This post is a summary of the first and second chapter of the book with the title above published in 2008 at http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTLAC/Resources/Raising_Student_Learning_in_LAC_Document.pdf
Countries in Latin America consistently perform poorly in international assessment even after controlling for per capita GDP. Performing is not only weak, it is also declining relative to other countries with similar income levels. Standardized test results are very useful for policy makers, for a variety of reasons: 1) They provide a quantitative measure of certain skills and knowledge that can be tracked and compared, allowing success in meeting learning goals to be tracked across time and schools. 2) They can provide teachers and schools with information about their own strengths and weaknesses and alert them to areas that need improvement. 3) They can provide parents and students with information about areas in which students are excelling or struggling. Learning hinges on myriad factors, from a parent's education and societal values regarding education to school infrastructure. These factors can be grouped into three categories. Student-side factors, school-side factors, and systemwide factors; which interact to produce student learning. in order to craft policies that raise both the quality and the equity of education, policy makers need to understand how these three sets of factors affect student learning. Ensuring that all students learn requires both a theory of action for providing education and strong alignment of the roles and responsibilities of all participants in the education system. Education has long been viewed as wielding powerful transformative powers. Achieving universal primary education has been on the global agenda since the UDHR affirmed children's right to free and compulsory education in 1948. Almost all countries in the region have achieved universal primary enrollment, and access to secondary and higher education is also on the rise . Average public spending on education increased, raising from 2.7% of GDP in 1990 to 4.3% in 2003. These accomplishments are impressive, but have left other goals, including learning, behind. Policy makers in the region now need to focus on equalizing access to secondary and tertiary education, reducing socioeconomics inequalities, and above all, ensuring that all children learn. Many challenges remain. Millions of students are failing to meet minimum learning requirements and to acquire basic skills. Almost one-fifth of children who enter primary school repeat grades or drop out of school. Among those who begin secondary or higher education, many do not finish. What and how much students learn is a policy concern for reasons that range from ensuring human rights to improving individual life outcomes, raising competitiveness, economic growth, to development outcomes. Several studies have shown a relation between student learning and labor market returns. The returns are especially great in fast-growing countries with open economies that enable the absorption of highly skilled workers. Researches has shown that the returns to education in lower-income countries are higher for low-skilled individuals. This finding represents a strong argument for investing in education in developing countries in order to promote economic equality. Education is a prerequisite for reducing poverty. But ensuring a child's right to education goes beyond simply providing access to schools. It involves guaranteeing all students an equal opportunity to learn. Effect of Learning on Individuals' Labor Market Outcomes. Education has been shown to be inextricably related to individuals' labor market outcomes. Until recently, most studies on the return to education focused on the relation between the quantity of education and income. These studies find a strong link between years of schooling and personal economic returns. Several studies have shown a relation between student learning and labor market returns. The returns are especially great in fast-growing countries with open economies that enable the absorption of highly skilled workers. Researches has shown that the returns to education in lower-income countries are higher for low-skilled individuals. This finding represents a strong argument for investing in education in developing countries in order to promote economic equality. Education is a prerequisite for reducing poverty. But ensuring a child's right to education goes beyond simply providing access to schools. It involves guaranteeing all students an equal opportunity to learn. Effect of Learning on Society as a Whole. Both educational attainment and learning are tied to a number of development outcomes beyond individual outcomes. Education has been shown to affect health outcomes, infant mortality, age of marriage, civil participation, and reducing in violent and risky behaviors, such as criminality and teen pregnancy. The social returns to education thus exceed the private returns. How cognitive skills relate to all of these social outcomes is an important area for future research. Effect of Learning on Economic Development. The relation between education and economic growth can imply even greater gains for society as a whole. The gains are thought to occur through the accumulation of benefits to individuals, the increase in rates of invention and innovation, and the introduction of new technologies and improved production methods. Amost all studies have found a positive relation between education attaiment and growth rates, a relation that is widely accepted in development circles.New research on the relation between education quality and growth suggest that years of education may be less important contributing factor to economic growth than the quality of education. They argue that improving the overall literacy skills of society has a greater effect on growth than developing a highly educated elite. In examining the relation between cognitive skills and economic outcomes, it is important to remember that cognitive skills do not stem only from schooling. Some cognitive skills are developed in the home, from family, and friends, and through the media. Schooling is only one way in which people acquire knowledge, but it is the one that policy makers can most readily influence. Effect of learning on Inequality. Evidence is increasingly showing that education quality, not just quantity, may be responsible for perpetuating income inequalities, improvement in the quality of education of the poor could thus potentially reduce them. Consider, for example, the evidence on private returns to education. This book uses student test scores as a measure of student learning. It examines the performance of Latin America based on international assessment, such as the PISA, which test 15-years-olds in a number of cross-curricular competencies. Among participating countries, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and Peru ranked 34th, 35th, 36th, 37th and 41st respectively, in reading in 2000. Math results were similar. Educational performance in the region is low even compared with countries with similar per capita GDP, with the exception of Uruguay. In most countries in the region, individuals from disadvantaged background are not spending as many years in the education system, despite having equal access to school. Poorer students leave school earlier. While this gap in dropouts rates may be attributable in part to the effects of socioeconomics status and household factors, there is evidence that the poor have access to lower-quality schools and are therefore less inclined to stay in the system.
