases of Vietnam and Peru

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Senate Chairmen Join Cummings' Investigation of "Gray Market" Drug Companies

Recent Press Releases. Dec 15 2011. WASHINGTON, D.C.—Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV and Senator Tom Harkin, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, joined Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, in his investigation of “gray market” companies that trade drugs in critically short supply.

“It is critical that we protect cancer patients and other healthcare consumers from being charged exorbitant prices for life-saving drugs,” said Cummings.  “I am thankful that Chairmen Rockefeller and Harkin have joined our investigation, and I am confident that their participation will ensure that gray market drug companies fully cooperate with our efforts to determine the implications of drug speculation on the health and safety of the American people.”

Cummings launched his investigation on October 5th by sending letters to five “gray market” drug companies that buy life-saving drugs in critically short supply and sell them at prices many times higher than typical contract prices.  Cummings requested internal documents from the companies to determine how they are obtaining these drugs and, in turn, how much they are making in profits by selling them to hospitals, pharmacies, and health care providers.
 

“Americans deserve confidence that drug companies are not conspiring to run up profits at the expense of ordinary consumers,” said Rockefeller.  “Far too many families struggle with the high cost of medication, often sacrificing other items like food, clothes or even electricity so that they can pay for live-saving drugs.  It’s my hope that we can review these documents shortly and without delay.”
 

“These unscrupulous gray market wholesalers can threaten the safety and security of the entire drug supply chain through which Americans access life-saving medications,” said Harkin.  “It is critically important that these companies provide us with the information we are requesting in order to ensure that Americans are not being charged outlandish prices for the drugs that could mean the difference between life and death.”
 

Today, Cummings, Rockefeller, and Harkin sent a joint letter to Superior Medical Supply, a “gray market” drug company in Colorado that has thus far refused to cooperate with the investigation.

This is the third in a series of letters to Superior seeking information about its purchases and sales of paclitaxel, a drug in short supply that is used to treat breast and ovarian cancer.  Cummings’s investigation found that Superior offered to sell the drug for over $500 when a typical contract price is $65 per vial.  Cummings also uncovered evidence of Superior’s problems with federal and state enforcement agencies.

The Members also sent a letter to Hospira, a global pharmaceuticals manufacturer that stopped doing business with Superior after discovering that the company was actively purchasing drugs in critically short supply to sell at highly inflated prices.  The Members seek additional information relating to other “gray market” companies Hospira ceased doing business with for similar reasons.

New Joint Letters Seek Documents on Sales of Cancer Drug in Short Supply
Democratic Press Office - (202) 224-8374

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Jamaica.Early Childhood Development Project

Supervision Mission: 13-17 June 2011.Aide Memoire.World Bank.A World Bank mission comprised of Cynthia Hobbs (Senior Education Specialist), Althea Spence (Operations Analyst) and Yao Wottor (Senior Procurement Specialist, participating by VC) carried out a technical supervision of the Early Childhood Development (ECD) Project from 13-17 June 2011. On 1 June 2011, Mozammal Hoque (Senior Financial Management Specialist) carried out a fiduciary review of the project. The results of the fiduciary supervision are included in this Aide Memoire.

The Mission reviewed progress made since the supervision of the National Strategic Plan (NSP) and ECD Project in December 2010, and met with representatives from the Early Childhood Commission (ECC), Ministry of Education (MOE), Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Ministry of Finance and the Public Service (MOFPS), Ministry of Health (MOH), HEART Trust, and UNICEF (see Annex 1 for complete list of participants). The Mission wishes to express its sincere gratitude to the Jamaican authorities for their kind collaboration.

World Bank.Author:Hobbs,Cynthia.Document Date:2011/08/01.Document Type: Aide Memoire

Jamaica.Early Childhood Development Project

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Cote d'Ivoire.Education Implementation Report

The objectives of the Project are to assist the Borrower to resume the delivery of education services in primary schools, whichimplies: (i) providing quality school inputs to guarantee teaching and learning in classrooms, and (ii) improving access toeducation and retention of primary school children.

World Bank.Author. Kamil,Hamoud Abdel Wedoud.Document Date: 2011/12/04.Document Type: Implementation Status and Results Report.Report Number: ISR4392

Cote d'Ivoire - Education : P035655 - Implementation Status Results Report : Sequence 24

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Cote d'Ivoire.Emergency Basic Education Support Project

Approval Date N/A.Closing Date N/A.Total Project Cost** 41.4.Region Africa.Major Sector (Sector) (%) Education (Primary education) (80%). Education (Secondary education) (10%).Education (General education sector) (10%).Themes (%) Gender (10%).Education for all (70%).Nutrition and food security (10%).Conflict prevention and post-conflict reconstruction (10%).Environmental Category B.Bank Team Lead Kamil, Hamoud Abdel Wedoud

World Bank. Borrower/Recipient REPUBLIC OF COTE D'IVOIRE.Implementing Agency MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

Emergency Basic Education Support Project - EFA-FTI Grant Cote d'Ivoire


World Bank.Document Date:2011/08/08.Document Type: Project Information Document.Report Number:AB6738.Volume No:  1 of 1

v

Uzbekistan.Support of the Basic Education Project

Ratings for the First Phase of an Adaptable Program Loan in Support of the Basic Education Project for Uzbekistan were as follows: outcomes were satisfactory, the risk to development outcome was low, the Bank performance was moderately satisfactory, and the Borrower performance was also moderately satisfactory. Some lessons learned included: the Bank could do more to better understand the nature of the public administration, procurement, and financial management systems of centrally planned economies within their specific working environment and culture, in order to encourage institutional reforms.

Projects targeting behavior changes need to plan well in order to achieve success since behavior change is usually gradual and cannot be accelerated using mechanical measures. The team should capitalize on the significant gains of the project, such as the per-capita budget allocation reform, which represents a major achievement worth sharing, while encouraging the use of internal or external instruments to ensure that the knowledge and experience is used by other client countries. This curve is rather steep and should be taken into account in the technical support strategies, implementation pace, and project timelines.

It is commendable that the Bank team brought world-class technical expertise to the client. However, in countries such as Uzbekistan where few people have international experience, it is equally useful to expose key policy makers to developed and reformed education systems rather than simply bringing technical assistance into the country.

World Bank.Document Date:  2011/07/27.Document Type:  Implementation Completion and Results Report.Report Number: ICR1811.Volume No:  1 of 1

Uzbekistan - First Phase of an Adaptable Program Loan in Support of the Basic Education Projectx

Peru will improve early childhood education with IDB support

IDB.News Releases.Dec 9, 2011. Loan for $25 million will improve the quality of education for children aged 3-5 years in Ayacucho, Huancavelica and Huánuco departments

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a loan to Peru for $25 million for an early education project that will foster safe schools, improve teaching methods, and support the participation of parents in the educational development of children 3 to 5 years of age in the departments of Ayacucho, Huancavelica and Huánuco.

This initiative, which will form the basis for a strategy at the national level, represents a first step in implementing a comprehensive and improved intervention model that builds on research conducted in these three departments in recent years, as well as lessons learned from prior experience.

A major focus of the program is teacher training and support, which are critical for improving the learning process. Investment in early childhood education is a critical element in school performance and in the ability of children to achieve success throughout their lives.

The project will be carried out in these three departments because they have high poverty levels as well as high rates of grade repetition among school children. The program will include equipping, rehabilitating, or replacing 190 education centers and providing maintenance plans for an additional 296 centers.

The program will also include training teachers in improving communication skills and instructional methods, use of teaching materials, multiculturalism and bilingualism, and the promotion of parent involvement in education of their children.

"Quality programs can mitigate the cognitive deficits and behavioral problems that are often exhibited by students from disadvantaged homes,” said Jenelle Thompson, IDB education specialist and project team leader.

The IDB financing will be supplemented by $25.7 million in local counterpart funds from the Peruvian government, a grant for $5.5 million from the German international cooperation agency KfW, and a loan from the same agency for $8.3 million.

The IDB loan is for a 25-year term with a 5.5-year grace period and a variable interest rate based on LIBOR.x

Argentina Rural Education Improvement (PROMER) Project

The development objective of the Rural Education Improvement (PROMER) Project is to support national Government policy to: improve the coverage, efficiency, and quality of the Argentine education system, and to improve the governance of the Argentine education system through strengthening of the normative, planning, information, monitoring, and evaluation capacity at the national and provincial levels.

The closing date has been extended from October 31, 2011 until December 31, 2013 to allow the government sufficient time to finalize all project activities. Proceeds have been reallocated largely because of the need to support carrying out student learning assessment on an enhanced sample of rural schools and the provision of feedback to the schools and operating costs, and the need to fund additional consultants supporting the provincial and national governments to implement the Project because it is being extended.

World Bank.Document Date:  2011/08/25.Document Type:  Project Paper.Report Number: 61496

Argentina - Rural Education Improvement (PROMER) Project : restructuring

Main Report

Data Sheet

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Chile Third Tertiary Education Finance for Results Project

Chile is an upper middle income country which recently acceded to full membership in the OECD. It has one of the most politically stable systems in Latin America, strong institutions and a solid record of economic growth during the last two decades. A center-right administration took office in March 2010, following on 20 years of continuous center-left governments. Despite differences in political stance, the current Government is pursuing largely centrist policies with overall goals similar to those of previous governments: promoting reforms to boost growth, investing in human capital, and tackling poverty and inequality.

Within this context, Chile is challenged to reverse declining relative growth performance and insufficient innovative capacity so that it can grow the size and wealth of its middle class. Chile's growth has slowed from an average of 7.6% during the period of 1986-1997 to 3.9% in the period of 2000-2010.1 A consensus exists among economists that Chile’s high growth during the “golden years” was the product of the transition to macroeconomic stability and openness. As such, it was a one-time change to the level of output and not a fundamental shift in the rate of output growth. During the “golden years”, more efficient firms replaced less efficient ones, and TFP grew at over 4% p.a. After 2000, the low hanging fruit was gone and Chile needed to do laborious work of achieving within-firm efficiency improvements; it has been less successful at this than East Asian comparators. 2 An abundance of high-quality human capital is one of the essential elements of meeting this productivity challenge.3 Chile could raise output by 2% per year according to the soundest estimates. Doing so would decrease the time to reach OECD average levels of income by 50%.  The quality of investment in human capital, is thus a major concern of public policy at all levels, from the citizenry in general to Government planners and policymakers.

The Government of Chile (GoC) has launched a development agenda which sets the stage for achieving high-income developed status by 2018. The strategic areas that the GoC is emphasizing to reach this goal are: i) achieving greater competitiveness, including modernization of the state; ii) improving job creation and job quality; and iii) promoting investment, including in human capital. The Government has embraced increased investment and increased policy attention to education at all levels as a key pillar of economic and social progress. While the Government seeks to implement this agenda, it faces eager youth who want to see educational opportunity and educational quality improved immediately.

On-going conflict between student organizations and the Government have increased political risk and led to polarization in the political sphere. The Government has sought to resolve the conflict through dialogue around key policy issues. Progress has been sporadic. While student organizations do not always speak with a unified voice, the conflict revolves around two core issues: (i) who should pay for tertiary education and; (ii) how can quality beimproved. Students seek tertiary education that is 100% financed by the Government and free to all students. They also want the Government to guarantee quality and prohibit tertiary education institutions from being de facto for-profit institutions. The Government and the students agree much more on the quality agenda than on the question of who should pay for tertiary education. A reflection of the agreement is the submission to Congress of draft laws creating a Superintendence and an Under-Secretariat for Tertiary Education. Legislation has also been introduced to radically lower the interest rate on the main student loan program (from 5.6% to 2%), although this has not fully satisfied students’ wish for publicly-financed tertiary education.

World Bank.Document Date: 2011/11/24.Document Type:Project Information Document.Report Number:AB6750.Volume No:1 of 1

Chile-Third Tertiary Education Finance for Results Project

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The quality gap in Chile's education system

CEPAL Review Nº 104. The quality gap in education between Chilean schools with different administrative structures (especially in the case of municipal schools and private subsidized schools) has long been a subject of analysis and discussion within the wider debate surrounding the relative efficiency and role of public education. Unconditioned differences in the results of standardized tests that point to higher levels of quality in private schools diminish when sociodemographic factors are controlled for, but the question as to what control variables should be used and which methodology is the most appropriate, as well as the extent of the reduction, all continue to be a subject of debate. Here we undertake a meta-analysis of 17 of the main studies that have been done on the subject.

The analysis shows how sensitive the results are to the controls and estimation methods that are used. In the aggregate, private subsidized schools score approximately four points higher than municipal schools do. This is a statistically significant and educationally relevant differential.

José Luis Drago, School of Engineering, Catholic University of Chile and Ricardo D. Paredes, Professor, School of Engineering, Catholic University of Chile, and Centre for the Study of Educational Policy and Practice (CEPPE)

Symbol:  LC/G.2498-P/I.Date:  August 2011.Pages:  161-174. CEPAL Review Nº 104

The quality gap in Chile's education system 
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Chile Building bridges to work

The operation aims to support vulnerable pupils in 12 schools in the Region of Maule in Chile, the third poorest in the country that was affected by the earthquake in February 2010, which caused a 3% increase in its poverty rate . This support is expected to deliver tools to achieve youth enter the labor market and can begin to leave their cycle of poverty.

IDB. CH-T1115: Building bridges to work

c

Uzbekistan.Second Basic Education

The overall objective of the program and each of the phases is to continue supporting GoU's efforts to improve effectiveness of teaching and learning through (1) targeted interventions in selected general secondary education schools and preschools in rural poor areas; (2) development of institutional capacity to assess student learning; and (3) adoption of predictable and transparent school budgets in selected oblasts.

Author:  Naqvi,Naveed Hassan.Document Date: 2011/12/05.Document Type:  Implementation Status and Results Report.Report Number:  ISR5217

Uzbekistan -Second Basic Education : P107845 - Implementation Status Results Report : Sequence 06x

Tajikistan.Education Modernization Project

The project development objective is to set the stage for change at the national level while improving learning conditions and school enrollment and completion through grade 5 in selected districts. Through community-driven initiatives, the project will help to develop local and district capacity.

World Bank.Author:  Bazarova,Saodat.Document Date:2011/12/04.Document Type:  Implementation Status and Results Report.Report Number:  ISR5231

Tajikistan - Education Modernization Project : P069055 - Implementation Status Results Report : Sequence 19x

Chile.Tertiary Education Finance for Results

To improve quality and relevance for students in tertiary education by strengthening the link between funding of tertiary education institutions and accountability for performance.3. Project Description The Project would achieve its development objective through the implementation of the following two components: Component 1. Performance Agreements.Component 2. Policy Support and Project Management

Document Date:2011/11/28.Document Type:Integrated Safeguards Data Sheet.Report Number:AC6494.Volume No: 1

Chile-Tertiary Education Finance for Results 3,

Jordan.Assessment testing can be used to inform policy decisions

Many countries are struggling with the quality of their education systems. Efforts to reform education are often met with resistance and the lack of a model to follow. Many of the top performers in the world are high-income countries with many years of development of systems. Many middle and even high-income countries are only just starting to undertake important reforms. Resource-rich countries, such as Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC), are making significant investments in their systems but have yet to see results. What is often lacking is experience from middle-income countries that have made progress. A useful starting point is the entry of many GCC countries into national student assessments that offer them a benchmark on results. Few examples exist however of countries making use of such assessments to inform their reform efforts. Even scarcer still are success stories. Jordan provides a useful case of a country that used an international assessment to benchmark and reform its system; more importantly, Jordan made great strides not only in the implementation of the program but also in improving the system.

The literature on the effectiveness of education initiatives in developing countries is scarce. It is also not clear how assessments themselves affect the improvement of national educational policies. Jordan is one of few developing countries that have been taking student assessment seriously. It is a small country that invests extensively to improve its education system because human capital is the major resource Jordan has, especially in comparison to neighboring oil-rich countries. The role of education is important in producing students equipped with the knowledge and skills crucial for Jordan’s growth and development, especially as the country is actively attempting to attract foreign investment. Policymakers in Jordan have always wanted to know what works in their education system and have been experimenting with different educational interventions, including comprehensive enhancements to the curricula, assessment tools, technology, and restructuring the education system and its institutions.

Jordan’s investments in improving the quality of education in past decades seem to have paid off. There is a noticeable impact on student learning since the early 1990s. In the 1991 International Assessment of Educational Progress (IEA), out of 20 participating countries, Jordan finished ahead of only Brazil and Mozambique in the mathematics and science tests for 13-year-olds. By the late 1990s, there was a marked change as seen in the 1999 Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) where, out of 38 countries, Jordan finished ahead of six (Iran, Indonesia, Chile, Philippines, Morocco and South Africa) in mathematics and ahead of eight (Iran, Indonesia, Turkey, Tunisia, Chile, Philippines, Morocco and South Africa) in science. However, the progress does not stop there. In 2003, Jordan improved its TIMSS science score to 475 from 450 in 1999, an increase of 25 points, or 0.25 standard deviations, which is a significant increase, equivalent to about a whole year of learning. In 2007, Jordan continued to improve, surpassing several countries which had a similar or slightly higher performance in 1999, ending up significantly above the international average. In fact, between 1999 and 2007, no other country improved as much in science as did Jordan.

Researchers have used international assessments to analyze the determinants of learning (Hanushek and Luque 2003; Hanushek and Kimko 2000; Barro 2001; Lee and Barro 2001; Afonso and Aubyn 2006; Bedard and Ferrall 2002; Hanushek and Woessmann 2006; Alvarez, Garcia-Moreno and Patrinos 2007; Nabeshima 2003; Fertig 2003; Fertig and Schmidt 2002; Woessmann 2003; Fuchs and Woessmann 2007). While most analyses are cross-country, there is an increasing trend to look at individual countries in depth.

This paper documents the assent of Jordan in international assessments. The process involved in preparing for the numerous assessments Jordan takes part in is described, along with a review of the steps involved. The change in scores over time is analyzed by using the decomposition methodology that is usually applied in wage regressions research, but in this case used to measure the effects of resources versus efficiency in explaining score changes. It is shown that a significant part of the overall increase in scores is associated with Jordan’s educational inputs becoming more efficient.

World Bank. Author:Abdul-Hamid, Husein;Abu-Lebdeh,Khattab M;Patrinos,Harry Anthony.Document Date:  2011/12/01.Document Type:Policy Research Working Paper.Report Number: WPS5890

Assessment testing can be used to inform policy decisions: the case of Jordan.

Sri Lanka.Transforming the School Education System as the Foundation of a Knowledge Hub

The development objective of the Transforming the School Education System as the Foundation of a Knowledge Hub Project (TSEP) for Sri Lanka is to enhance access to, and quality of, primary and secondary education to provide a foundation for the knowledge-based economic and social development of the country.

There are three components to the project. The first component is promoting access to primary and secondary education. This component will support initiatives to improve opportunities for children in the age group 6-10 years to complete primary education, and for children in the age group 11-16 years to complete secondary education up to grade 11. The second component is improving the quality of education. A strategic initiative under this component is the development of a system for the regular and continuing assessment of cognitive skills.

These national assessments of learning outcomes will feed back into policy and program development, especially in the context of the rolling education sector development plan of the central ministry and the provinces. The third component is strengthening governance and delivery of education services.

The development initiative under this component is the establishment of a balanced control model of school-based management called the Program for School Improvement (PSI). The TSEP will support the PSI. Under the PSI school officials such as principals, teachers and administrators will be joined by stakeholders in the local school community, such as parents, past pupils and well-wishers, in the management and administration of schools.

World Bank. Sri Lanka - Transforming the School Education System as the Foundation of a Knowledge Hubb