ERIC Number: EJ1176550
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Apr-16
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1068-2341
EISSN: N/A
What International Educational Evaluations Tell Us about Education Quality in Developing Nations
van der Berg, Servaas
Education Policy Analysis Archives, v26 n50 spec iss Apr 2018
Few developing countries participate in external educational evaluations. Information gaps on education quality make it imperative to expand such evaluations. Furthermore, international comparability across different evaluations should be improved. In addition, data from evaluations must be combined with data on access or coverage. Finally, educational evaluations reveal social inequalities; socioeconomic status has a systematic influence on educational outcomes, but social gradients vary over countries. Resources alone cannot explain massive performance gaps between developing and developed countries. Large efficiency improvements must occur in classrooms and schools. The need is not for "league tables," but for data that allow countries to judge the appropriateness of their policies and strategies in an international context. Efficient and targeted application of resources and policies to improve education in developing countries requires information on system performance, inequalities, progress and stagnation. International evaluations should be expanded to more countries, should be better anchored and comparable, and should be demystified. Too little international educational evaluation is the enemy of progress.
Descriptors: International Education, Developing Nations, Outcomes of Education, Socioeconomic Status, Educational Quality, Social Differences, Educational Policy, Developed Nations, Foreign Countries, Achievement Tests, International Assessment, Secondary School Students, Elementary Secondary Education, Mathematics Achievement, Mathematics Tests, Science Achievement, Science Tests, Grade 4, Reading Achievement, Reading Tests, Equal Education, Achievement Gap, Educational Resources
Colleges of Education at Arizona State University and the University of South Florida. c/o Editor, USF EDU162, 4202 East Fowler Avenue, Tampa, FL 33620-5650. Tel: 813-974-3400; Fax: 813-974-3826; Web site: http://epaa.asu.edu
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Africa; Mexico
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Program for International Student Assessment; Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study; Progress in International Reading Literacy Study
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A