Monitoring Educational Performance in the Caribbean
The study seeks to define a set of operationally relevant education indicators, to be used by countries in the Caribbean region, to provide a database of comparable education indicators in Caribbean countries where data is available, namely Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago, and, to propose methods on how the common set of indicators can be used for analyses of the education sectors. Following the introduction under Section I, which addresses the current deficiencies in the Caribbean education system, Section II defines operationally relevant education indicators in the areas of coverage, efficiency, and quality. In these areas, enrollment ratios should be complemented with grade-specific indicators, efficiency complemented with a cost-effectiveness analysis, and, quality with a variety of standardized tests. Monitoring of education indicators in the Caribbean Region, is then reviewed in Section III, stipulating that despite a traditional limited availability of education statistics, and indicators, there has recently been substantial efforts - both at national, and regional levels - to improve data collection. The new indicator database on ten Caribbean Countries describes, and analyzes updated indicators so as to balance diagnostics of the education sectors relevant to policy decisions, and, ensures comparability to all countries, based on country syntheses, and cross-country comparison. Finally, Section IV provides policy recommendations, that include the need to measure the coverage, and efficiency of the entire education cycle; to produce, and use grade-specific indicators, such as the completion, and survival rates; to harmonize education statistics and indicators to improve reporting and monitoring in a systematic way; and, to participate in international exams to make meaningful comparison of learning outcomes, and produce qualitative indicators.
| Summary: | The study seeks to define a set of
operationally relevant education indicators, to be used by
countries in the Caribbean region, to provide a database of
comparable education indicators in Caribbean countries where
data is available, namely Belize, Dominica, Dominican
Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St.
Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and
Tobago, and, to propose methods on how the common set of
indicators can be used for analyses of the education
sectors. Following the introduction under Section I, which
addresses the current deficiencies in the Caribbean
education system, Section II defines operationally relevant
education indicators in the areas of coverage, efficiency,
and quality. In these areas, enrollment ratios should be
complemented with grade-specific indicators, efficiency
complemented with a cost-effectiveness analysis, and,
quality with a variety of standardized tests. Monitoring of
education indicators in the Caribbean Region, is then
reviewed in Section III, stipulating that despite a
traditional limited availability of education statistics,
and indicators, there has recently been substantial efforts
- both at national, and regional levels - to improve data
collection. The new indicator database on ten Caribbean
Countries describes, and analyzes updated indicators so as
to balance diagnostics of the education sectors relevant to
policy decisions, and, ensures comparability to all
countries, based on country syntheses, and cross-country
comparison. Finally, Section IV provides policy
recommendations, that include the need to measure the
coverage, and efficiency of the entire education cycle; to
produce, and use grade-specific indicators, such as the
completion, and survival rates; to harmonize education
statistics and indicators to improve reporting and
monitoring in a systematic way; and, to participate in
international exams to make meaningful comparison of
learning outcomes, and produce qualitative indicators. |
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