{ "schemaVersion": "iceqc.research-report.reader.v1", "document": { "id": "doc-iceqc-r-2025-13", "slug": "global-education-quality-annual-report-2025-tertiary-participation-basic-skills-sustainable-workforce-capacity", "documentNumber": "ICEQC-R-2025-13", "title": "Global Education Quality Annual Report 2025: Tertiary Participation, Basic Skills and Sustainable Workforce Capacity", "subtitle": "Integrated annual monitoring of pathways, learning foundations, professional capacity, finance and public accountability", "family": "RESEARCH", "reportType": "ANNUAL_WHITE_PAPER", "researchCategory": "INTEGRATED_ANNUAL_MONITORING_ACROSS_THE_FOUR_APPROVED_RESEARCH_DOMAINS", "reportArchetype": "ANNUAL_INTEGRATED_MONITORING", "geographicScope": "Global with regional differentiation", "ownerBody": "ICEQC Research and Policy Directorate", "publisher": "International Council for Education Quality Certification (ICEQC)", "publicIdentity": "ICEQC_ONLY" }, "version": { "id": "ver-iceqc-r-2025-13-en-2025-12-14", "edition": "2025", "versionLabel": "Published 2025-12-14", "language": "en", "authoritativeLanguage": "en", "status": "PUBLISHED", "publicationDate": "2025-12-14", "evidenceCutoffDate": "2025-12-14", "statusNotice": "This is the controlled English edition. Evidence and institutional status are stated as at the evidence cut-off date.", "summary": "The 2025 annual account examines whether education systems convert participation into sustained learning and recognized completion. It connects tertiary pathways, basic skills and workforce capacity because each depends on coherent public responsibilities. Access without progression is incomplete; curriculum expectations without teaching capacity are not an implemented service; workforce commitments without recurrent finance cannot be sustained." }, "publicationControl": { "matrixRecordId": "ICEQC-R-2025-13", "temporalBasis": "CONTEMPORANEOUS_AS_AT_PUBLICATION_DATE", "originalAuthorship": "ICEQC", "suggestedMainTextWords": 62000, "suggestedTechnicalAnnexWords": 0, "suggestedTotalWords": 62000, "actualMainTextWords": 97532, "actualTechnicalAnnexWords": 0, "actualTotalWords": 97532 }, "frontMatter": { "executiveSummary": [ "The 2025 annual account examines whether education systems convert participation into sustained learning and recognized completion. It connects tertiary pathways, basic skills and workforce capacity because each depends on coherent public responsibilities. Access without progression is incomplete; curriculum expectations without teaching capacity are not an implemented service; workforce commitments without recurrent finance cannot be sustained.", "Tertiary participation should be interpreted across entry, progression, transfer, interruption, re-entry and completion. Headline enrolment or attainment measures answer important but limited questions. Institutions and systems should define cohorts, time horizons, credentials and population coverage, and should report where records cannot follow learners across providers or borders.", "Programme coherence is a quality condition. Learners require intelligible prerequisites, sequenced curriculum, available modules, timely assessment, fair credit decisions and support at points where progression becomes uncertain. Improvement evidence should show whether the pathway worked for groups facing financial, disability, language, care, migration or prior-opportunity barriers.", "Basic skills remain foundational across the life course. Literacy, mathematics, science and citizenship support further learning, participation and informed public life. A regional action plan can set direction within its jurisdiction, but should not be converted into a universal standard. Policy claims require alignment among curriculum, assessment, teacher preparation, support, finance and accessible learning opportunities.", "Basic-skills evidence should distinguish curriculum exposure, assessed performance, confidence, use in life and work, and participation in further learning. A single score cannot represent all of these. Results should be disaggregated and interpreted with sampling, language, accessibility and participation conditions. Support should not narrow learning to the measured instrument.", "The teaching workforce connects ambition to daily educational service. Sustainable capacity includes compensation, manageable workload, preparation, professional development, leadership, safe conditions and equitable deployment. Costing should distinguish posts, people, full-time equivalents, vacancies, effective availability and qualified assignment. Salary totals alone do not describe capacity.", "Fiscal constraint requires explicit choices rather than the disappearance of obligations. Adjustments should be assessed for unequal effects and transferred costs. Temporary finance may support a defined transition but should not conceal an unfunded permanent staffing duty. Medium-term scenarios should identify assumptions, risks, responsible authorities and the learner-facing service to be protected.", "Recognition contributes to participation and completion when decisions are timely, transparent and fair. Operational guidance available within the annual period should be applied according to the Convention's scope. Recognition does not remove institutional responsibility for accurate information, reasons, review and proportionate treatment of incomplete documentation.", "Across the annual evidence, leadership is strongest when it connects purpose, authority, professional participation, evidence and correction. Outcome trends can initiate enquiry but do not assign individual causation. Public accountability should identify the body able to act, the resource and protection implications, the review date and what remains unresolved." ], "keyFindings": [], "scopeAndMethod": [] }, "parts": [ { "id": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-i", "number": "I", "title": "Participation, pathway and completion", "anchor": "part-i-participation-pathway-and-completion", "sectionIds": [] }, { "id": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-i", "number": "I", "title": "Purpose, scope and evidential discipline", "anchor": "part-i-purpose-scope-and-evidential-discipline", "sectionIds": [ "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-1", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-2", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-3", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-4", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-5", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-6" ] }, { "id": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-ii", "number": "II", "title": "Equity as a test of institutional quality", "anchor": "part-ii-equity-as-a-test-of-institutional-quality", "sectionIds": [ "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-7", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-8", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-9", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-10", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-11", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-12" ] }, { "id": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-iii", "number": "III", "title": "Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence", "anchor": "part-iii-learning-teaching-and-curriculum-evidence", "sectionIds": [ "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-13", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-14", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-15", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-16", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-17", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-18" ] }, { "id": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-iv", "number": "IV", "title": "Completion, progression and transition", "anchor": "part-iv-completion-progression-and-transition", "sectionIds": [ "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-19", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-20", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-21", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-22", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-23", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-24" ] }, { "id": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-v", "number": "V", "title": "From diagnosis to owned improvement", "anchor": "part-v-from-diagnosis-to-owned-improvement", "sectionIds": [ "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-25", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-26", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-27", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-28", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-29", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-30" ] }, { "id": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-vi", "number": "VI", "title": "Governance, participation and public accountability", "anchor": "part-vi-governance-participation-and-public-accountability", "sectionIds": [ "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-31", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-32", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-33", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-34", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-35", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-36" ] }, { "id": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "XII", "title": "Workforce capacity and sustainable finance", "anchor": "part-xii-workforce-capacity-and-sustainable-finance", "sectionIds": [ "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-1", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-2", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-3", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-4", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-5", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-6", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-7", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-8", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-9", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-10", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-11", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-1", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-2", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-3", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-4", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-5", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-6", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-7", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-8", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-9", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-10", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-11", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-12", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-13", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-14", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-15", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-16", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-17", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-18", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-19", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-20", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-21", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-22", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-23", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-24", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-25", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-26", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-27", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-28", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-29", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-30", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-31", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-32", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-33", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-34", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-35", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-36", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-37", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-38", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-39", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-40", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-41", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-42", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-43", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-44", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-45", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-46", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-47", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-48", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-49", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-50", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-51", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-52", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-53", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-54", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-55", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-56", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-57", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-58", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-59", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-60", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-61", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-62", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-63", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-64", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-65", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-66", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-67", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-68", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-69", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-70", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-71", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-72", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-73", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-74", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-75", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-76", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-77", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-78", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-79", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-92", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-93", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-94", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-95", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-96", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-97", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-98", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-99", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-100", "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-101" ] } ], "sections": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-1", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-i", "parentId": null, "number": "1", "title": "A review mandate centred on learners", "anchor": "1-a-review-mandate-centred-on-learners", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-1-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A review mandate centred on learners defines the institutional question for the learner-centred mandate. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs A review mandate centred on learners within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. For a review mandate centred on learners, the people or responsible units are all learners entitled to the institution’s provision, and the direct evidence concerns equity, learning and completion. In examining a review mandate centred on learners, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on a review mandate centred on learners, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of a review mandate centred on learners, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-05", "REF-06", "REF-09" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-1-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in a review mandate centred on learners is that review questions follow organisational convenience and omit the learner pathway. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs A review mandate centred on learners within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. In examining a review mandate centred on learners, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on a review mandate centred on learners, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the learner-centred mandate, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of a review mandate centred on learners, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-05" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-1-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for a review mandate centred on learners is to state the public purpose, learner population, decision authority and expected use before evidence collection. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs A review mandate centred on learners within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Within evidence on a review mandate centred on learners, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of a review mandate centred on learners, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting a review mandate centred on learners, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-05", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-1-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the learner-centred mandate should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs A review mandate centred on learners within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. For review of a review mandate centred on learners, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting a review mandate centred on learners, for a review mandate centred on learners, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about a review mandate centred on learners, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-09" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-1-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in a review mandate centred on learners. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs A review mandate centred on learners within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. In interpreting a review mandate centred on learners, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about a review mandate centred on learners, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of a review mandate centred on learners, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For a review mandate centred on learners, when a group within all learners entitled to the institution’s provision cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-09" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-1-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of equity, learning and completion should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs A review mandate centred on learners within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. For decisions about a review mandate centred on learners, for a review mandate centred on learners, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of a review mandate centred on learners, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For a review mandate centred on learners, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-05", "REF-06", "REF-09" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-1-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes a review mandate centred on learners. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs A review mandate centred on learners within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Within the scope of a review mandate centred on learners, a material finding about the learner-centred mandate should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For a review mandate centred on learners, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining a review mandate centred on learners, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on a review mandate centred on learners, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-05", "REF-06", "REF-09" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-2", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-i", "parentId": null, "number": "2", "title": "Defining the institution and its responsibility", "anchor": "2-defining-the-institution-and-its-responsibility", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-2-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Defining the institution and its responsibility defines the institutional question for the institutional boundary. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Defining the institution and its responsibility within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. For defining the institution and its responsibility, the people or responsible units are sites, programmes, partners and services under direct or shared authority, and the direct evidence concerns scope of responsibility. In examining defining the institution and its responsibility, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on defining the institution and its responsibility, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of defining the institution and its responsibility, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-05", "REF-06", "REF-09", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-2-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in defining the institution and its responsibility is that outsourced, evening, temporary or partner provision falls outside review although learners depend on it. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Defining the institution and its responsibility within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. In examining defining the institution and its responsibility, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on defining the institution and its responsibility, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the institutional boundary, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of defining the institution and its responsibility, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-05", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-2-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for defining the institution and its responsibility is to map direct, delegated and shared duties and retain one owner for correction. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Defining the institution and its responsibility within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Within evidence on defining the institution and its responsibility, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of defining the institution and its responsibility, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting defining the institution and its responsibility, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-09" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-2-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the institutional boundary should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Defining the institution and its responsibility within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. For review of defining the institution and its responsibility, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting defining the institution and its responsibility, for defining the institution and its responsibility, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about defining the institution and its responsibility, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-09", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-2-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in defining the institution and its responsibility. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Defining the institution and its responsibility within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. In interpreting defining the institution and its responsibility, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about defining the institution and its responsibility, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of defining the institution and its responsibility, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For defining the institution and its responsibility, when a group within sites, programmes, partners and services under direct or shared authority cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-05", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-2-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of scope of responsibility should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Defining the institution and its responsibility within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. For decisions about defining the institution and its responsibility, for defining the institution and its responsibility, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of defining the institution and its responsibility, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For defining the institution and its responsibility, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-09", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-2-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes defining the institution and its responsibility. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Defining the institution and its responsibility within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Within the scope of defining the institution and its responsibility, a material finding about the institutional boundary should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For defining the institution and its responsibility, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining defining the institution and its responsibility, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on defining the institution and its responsibility, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-05", "REF-06", "REF-09", "REF-16" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-3", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-i", "parentId": null, "number": "3", "title": "Connecting inputs, experience and results", "anchor": "3-connecting-inputs-experience-and-results", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-3-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Connecting inputs, experience and results defines the institutional question for the quality chain. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Connecting inputs, experience and results within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. For connecting inputs, experience and results, the people or responsible units are learners receiving resources, teaching and support, and the direct evidence concerns conditions, participation and outcomes. In examining connecting inputs, experience and results, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on connecting inputs, experience and results, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of connecting inputs, experience and results, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-02", "REF-09", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-3-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in connecting inputs, experience and results is that inputs are praised without evidence of learner use or outcomes are blamed on learners without examining conditions. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Connecting inputs, experience and results within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. In examining connecting inputs, experience and results, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on connecting inputs, experience and results, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the quality chain, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of connecting inputs, experience and results, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-02" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-3-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for connecting inputs, experience and results is to trace resources through teaching and participation to learning and progression. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Connecting inputs, experience and results within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Within evidence on connecting inputs, experience and results, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of connecting inputs, experience and results, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting connecting inputs, experience and results, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-02", "REF-09" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-3-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the quality chain should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Connecting inputs, experience and results within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. For review of connecting inputs, experience and results, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting connecting inputs, experience and results, for connecting inputs, experience and results, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about connecting inputs, experience and results, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-09", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-3-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in connecting inputs, experience and results. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Connecting inputs, experience and results within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. In interpreting connecting inputs, experience and results, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about connecting inputs, experience and results, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of connecting inputs, experience and results, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For connecting inputs, experience and results, when a group within learners receiving resources, teaching and support cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-3-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of conditions, participation and outcomes should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Connecting inputs, experience and results within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. For decisions about connecting inputs, experience and results, for connecting inputs, experience and results, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of connecting inputs, experience and results, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For connecting inputs, experience and results, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-02", "REF-09", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-3-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes connecting inputs, experience and results. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Connecting inputs, experience and results within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Within the scope of connecting inputs, experience and results, a material finding about the quality chain should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For connecting inputs, experience and results, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining connecting inputs, experience and results, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on connecting inputs, experience and results, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-02", "REF-09", "REF-22" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-4", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-i", "parentId": null, "number": "4", "title": "Baseline, question and decision threshold", "anchor": "4-baseline-question-and-decision-threshold", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-4-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Baseline, question and decision threshold defines the institutional question for the review baseline. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Baseline, question and decision threshold within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. For baseline, question and decision threshold, the people or responsible units are groups and programmes compared at the review date, and the direct evidence concerns starting level and material gap. In examining baseline, question and decision threshold, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on baseline, question and decision threshold, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of baseline, question and decision threshold, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-09", "REF-12", "REF-20", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-4-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in baseline, question and decision threshold is that data are gathered without a decision question or a minor fluctuation drives disproportionate action. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Baseline, question and decision threshold within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. In examining baseline, question and decision threshold, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on baseline, question and decision threshold, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the review baseline, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of baseline, question and decision threshold, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-09", "REF-12" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-4-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for baseline, question and decision threshold is to define the decision, baseline, comparison and threshold for investigation in advance. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Baseline, question and decision threshold within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Within evidence on baseline, question and decision threshold, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of baseline, question and decision threshold, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting baseline, question and decision threshold, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-12", "REF-20" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-4-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the review baseline should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Baseline, question and decision threshold within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. For review of baseline, question and decision threshold, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting baseline, question and decision threshold, for baseline, question and decision threshold, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about baseline, question and decision threshold, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-20", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-4-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in baseline, question and decision threshold. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Baseline, question and decision threshold within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. In interpreting baseline, question and decision threshold, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about baseline, question and decision threshold, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of baseline, question and decision threshold, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For baseline, question and decision threshold, when a group within groups and programmes compared at the review date cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-09", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-4-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of starting level and material gap should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Baseline, question and decision threshold within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. For decisions about baseline, question and decision threshold, for baseline, question and decision threshold, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of baseline, question and decision threshold, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For baseline, question and decision threshold, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-12", "REF-20", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-4-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes baseline, question and decision threshold. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Baseline, question and decision threshold within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Within the scope of baseline, question and decision threshold, a material finding about the review baseline should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For baseline, question and decision threshold, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining baseline, question and decision threshold, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on baseline, question and decision threshold, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-09", "REF-12", "REF-20", "REF-22" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-5", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-i", "parentId": null, "number": "5", "title": "Triangulation without selective confirmation", "anchor": "5-triangulation-without-selective-confirmation", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-5-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Triangulation without selective confirmation defines the institutional question for the evidence triangulation. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Triangulation without selective confirmation within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. For triangulation without selective confirmation, the people or responsible units are people, records and observations representing the same issue differently, and the direct evidence concerns convergent or divergent evidence. In examining triangulation without selective confirmation, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on triangulation without selective confirmation, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of triangulation without selective confirmation, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-09", "REF-11", "REF-20", "REF-24" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-5-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in triangulation without selective confirmation is that only evidence supporting the initial institutional view is retained. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Triangulation without selective confirmation within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. In examining triangulation without selective confirmation, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on triangulation without selective confirmation, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the evidence triangulation, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of triangulation without selective confirmation, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-09", "REF-11" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-5-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for triangulation without selective confirmation is to map each source’s coverage and investigate disagreement as a finding. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Triangulation without selective confirmation within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Within evidence on triangulation without selective confirmation, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of triangulation without selective confirmation, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting triangulation without selective confirmation, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-11", "REF-20" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-5-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the evidence triangulation should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Triangulation without selective confirmation within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. For review of triangulation without selective confirmation, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting triangulation without selective confirmation, for triangulation without selective confirmation, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about triangulation without selective confirmation, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-20", "REF-24" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-5-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in triangulation without selective confirmation. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Triangulation without selective confirmation within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. In interpreting triangulation without selective confirmation, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about triangulation without selective confirmation, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of triangulation without selective confirmation, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For triangulation without selective confirmation, when a group within people, records and observations representing the same issue differently cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-09", "REF-24" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-5-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of convergent or divergent evidence should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Triangulation without selective confirmation within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. For decisions about triangulation without selective confirmation, for triangulation without selective confirmation, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of triangulation without selective confirmation, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For triangulation without selective confirmation, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-11", "REF-20", "REF-24" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-5-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes triangulation without selective confirmation. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Triangulation without selective confirmation within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Within the scope of triangulation without selective confirmation, a material finding about the evidence triangulation should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For triangulation without selective confirmation, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining triangulation without selective confirmation, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on triangulation without selective confirmation, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-09", "REF-11", "REF-20", "REF-24" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-6", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-i", "parentId": null, "number": "6", "title": "Proportionality and review burden", "anchor": "6-proportionality-and-review-burden", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-6-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Proportionality and review burden defines the institutional question for the review proportionality. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Proportionality and review burden within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. For proportionality and review burden, the people or responsible units are learners, staff and communities asked to supply evidence, and the direct evidence concerns burden and decision value. In examining proportionality and review burden, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on proportionality and review burden, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of proportionality and review burden, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-08", "REF-12", "REF-20", "REF-21" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-6-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in proportionality and review burden is that large collections displace teaching and participation while producing no usable decision. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Proportionality and review burden within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. In examining proportionality and review burden, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on proportionality and review burden, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the review proportionality, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of proportionality and review burden, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-08", "REF-12" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-6-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for proportionality and review burden is to collect the minimum evidence needed for material questions and reuse valid records lawfully. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Proportionality and review burden within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Within evidence on proportionality and review burden, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of proportionality and review burden, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting proportionality and review burden, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-12", "REF-20" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-6-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the review proportionality should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Proportionality and review burden within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. For review of proportionality and review burden, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting proportionality and review burden, for proportionality and review burden, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about proportionality and review burden, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-20", "REF-21" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-6-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in proportionality and review burden. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Proportionality and review burden within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. In interpreting proportionality and review burden, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about proportionality and review burden, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of proportionality and review burden, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For proportionality and review burden, when a group within learners, staff and communities asked to supply evidence cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-08", "REF-21" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-6-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of burden and decision value should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Proportionality and review burden within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. For decisions about proportionality and review burden, for proportionality and review burden, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of proportionality and review burden, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For proportionality and review burden, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-12", "REF-20", "REF-21" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-6-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes proportionality and review burden. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Proportionality and review burden within Part I — Purpose, scope and evidential discipline: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Within the scope of proportionality and review burden, a material finding about the review proportionality should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For proportionality and review burden, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining proportionality and review burden, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on proportionality and review burden, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-08", "REF-12", "REF-20", "REF-21" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-7", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-ii", "parentId": null, "number": "7", "title": "Admission and initial placement", "anchor": "7-admission-and-initial-placement", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-7-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Admission and initial placement defines the institutional question for the admission pathway. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Admission and initial placement within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. For admission and initial placement, the people or responsible units are applicants and eligible learners, and the direct evidence concerns request, decision and first attendance. In examining admission and initial placement, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on admission and initial placement, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of admission and initial placement, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-06", "REF-07", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-7-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in admission and initial placement is that documentation, timing, language or discretionary placement delays entry for particular groups. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Admission and initial placement within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. In examining admission and initial placement, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on admission and initial placement, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the admission pathway, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of admission and initial placement, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-7-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for admission and initial placement is to trace request-to-entry time, reasons, appeals and early retention by group. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Admission and initial placement within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Within evidence on admission and initial placement, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of admission and initial placement, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting admission and initial placement, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-07" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-7-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the admission pathway should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Admission and initial placement within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. For review of admission and initial placement, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting admission and initial placement, for admission and initial placement, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about admission and initial placement, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-07", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-7-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in admission and initial placement. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Admission and initial placement within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. In interpreting admission and initial placement, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about admission and initial placement, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of admission and initial placement, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For admission and initial placement, when a group within applicants and eligible learners cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-7-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of request, decision and first attendance should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Admission and initial placement within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. For decisions about admission and initial placement, for admission and initial placement, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of admission and initial placement, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For admission and initial placement, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-07", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-7-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes admission and initial placement. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Admission and initial placement within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Within the scope of admission and initial placement, a material finding about the admission pathway should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For admission and initial placement, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining admission and initial placement, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on admission and initial placement, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-06", "REF-07", "REF-16" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-8", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-ii", "parentId": null, "number": "8", "title": "Attendance, time and usable access", "anchor": "8-attendance-time-and-usable-access", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-8-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Attendance, time and usable access defines the institutional question for the usable participation. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Attendance, time and usable access within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. For attendance, time and usable access, the people or responsible units are enrolled learners with different travel, work and care conditions, and the direct evidence concerns attendance intensity and instructional time. In examining attendance, time and usable access, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on attendance, time and usable access, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of attendance, time and usable access, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-08", "REF-10", "REF-24" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-8-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in attendance, time and usable access is that registration is treated as access despite recurrent absence, late arrival or shortened provision. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Attendance, time and usable access within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. In examining attendance, time and usable access, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on attendance, time and usable access, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the usable participation, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of attendance, time and usable access, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-08" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-8-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for attendance, time and usable access is to compare delivered time and sustained attendance and investigate institutional barriers. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Attendance, time and usable access within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Within evidence on attendance, time and usable access, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of attendance, time and usable access, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting attendance, time and usable access, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-08", "REF-10" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-8-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the usable participation should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Attendance, time and usable access within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. For review of attendance, time and usable access, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting attendance, time and usable access, for attendance, time and usable access, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about attendance, time and usable access, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-10", "REF-24" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-8-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in attendance, time and usable access. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Attendance, time and usable access within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. In interpreting attendance, time and usable access, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about attendance, time and usable access, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of attendance, time and usable access, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For attendance, time and usable access, when a group within enrolled learners with different travel, work and care conditions cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-24" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-8-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of attendance intensity and instructional time should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Attendance, time and usable access within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. For decisions about attendance, time and usable access, for attendance, time and usable access, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of attendance, time and usable access, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For attendance, time and usable access, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-08", "REF-10", "REF-24" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-8-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes attendance, time and usable access. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Attendance, time and usable access within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Within the scope of attendance, time and usable access, a material finding about the usable participation should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For attendance, time and usable access, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining attendance, time and usable access, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on attendance, time and usable access, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-08", "REF-10", "REF-24" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-9", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-ii", "parentId": null, "number": "9", "title": "Sex, poverty and location", "anchor": "9-sex-poverty-and-location", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-9-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Sex, poverty and location defines the institutional question for the distributional equity. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Sex, poverty and location within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. For sex, poverty and location, the people or responsible units are learners by sex, household resources and location, and the direct evidence concerns levels and gaps across the pathway. In examining sex, poverty and location, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on sex, poverty and location, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of sex, poverty and location, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-04", "REF-15", "REF-19" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-9-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in sex, poverty and location is that a parity ratio or broad territorial category hides low levels and intersecting disadvantage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Sex, poverty and location within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. In examining sex, poverty and location, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on sex, poverty and location, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the distributional equity, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of sex, poverty and location, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-04" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-9-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for sex, poverty and location is to publish component levels, population shares and selected safe intersections. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Sex, poverty and location within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Within evidence on sex, poverty and location, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of sex, poverty and location, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting sex, poverty and location, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-15" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-9-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the distributional equity should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Sex, poverty and location within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. For review of sex, poverty and location, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting sex, poverty and location, for sex, poverty and location, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about sex, poverty and location, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-15", "REF-19" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-9-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in sex, poverty and location. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Sex, poverty and location within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. In interpreting sex, poverty and location, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about sex, poverty and location, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of sex, poverty and location, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For sex, poverty and location, when a group within learners by sex, household resources and location cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-19" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-9-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of levels and gaps across the pathway should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Sex, poverty and location within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. For decisions about sex, poverty and location, for sex, poverty and location, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of sex, poverty and location, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For sex, poverty and location, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-15", "REF-19" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-9-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes sex, poverty and location. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Sex, poverty and location within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Within the scope of sex, poverty and location, a material finding about the distributional equity should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For sex, poverty and location, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining sex, poverty and location, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on sex, poverty and location, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-04", "REF-15", "REF-19" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-10", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-ii", "parentId": null, "number": "10", "title": "Disability, accessibility and accommodation", "anchor": "10-disability-accessibility-and-accommodation", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-10-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Disability, accessibility and accommodation defines the institutional question for the inclusive participation. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Disability, accessibility and accommodation within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. For disability, accessibility and accommodation, the people or responsible units are learners with different functional and support requirements, and the direct evidence concerns accessibility and reasonable accommodation. In examining disability, accessibility and accommodation, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on disability, accessibility and accommodation, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of disability, accessibility and accommodation, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-07", "REF-14", "REF-24" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-10-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in disability, accessibility and accommodation is that the institution counts only disclosed diagnoses and omits those unable to use the offer. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Disability, accessibility and accommodation within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. In examining disability, accessibility and accommodation, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on disability, accessibility and accommodation, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the inclusive participation, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of disability, accessibility and accommodation, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-07" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-10-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for disability, accessibility and accommodation is to review routes, communication, teaching, assessment and support with affected learners. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Disability, accessibility and accommodation within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Within evidence on disability, accessibility and accommodation, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of disability, accessibility and accommodation, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting disability, accessibility and accommodation, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-07", "REF-14" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-10-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the inclusive participation should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Disability, accessibility and accommodation within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. For review of disability, accessibility and accommodation, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting disability, accessibility and accommodation, for disability, accessibility and accommodation, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about disability, accessibility and accommodation, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-14", "REF-24" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-10-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in disability, accessibility and accommodation. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Disability, accessibility and accommodation within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. In interpreting disability, accessibility and accommodation, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about disability, accessibility and accommodation, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of disability, accessibility and accommodation, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For disability, accessibility and accommodation, when a group within learners with different functional and support requirements cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-24" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-10-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of accessibility and reasonable accommodation should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Disability, accessibility and accommodation within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. For decisions about disability, accessibility and accommodation, for disability, accessibility and accommodation, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of disability, accessibility and accommodation, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For disability, accessibility and accommodation, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-07", "REF-14", "REF-24" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-10-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes disability, accessibility and accommodation. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Disability, accessibility and accommodation within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Within the scope of disability, accessibility and accommodation, a material finding about the inclusive participation should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For disability, accessibility and accommodation, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining disability, accessibility and accommodation, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on disability, accessibility and accommodation, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-07", "REF-14", "REF-24" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-11", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-ii", "parentId": null, "number": "11", "title": "Language, status and belonging", "anchor": "11-language-status-and-belonging", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-11-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Language, status and belonging defines the institutional question for the linguistic and social inclusion. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Language, status and belonging within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. For language, status and belonging, the people or responsible units are minority, migrant, displaced and other learners facing language or status barriers, and the direct evidence concerns comprehension, participation and progression. In examining language, status and belonging, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on language, status and belonging, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of language, status and belonging, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-06", "REF-08", "REF-13" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-11-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in language, status and belonging is that placement is recorded without examining comprehension, discrimination or recognition. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Language, status and belonging within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. In examining language, status and belonging, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on language, status and belonging, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the linguistic and social inclusion, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of language, status and belonging, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-11-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for language, status and belonging is to review language support, curriculum, peer climate, records and remedy. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Language, status and belonging within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Within evidence on language, status and belonging, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of language, status and belonging, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting language, status and belonging, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-08" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-11-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the linguistic and social inclusion should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Language, status and belonging within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. For review of language, status and belonging, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting language, status and belonging, for language, status and belonging, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about language, status and belonging, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-08", "REF-13" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-11-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in language, status and belonging. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Language, status and belonging within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. In interpreting language, status and belonging, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about language, status and belonging, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of language, status and belonging, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For language, status and belonging, when a group within minority, migrant, displaced and other learners facing language or status barriers cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-13" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-11-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of comprehension, participation and progression should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Language, status and belonging within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. For decisions about language, status and belonging, for language, status and belonging, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of language, status and belonging, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For language, status and belonging, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-08", "REF-13" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-11-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes language, status and belonging. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Language, status and belonging within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Within the scope of language, status and belonging, a material finding about the linguistic and social inclusion should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For language, status and belonging, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining language, status and belonging, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on language, status and belonging, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-06", "REF-08", "REF-13" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-12", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-ii", "parentId": null, "number": "12", "title": "Fees, transport and indirect cost", "anchor": "12-fees-transport-and-indirect-cost", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-12-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Fees, transport and indirect cost defines the institutional question for the affordability. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Fees, transport and indirect cost within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. For fees, transport and indirect cost, the people or responsible units are learners and households bearing direct and indirect education costs, and the direct evidence concerns cost burden and withdrawal. In examining fees, transport and indirect cost, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on fees, transport and indirect cost, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of fees, transport and indirect cost, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-06", "REF-16", "REF-19" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-12-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in fees, transport and indirect cost is that nominally free provision transfers transport, materials, meals or lost-time costs to households. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Fees, transport and indirect cost within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. In examining fees, transport and indirect cost, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on fees, transport and indirect cost, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the affordability, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of fees, transport and indirect cost, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-12-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for fees, transport and indirect cost is to document required costs, assistance, non-use and withdrawal and assign corrective finance. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Fees, transport and indirect cost within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Within evidence on fees, transport and indirect cost, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of fees, transport and indirect cost, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting fees, transport and indirect cost, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-12-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the affordability should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Fees, transport and indirect cost within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. For review of fees, transport and indirect cost, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting fees, transport and indirect cost, for fees, transport and indirect cost, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about fees, transport and indirect cost, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-16", "REF-19" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-12-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in fees, transport and indirect cost. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Fees, transport and indirect cost within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. In interpreting fees, transport and indirect cost, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about fees, transport and indirect cost, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of fees, transport and indirect cost, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For fees, transport and indirect cost, when a group within learners and households bearing direct and indirect education costs cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-19" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-12-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of cost burden and withdrawal should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Fees, transport and indirect cost within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. For decisions about fees, transport and indirect cost, for fees, transport and indirect cost, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of fees, transport and indirect cost, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For fees, transport and indirect cost, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-16", "REF-19" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-12-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes fees, transport and indirect cost. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Fees, transport and indirect cost within Part II — Equity as a test of institutional quality: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Within the scope of fees, transport and indirect cost, a material finding about the affordability should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For fees, transport and indirect cost, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining fees, transport and indirect cost, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on fees, transport and indirect cost, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-06", "REF-16", "REF-19" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-13", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-iii", "parentId": null, "number": "13", "title": "Curriculum entitlement and taught breadth", "anchor": "13-curriculum-entitlement-and-taught-breadth", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-13-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Curriculum entitlement and taught breadth defines the institutional question for the curriculum enactment. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Curriculum entitlement and taught breadth within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. For curriculum entitlement and taught breadth, the people or responsible units are learners in each programme and group, and the direct evidence concerns intended and taught curriculum. In examining curriculum entitlement and taught breadth, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on curriculum entitlement and taught breadth, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of curriculum entitlement and taught breadth, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-02", "REF-09", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-13-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in curriculum entitlement and taught breadth is that published curriculum is accepted as delivered while time, subject or group omissions persist. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Curriculum entitlement and taught breadth within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. In examining curriculum entitlement and taught breadth, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on curriculum entitlement and taught breadth, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the curriculum enactment, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of curriculum entitlement and taught breadth, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-02" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-13-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for curriculum entitlement and taught breadth is to compare plans, timetables, observation and learner work across programmes and groups. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Curriculum entitlement and taught breadth within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Within evidence on curriculum entitlement and taught breadth, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of curriculum entitlement and taught breadth, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting curriculum entitlement and taught breadth, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-02", "REF-09" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-13-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the curriculum enactment should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Curriculum entitlement and taught breadth within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. For review of curriculum entitlement and taught breadth, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting curriculum entitlement and taught breadth, for curriculum entitlement and taught breadth, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about curriculum entitlement and taught breadth, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-09", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-13-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in curriculum entitlement and taught breadth. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Curriculum entitlement and taught breadth within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. In interpreting curriculum entitlement and taught breadth, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about curriculum entitlement and taught breadth, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of curriculum entitlement and taught breadth, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For curriculum entitlement and taught breadth, when a group within learners in each programme and group cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-13-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of intended and taught curriculum should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Curriculum entitlement and taught breadth within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. For decisions about curriculum entitlement and taught breadth, for curriculum entitlement and taught breadth, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of curriculum entitlement and taught breadth, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For curriculum entitlement and taught breadth, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-02", "REF-09", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-13-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes curriculum entitlement and taught breadth. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Curriculum entitlement and taught breadth within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Within the scope of curriculum entitlement and taught breadth, a material finding about the curriculum enactment should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For curriculum entitlement and taught breadth, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining curriculum entitlement and taught breadth, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on curriculum entitlement and taught breadth, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-02", "REF-09", "REF-16" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-14", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-iii", "parentId": null, "number": "14", "title": "Instructional time and opportunity to learn", "anchor": "14-instructional-time-and-opportunity-to-learn", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-14-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Instructional time and opportunity to learn defines the institutional question for the learning opportunity. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Instructional time and opportunity to learn within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. For instructional time and opportunity to learn, the people or responsible units are learners receiving scheduled and actual teaching, and the direct evidence concerns delivered time and task opportunity. In examining instructional time and opportunity to learn, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on instructional time and opportunity to learn, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of instructional time and opportunity to learn, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-02", "REF-08", "REF-09" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-14-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in instructional time and opportunity to learn is that calendar hours conceal closures, late starts, absence and time not used for learning. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Instructional time and opportunity to learn within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. In examining instructional time and opportunity to learn, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on instructional time and opportunity to learn, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the learning opportunity, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of instructional time and opportunity to learn, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-02" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-14-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for instructional time and opportunity to learn is to record delivered time, participation and substantive tasks rather than schedule alone. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Instructional time and opportunity to learn within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Within evidence on instructional time and opportunity to learn, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of instructional time and opportunity to learn, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting instructional time and opportunity to learn, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-02", "REF-08" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-14-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the learning opportunity should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Instructional time and opportunity to learn within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. For review of instructional time and opportunity to learn, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting instructional time and opportunity to learn, for instructional time and opportunity to learn, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about instructional time and opportunity to learn, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-08", "REF-09" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-14-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in instructional time and opportunity to learn. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Instructional time and opportunity to learn within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. In interpreting instructional time and opportunity to learn, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about instructional time and opportunity to learn, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of instructional time and opportunity to learn, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For instructional time and opportunity to learn, when a group within learners receiving scheduled and actual teaching cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-09" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-14-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of delivered time and task opportunity should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Instructional time and opportunity to learn within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. For decisions about instructional time and opportunity to learn, for instructional time and opportunity to learn, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of instructional time and opportunity to learn, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For instructional time and opportunity to learn, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-02", "REF-08", "REF-09" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-14-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes instructional time and opportunity to learn. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Instructional time and opportunity to learn within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Within the scope of instructional time and opportunity to learn, a material finding about the learning opportunity should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For instructional time and opportunity to learn, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining instructional time and opportunity to learn, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on instructional time and opportunity to learn, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-02", "REF-08", "REF-09" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-15", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-iii", "parentId": null, "number": "15", "title": "Teaching practice and cognitive demand", "anchor": "15-teaching-practice-and-cognitive-demand", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-15-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Teaching practice and cognitive demand defines the institutional question for the teaching evidence. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Teaching practice and cognitive demand within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. For teaching practice and cognitive demand, the people or responsible units are learners experiencing different classrooms and subjects, and the direct evidence concerns explanation, questioning, practice and feedback. In examining teaching practice and cognitive demand, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on teaching practice and cognitive demand, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of teaching practice and cognitive demand, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-02", "REF-08", "REF-09", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-15-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in teaching practice and cognitive demand is that observation becomes a compliance checklist detached from learner thinking and work. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Teaching practice and cognitive demand within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. In examining teaching practice and cognitive demand, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on teaching practice and cognitive demand, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the teaching evidence, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of teaching practice and cognitive demand, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-02", "REF-08" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-15-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for teaching practice and cognitive demand is to use focused observation with learner evidence and supportive professional dialogue. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Teaching practice and cognitive demand within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Within evidence on teaching practice and cognitive demand, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of teaching practice and cognitive demand, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting teaching practice and cognitive demand, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-08", "REF-09" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-15-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the teaching evidence should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Teaching practice and cognitive demand within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. For review of teaching practice and cognitive demand, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting teaching practice and cognitive demand, for teaching practice and cognitive demand, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about teaching practice and cognitive demand, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-09", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-15-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in teaching practice and cognitive demand. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Teaching practice and cognitive demand within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. In interpreting teaching practice and cognitive demand, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about teaching practice and cognitive demand, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of teaching practice and cognitive demand, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For teaching practice and cognitive demand, when a group within learners experiencing different classrooms and subjects cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-02", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-15-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of explanation, questioning, practice and feedback should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Teaching practice and cognitive demand within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. For decisions about teaching practice and cognitive demand, for teaching practice and cognitive demand, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of teaching practice and cognitive demand, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For teaching practice and cognitive demand, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-08", "REF-09", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-15-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes teaching practice and cognitive demand. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Teaching practice and cognitive demand within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Within the scope of teaching practice and cognitive demand, a material finding about the teaching evidence should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For teaching practice and cognitive demand, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining teaching practice and cognitive demand, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on teaching practice and cognitive demand, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-02", "REF-08", "REF-09", "REF-22" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-16", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-iii", "parentId": null, "number": "16", "title": "Learner work as evidence of progression", "anchor": "16-learner-work-as-evidence-of-progression", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-16-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Learner work as evidence of progression defines the institutional question for the work-sample evidence. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Learner work as evidence of progression within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. For learner work as evidence of progression, the people or responsible units are learners at different stages and attainment levels, and the direct evidence concerns task demand, response and improvement. In examining learner work as evidence of progression, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on learner work as evidence of progression, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of learner work as evidence of progression, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-02", "REF-09", "REF-12", "REF-20" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-16-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in learner work as evidence of progression is that selected exemplary work represents the cohort or grades are accepted without underlying evidence. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Learner work as evidence of progression within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. In examining learner work as evidence of progression, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on learner work as evidence of progression, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the work-sample evidence, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of learner work as evidence of progression, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-02", "REF-09" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-16-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for learner work as evidence of progression is to sample ordinary work over time and examine demand, feedback, revision and independence. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Learner work as evidence of progression within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Within evidence on learner work as evidence of progression, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of learner work as evidence of progression, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting learner work as evidence of progression, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-09", "REF-12" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-16-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the work-sample evidence should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Learner work as evidence of progression within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. For review of learner work as evidence of progression, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting learner work as evidence of progression, for learner work as evidence of progression, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about learner work as evidence of progression, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-12", "REF-20" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-16-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in learner work as evidence of progression. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Learner work as evidence of progression within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. In interpreting learner work as evidence of progression, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about learner work as evidence of progression, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of learner work as evidence of progression, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For learner work as evidence of progression, when a group within learners at different stages and attainment levels cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-02", "REF-20" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-16-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of task demand, response and improvement should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Learner work as evidence of progression within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. For decisions about learner work as evidence of progression, for learner work as evidence of progression, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of learner work as evidence of progression, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For learner work as evidence of progression, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-09", "REF-12", "REF-20" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-16-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes learner work as evidence of progression. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Learner work as evidence of progression within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Within the scope of learner work as evidence of progression, a material finding about the work-sample evidence should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For learner work as evidence of progression, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining learner work as evidence of progression, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on learner work as evidence of progression, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-02", "REF-09", "REF-12", "REF-20" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-17", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-iii", "parentId": null, "number": "17", "title": "Assessment fitness and fair access", "anchor": "17-assessment-fitness-and-fair-access", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-17-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Assessment fitness and fair access defines the institutional question for the assessment evidence. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Assessment fitness and fair access within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. For assessment fitness and fair access, the people or responsible units are eligible learners including those absent or accommodated, and the direct evidence concerns coverage, validity and achievement distribution. In examining assessment fitness and fair access, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on assessment fitness and fair access, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of assessment fitness and fair access, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-02", "REF-14", "REF-20" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-17-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in assessment fitness and fair access is that mean scores conceal exclusions, threshold failure and unequal assessment access. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Assessment fitness and fair access within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. In examining assessment fitness and fair access, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on assessment fitness and fair access, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the assessment evidence, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of assessment fitness and fair access, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-02" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-17-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for assessment fitness and fair access is to report target population, participation, accommodations, distribution and uncertainty. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Assessment fitness and fair access within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Within evidence on assessment fitness and fair access, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of assessment fitness and fair access, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting assessment fitness and fair access, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-02", "REF-14" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-17-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the assessment evidence should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Assessment fitness and fair access within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. For review of assessment fitness and fair access, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting assessment fitness and fair access, for assessment fitness and fair access, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about assessment fitness and fair access, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-14", "REF-20" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-17-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in assessment fitness and fair access. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Assessment fitness and fair access within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. In interpreting assessment fitness and fair access, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about assessment fitness and fair access, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of assessment fitness and fair access, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For assessment fitness and fair access, when a group within eligible learners including those absent or accommodated cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-20" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-17-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of coverage, validity and achievement distribution should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Assessment fitness and fair access within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. For decisions about assessment fitness and fair access, for assessment fitness and fair access, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of assessment fitness and fair access, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For assessment fitness and fair access, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-02", "REF-14", "REF-20" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-17-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes assessment fitness and fair access. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Assessment fitness and fair access within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Within the scope of assessment fitness and fair access, a material finding about the assessment evidence should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For assessment fitness and fair access, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining assessment fitness and fair access, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on assessment fitness and fair access, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-02", "REF-14", "REF-20" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-18", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-iii", "parentId": null, "number": "18", "title": "Targeted support and learner response", "anchor": "18-targeted-support-and-learner-response", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-18-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Targeted support and learner response defines the institutional question for the learning support. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Targeted support and learner response within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. For targeted support and learner response, the people or responsible units are learners identified as needing additional teaching or accommodation, and the direct evidence concerns receipt, engagement and learning response. In examining targeted support and learner response, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on targeted support and learner response, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of targeted support and learner response, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-07", "REF-08", "REF-09" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-18-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in targeted support and learner response is that referral counts replace evidence that support was timely, usable and effective. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Targeted support and learner response within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. In examining targeted support and learner response, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on targeted support and learner response, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the learning support, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of targeted support and learner response, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-07" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-18-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for targeted support and learner response is to trace identification, offer, receipt, participation, learning and later independence. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Targeted support and learner response within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Within evidence on targeted support and learner response, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of targeted support and learner response, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting targeted support and learner response, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-07", "REF-08" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-18-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the learning support should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Targeted support and learner response within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. For review of targeted support and learner response, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting targeted support and learner response, for targeted support and learner response, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about targeted support and learner response, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-08", "REF-09" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-18-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in targeted support and learner response. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Targeted support and learner response within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. In interpreting targeted support and learner response, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about targeted support and learner response, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of targeted support and learner response, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For targeted support and learner response, when a group within learners identified as needing additional teaching or accommodation cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-09" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-18-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of receipt, engagement and learning response should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Targeted support and learner response within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. For decisions about targeted support and learner response, for targeted support and learner response, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of targeted support and learner response, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For targeted support and learner response, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-07", "REF-08", "REF-09" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-18-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes targeted support and learner response. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Targeted support and learner response within Part III — Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Within the scope of targeted support and learner response, a material finding about the learning support should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For targeted support and learner response, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining targeted support and learner response, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on targeted support and learner response, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-07", "REF-08", "REF-09" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-19", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-iv", "parentId": null, "number": "19", "title": "Cohort entry and progression", "anchor": "19-cohort-entry-and-progression", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-19-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Cohort entry and progression defines the institutional question for the cohort pathway. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Cohort entry and progression within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. For cohort entry and progression, the people or responsible units are entrants moving through expected programme stages, and the direct evidence concerns promotion and time to stage. In examining cohort entry and progression, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on cohort entry and progression, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of cohort entry and progression, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-10", "REF-11", "REF-23" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-19-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in cohort entry and progression is that cross-sectional enrolment hides repetition, delay and disappearance between reporting dates. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Cohort entry and progression within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. In examining cohort entry and progression, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on cohort entry and progression, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the cohort pathway, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of cohort entry and progression, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-10" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-19-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for cohort entry and progression is to define cohorts and trace movement, interruption, transfer and return by group. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Cohort entry and progression within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Within evidence on cohort entry and progression, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of cohort entry and progression, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting cohort entry and progression, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-10", "REF-11" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-19-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the cohort pathway should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Cohort entry and progression within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. For review of cohort entry and progression, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting cohort entry and progression, for cohort entry and progression, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about cohort entry and progression, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-11", "REF-23" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-19-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in cohort entry and progression. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Cohort entry and progression within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. In interpreting cohort entry and progression, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about cohort entry and progression, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of cohort entry and progression, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For cohort entry and progression, when a group within entrants moving through expected programme stages cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-23" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-19-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of promotion and time to stage should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Cohort entry and progression within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. For decisions about cohort entry and progression, for cohort entry and progression, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of cohort entry and progression, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For cohort entry and progression, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-10", "REF-11", "REF-23" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-19-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes cohort entry and progression. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Cohort entry and progression within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Within the scope of cohort entry and progression, a material finding about the cohort pathway should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For cohort entry and progression, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining cohort entry and progression, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on cohort entry and progression, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-10", "REF-11", "REF-23" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-20", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-iv", "parentId": null, "number": "20", "title": "Repetition and accumulated delay", "anchor": "20-repetition-and-accumulated-delay", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-20-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Repetition and accumulated delay defines the institutional question for the repetition evidence. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Repetition and accumulated delay within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. For repetition and accumulated delay, the people or responsible units are learners repeating grades, modules or assessments, and the direct evidence concerns frequency, duration and consequence. In examining repetition and accumulated delay, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on repetition and accumulated delay, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of repetition and accumulated delay, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-10", "REF-12", "REF-23" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-20-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in repetition and accumulated delay is that repetition is treated as learner failure without reviewing teaching, assessment or support. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Repetition and accumulated delay within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. In examining repetition and accumulated delay, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on repetition and accumulated delay, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the repetition evidence, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of repetition and accumulated delay, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-10" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-20-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for repetition and accumulated delay is to examine who repeats, why, what changes and whether learning and retention improve. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Repetition and accumulated delay within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Within evidence on repetition and accumulated delay, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of repetition and accumulated delay, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting repetition and accumulated delay, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-10", "REF-12" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-20-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the repetition evidence should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Repetition and accumulated delay within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. For review of repetition and accumulated delay, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting repetition and accumulated delay, for repetition and accumulated delay, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about repetition and accumulated delay, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-12", "REF-23" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-20-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in repetition and accumulated delay. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Repetition and accumulated delay within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. In interpreting repetition and accumulated delay, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about repetition and accumulated delay, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of repetition and accumulated delay, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For repetition and accumulated delay, when a group within learners repeating grades, modules or assessments cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-23" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-20-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of frequency, duration and consequence should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Repetition and accumulated delay within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. For decisions about repetition and accumulated delay, for repetition and accumulated delay, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of repetition and accumulated delay, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For repetition and accumulated delay, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-10", "REF-12", "REF-23" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-20-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes repetition and accumulated delay. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Repetition and accumulated delay within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Within the scope of repetition and accumulated delay, a material finding about the repetition evidence should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For repetition and accumulated delay, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining repetition and accumulated delay, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on repetition and accumulated delay, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-10", "REF-12", "REF-23" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-21", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-iv", "parentId": null, "number": "21", "title": "Early warning and supportive response", "anchor": "21-early-warning-and-supportive-response", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-21-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Early warning and supportive response defines the institutional question for the continuity warning. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Early warning and supportive response within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. For early warning and supportive response, the people or responsible units are learners showing attendance, achievement or wellbeing risks, and the direct evidence concerns timely identification and support. In examining early warning and supportive response, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on early warning and supportive response, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of early warning and supportive response, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-08", "REF-13", "REF-23" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-21-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in early warning and supportive response is that risk scores stigmatise learners or trigger exclusion rather than institutional support. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Early warning and supportive response within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. In examining early warning and supportive response, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on early warning and supportive response, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the continuity warning, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of early warning and supportive response, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-08" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-21-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for early warning and supportive response is to use minimal evidence, human review, confidentiality and non-punitive outreach. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Early warning and supportive response within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Within evidence on early warning and supportive response, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of early warning and supportive response, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting early warning and supportive response, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-08", "REF-13" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-21-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the continuity warning should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Early warning and supportive response within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. For review of early warning and supportive response, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting early warning and supportive response, for early warning and supportive response, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about early warning and supportive response, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-23" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-21-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in early warning and supportive response. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Early warning and supportive response within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. In interpreting early warning and supportive response, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about early warning and supportive response, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of early warning and supportive response, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For early warning and supportive response, when a group within learners showing attendance, achievement or wellbeing risks cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-23" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-21-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of timely identification and support should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Early warning and supportive response within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. For decisions about early warning and supportive response, for early warning and supportive response, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of early warning and supportive response, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For early warning and supportive response, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-08", "REF-13", "REF-23" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-21-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes early warning and supportive response. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Early warning and supportive response within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Within the scope of early warning and supportive response, a material finding about the continuity warning should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For early warning and supportive response, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining early warning and supportive response, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on early warning and supportive response, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-08", "REF-13", "REF-23" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-22", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-iv", "parentId": null, "number": "22", "title": "Interruption, return and second chance", "anchor": "22-interruption-return-and-second-chance", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-22-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interruption, return and second chance defines the institutional question for the return pathway. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Interruption, return and second chance within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. For interruption, return and second chance, the people or responsible units are learners leaving temporarily or seeking re-entry, and the direct evidence concerns interruption, return and restored credit. In examining interruption, return and second chance, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on interruption, return and second chance, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of interruption, return and second chance, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-05", "REF-06", "REF-23" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-22-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in interruption, return and second chance is that leavers vanish from institutional responsibility and return routes are informal or punitive. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Interruption, return and second chance within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. In examining interruption, return and second chance, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on interruption, return and second chance, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the return pathway, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of interruption, return and second chance, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-05" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-22-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for interruption, return and second chance is to record reasons without blame and publish re-entry, credit and support rules. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Interruption, return and second chance within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Within evidence on interruption, return and second chance, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of interruption, return and second chance, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting interruption, return and second chance, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-05", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-22-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the return pathway should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Interruption, return and second chance within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. For review of interruption, return and second chance, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting interruption, return and second chance, for interruption, return and second chance, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about interruption, return and second chance, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-23" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-22-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in interruption, return and second chance. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Interruption, return and second chance within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. In interpreting interruption, return and second chance, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about interruption, return and second chance, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of interruption, return and second chance, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For interruption, return and second chance, when a group within learners leaving temporarily or seeking re-entry cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-23" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-22-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of interruption, return and restored credit should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Interruption, return and second chance within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. For decisions about interruption, return and second chance, for interruption, return and second chance, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of interruption, return and second chance, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For interruption, return and second chance, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-05", "REF-06", "REF-23" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-22-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes interruption, return and second chance. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Interruption, return and second chance within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Within the scope of interruption, return and second chance, a material finding about the return pathway should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For interruption, return and second chance, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining interruption, return and second chance, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on interruption, return and second chance, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-05", "REF-06", "REF-23" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-23", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-iv", "parentId": null, "number": "23", "title": "Completion and certification", "anchor": "23-completion-and-certification", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-23-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Completion and certification defines the institutional question for the recognised completion. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Completion and certification within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. For completion and certification, the people or responsible units are learners approaching the end of a programme, and the direct evidence concerns credential and time-to-completion. In examining completion and certification, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on completion and certification, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of completion and certification, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-10", "REF-12", "REF-17" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-23-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in completion and certification is that completion counts omit late completers or include credentials not usable for transition. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Completion and certification within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. In examining completion and certification, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on completion and certification, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the recognised completion, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of completion and certification, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-10" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-23-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for completion and certification is to state cohort, time allowance, standard, award and appeal and report group levels. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Completion and certification within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Within evidence on completion and certification, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of completion and certification, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting completion and certification, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-10", "REF-12" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-23-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the recognised completion should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Completion and certification within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. For review of completion and certification, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting completion and certification, for completion and certification, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about completion and certification, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-12", "REF-17" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-23-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in completion and certification. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Completion and certification within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. In interpreting completion and certification, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about completion and certification, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of completion and certification, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For completion and certification, when a group within learners approaching the end of a programme cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-17" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-23-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of credential and time-to-completion should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Completion and certification within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. For decisions about completion and certification, for completion and certification, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of completion and certification, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For completion and certification, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-10", "REF-12", "REF-17" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-23-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes completion and certification. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Completion and certification within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Within the scope of completion and certification, a material finding about the recognised completion should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For completion and certification, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining completion and certification, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on completion and certification, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-10", "REF-12", "REF-17" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-24", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-iv", "parentId": null, "number": "24", "title": "Transition to the next stage or work", "anchor": "24-transition-to-the-next-stage-or-work", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-24-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Transition to the next stage or work defines the institutional question for the transition evidence. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Transition to the next stage or work within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. For transition to the next stage or work, the people or responsible units are completers and leavers entering further education, training or work, and the direct evidence concerns destination and sustained transition. In examining transition to the next stage or work, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on transition to the next stage or work, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of transition to the next stage or work, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-17", "REF-18", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-24-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in transition to the next stage or work is that an initial destination is treated as success without relevance, continuity or non-response analysis. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Transition to the next stage or work within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. In examining transition to the next stage or work, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on transition to the next stage or work, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the transition evidence, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of transition to the next stage or work, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-17" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-24-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for transition to the next stage or work is to follow timely and sustained destinations while protecting privacy and avoiding causal overclaim. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Transition to the next stage or work within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Within evidence on transition to the next stage or work, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of transition to the next stage or work, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting transition to the next stage or work, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-17", "REF-18" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-24-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the transition evidence should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Transition to the next stage or work within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. For review of transition to the next stage or work, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting transition to the next stage or work, for transition to the next stage or work, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about transition to the next stage or work, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-18", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-24-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in transition to the next stage or work. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Transition to the next stage or work within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. In interpreting transition to the next stage or work, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about transition to the next stage or work, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of transition to the next stage or work, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For transition to the next stage or work, when a group within completers and leavers entering further education, training or work cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-24-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of destination and sustained transition should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Transition to the next stage or work within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. For decisions about transition to the next stage or work, for transition to the next stage or work, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of transition to the next stage or work, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For transition to the next stage or work, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-17", "REF-18", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-24-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes transition to the next stage or work. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Transition to the next stage or work within Part IV — Completion, progression and transition: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Within the scope of transition to the next stage or work, a material finding about the transition evidence should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For transition to the next stage or work, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining transition to the next stage or work, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on transition to the next stage or work, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-17", "REF-18", "REF-22" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-25", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-v", "parentId": null, "number": "25", "title": "Selecting material review questions", "anchor": "25-selecting-material-review-questions", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-25-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Selecting material review questions defines the institutional question for the question selection. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Selecting material review questions within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. For selecting material review questions, the people or responsible units are learners and staff affected by the issue, and the direct evidence concerns materiality and decision use. In examining selecting material review questions, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on selecting material review questions, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of selecting material review questions, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-09", "REF-12", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-25-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in selecting material review questions is that review scope expands into routine description and obscures the few conditions requiring action. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Selecting material review questions within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. In examining selecting material review questions, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on selecting material review questions, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the question selection, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of selecting material review questions, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-09" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-25-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for selecting material review questions is to prioritise rights risk, population affected, educational consequence and authority to respond. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Selecting material review questions within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Within evidence on selecting material review questions, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of selecting material review questions, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting selecting material review questions, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-09", "REF-12" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-25-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the question selection should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Selecting material review questions within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. For review of selecting material review questions, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting selecting material review questions, for selecting material review questions, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about selecting material review questions, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-12", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-25-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in selecting material review questions. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Selecting material review questions within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. In interpreting selecting material review questions, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about selecting material review questions, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of selecting material review questions, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For selecting material review questions, when a group within learners and staff affected by the issue cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-25-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of materiality and decision use should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Selecting material review questions within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. For decisions about selecting material review questions, for selecting material review questions, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of selecting material review questions, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For selecting material review questions, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-09", "REF-12", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-25-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes selecting material review questions. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Selecting material review questions within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Within the scope of selecting material review questions, a material finding about the question selection should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For selecting material review questions, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining selecting material review questions, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on selecting material review questions, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-09", "REF-12", "REF-22" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-26", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-v", "parentId": null, "number": "26", "title": "Diagnosing causes without blaming learners", "anchor": "26-diagnosing-causes-without-blaming-learners", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-26-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Diagnosing causes without blaming learners defines the institutional question for the causal diagnosis. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Diagnosing causes without blaming learners within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. For diagnosing causes without blaming learners, the people or responsible units are groups experiencing an observed gap, and the direct evidence concerns plausible institutional explanation. In examining diagnosing causes without blaming learners, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on diagnosing causes without blaming learners, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of diagnosing causes without blaming learners, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-06", "REF-09", "REF-12" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-26-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in diagnosing causes without blaming learners is that descriptive disparity is attributed to motivation, family or culture without testing service conditions. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Diagnosing causes without blaming learners within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. In examining diagnosing causes without blaming learners, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on diagnosing causes without blaming learners, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the causal diagnosis, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of diagnosing causes without blaming learners, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-26-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for diagnosing causes without blaming learners is to compare competing explanations and gather evidence on timing, teaching, cost, support and policy. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Diagnosing causes without blaming learners within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Within evidence on diagnosing causes without blaming learners, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of diagnosing causes without blaming learners, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting diagnosing causes without blaming learners, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-09" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-26-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the causal diagnosis should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Diagnosing causes without blaming learners within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. For review of diagnosing causes without blaming learners, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting diagnosing causes without blaming learners, for diagnosing causes without blaming learners, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about diagnosing causes without blaming learners, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-09", "REF-12" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-26-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in diagnosing causes without blaming learners. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Diagnosing causes without blaming learners within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. In interpreting diagnosing causes without blaming learners, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about diagnosing causes without blaming learners, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of diagnosing causes without blaming learners, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For diagnosing causes without blaming learners, when a group within groups experiencing an observed gap cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-12" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-26-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of plausible institutional explanation should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Diagnosing causes without blaming learners within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. For decisions about diagnosing causes without blaming learners, for diagnosing causes without blaming learners, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of diagnosing causes without blaming learners, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For diagnosing causes without blaming learners, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-09", "REF-12" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-26-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes diagnosing causes without blaming learners. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Diagnosing causes without blaming learners within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Within the scope of diagnosing causes without blaming learners, a material finding about the causal diagnosis should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For diagnosing causes without blaming learners, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining diagnosing causes without blaming learners, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on diagnosing causes without blaming learners, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-06", "REF-09", "REF-12" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-27", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-v", "parentId": null, "number": "27", "title": "Choosing a proportionate intervention", "anchor": "27-choosing-a-proportionate-intervention", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-27-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Choosing a proportionate intervention defines the institutional question for the improvement choice. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Choosing a proportionate intervention within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. For choosing a proportionate intervention, the people or responsible units are learners intended to benefit from a change, and the direct evidence concerns fit between cause and measure. In examining choosing a proportionate intervention, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on choosing a proportionate intervention, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of choosing a proportionate intervention, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-08", "REF-09", "REF-22", "REF-23" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-27-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in choosing a proportionate intervention is that a fashionable activity is selected without connection to the diagnosed barrier. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Choosing a proportionate intervention within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. In examining choosing a proportionate intervention, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on choosing a proportionate intervention, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the improvement choice, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of choosing a proportionate intervention, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-08", "REF-09" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-27-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for choosing a proportionate intervention is to state the causal expectation, beneficiary, dosage, risk and evidence of implementation. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Choosing a proportionate intervention within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Within evidence on choosing a proportionate intervention, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of choosing a proportionate intervention, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting choosing a proportionate intervention, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-09", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-27-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the improvement choice should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Choosing a proportionate intervention within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. For review of choosing a proportionate intervention, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting choosing a proportionate intervention, for choosing a proportionate intervention, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about choosing a proportionate intervention, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-22", "REF-23" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-27-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in choosing a proportionate intervention. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Choosing a proportionate intervention within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. In interpreting choosing a proportionate intervention, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about choosing a proportionate intervention, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of choosing a proportionate intervention, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For choosing a proportionate intervention, when a group within learners intended to benefit from a change cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-08", "REF-23" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-27-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of fit between cause and measure should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Choosing a proportionate intervention within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. For decisions about choosing a proportionate intervention, for choosing a proportionate intervention, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of choosing a proportionate intervention, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For choosing a proportionate intervention, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-09", "REF-22", "REF-23" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-27-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes choosing a proportionate intervention. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Choosing a proportionate intervention within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Within the scope of choosing a proportionate intervention, a material finding about the improvement choice should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For choosing a proportionate intervention, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining choosing a proportionate intervention, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on choosing a proportionate intervention, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-08", "REF-09", "REF-22", "REF-23" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-28", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-v", "parentId": null, "number": "28", "title": "Assigning authority, resources and milestones", "anchor": "28-assigning-authority-resources-and-milestones", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-28-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Assigning authority, resources and milestones defines the institutional question for the implementation responsibility. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Assigning authority, resources and milestones within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. For assigning authority, resources and milestones, the people or responsible units are bodies controlling staff, finance, timetable and support, and the direct evidence concerns ownership and delivery. In examining assigning authority, resources and milestones, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on assigning authority, resources and milestones, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of assigning authority, resources and milestones, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-09", "REF-17", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-28-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in assigning authority, resources and milestones is that actions lack authority, recurrent resources or a date and remain recommendations. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Assigning authority, resources and milestones within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. In examining assigning authority, resources and milestones, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on assigning authority, resources and milestones, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the implementation responsibility, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of assigning authority, resources and milestones, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-09" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-28-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for assigning authority, resources and milestones is to name one owner, supporting duties, budget, learner-facing milestone and escalation. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Assigning authority, resources and milestones within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Within evidence on assigning authority, resources and milestones, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of assigning authority, resources and milestones, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting assigning authority, resources and milestones, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-09", "REF-17" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-28-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the implementation responsibility should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Assigning authority, resources and milestones within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. For review of assigning authority, resources and milestones, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting assigning authority, resources and milestones, for assigning authority, resources and milestones, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about assigning authority, resources and milestones, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-17", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-28-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in assigning authority, resources and milestones. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Assigning authority, resources and milestones within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. In interpreting assigning authority, resources and milestones, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about assigning authority, resources and milestones, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of assigning authority, resources and milestones, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For assigning authority, resources and milestones, when a group within bodies controlling staff, finance, timetable and support cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-28-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of ownership and delivery should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Assigning authority, resources and milestones within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. For decisions about assigning authority, resources and milestones, for assigning authority, resources and milestones, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of assigning authority, resources and milestones, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For assigning authority, resources and milestones, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-09", "REF-17", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-28-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes assigning authority, resources and milestones. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Assigning authority, resources and milestones within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Within the scope of assigning authority, resources and milestones, a material finding about the implementation responsibility should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For assigning authority, resources and milestones, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining assigning authority, resources and milestones, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on assigning authority, resources and milestones, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-09", "REF-17", "REF-22" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-29", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-v", "parentId": null, "number": "29", "title": "Monitoring fidelity and adaptation", "anchor": "29-monitoring-fidelity-and-adaptation", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-29-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Monitoring fidelity and adaptation defines the institutional question for the implementation evidence. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Monitoring fidelity and adaptation within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. For monitoring fidelity and adaptation, the people or responsible units are learners and staff experiencing the changed measure, and the direct evidence concerns delivery and necessary adaptation. In examining monitoring fidelity and adaptation, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on monitoring fidelity and adaptation, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of monitoring fidelity and adaptation, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-08", "REF-09", "REF-12", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-29-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in monitoring fidelity and adaptation is that completion of activities is reported although intended learners did not receive the change. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Monitoring fidelity and adaptation within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. In examining monitoring fidelity and adaptation, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on monitoring fidelity and adaptation, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the implementation evidence, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of monitoring fidelity and adaptation, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-08", "REF-09" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-29-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for monitoring fidelity and adaptation is to verify reach, quality and burden and adapt when conditions differ from the diagnosis. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Monitoring fidelity and adaptation within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Within evidence on monitoring fidelity and adaptation, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of monitoring fidelity and adaptation, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting monitoring fidelity and adaptation, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-09", "REF-12" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-29-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the implementation evidence should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Monitoring fidelity and adaptation within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. For review of monitoring fidelity and adaptation, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting monitoring fidelity and adaptation, for monitoring fidelity and adaptation, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about monitoring fidelity and adaptation, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-12", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-29-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in monitoring fidelity and adaptation. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Monitoring fidelity and adaptation within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. In interpreting monitoring fidelity and adaptation, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about monitoring fidelity and adaptation, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of monitoring fidelity and adaptation, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For monitoring fidelity and adaptation, when a group within learners and staff experiencing the changed measure cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-08", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-29-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of delivery and necessary adaptation should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Monitoring fidelity and adaptation within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. For decisions about monitoring fidelity and adaptation, for monitoring fidelity and adaptation, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of monitoring fidelity and adaptation, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For monitoring fidelity and adaptation, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-09", "REF-12", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-29-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes monitoring fidelity and adaptation. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Monitoring fidelity and adaptation within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Within the scope of monitoring fidelity and adaptation, a material finding about the implementation evidence should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For monitoring fidelity and adaptation, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining monitoring fidelity and adaptation, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on monitoring fidelity and adaptation, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-08", "REF-09", "REF-12", "REF-22" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-30", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-v", "parentId": null, "number": "30", "title": "Testing improvement and unintended effects", "anchor": "30-testing-improvement-and-unintended-effects", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-30-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Testing improvement and unintended effects defines the institutional question for the improvement test. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Testing improvement and unintended effects within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. For testing improvement and unintended effects, the people or responsible units are beneficiary and comparison groups where appropriate, and the direct evidence concerns later condition and equity effect. In examining testing improvement and unintended effects, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on testing improvement and unintended effects, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of testing improvement and unintended effects, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-12", "REF-20", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-30-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in testing improvement and unintended effects is that a short-term average gain hides group deterioration, displacement or increased burden. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Testing improvement and unintended effects within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. In examining testing improvement and unintended effects, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on testing improvement and unintended effects, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the improvement test, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of testing improvement and unintended effects, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-12" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-30-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for testing improvement and unintended effects is to retest the baseline measure, distribution and service conditions and document unintended effects. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Testing improvement and unintended effects within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Within evidence on testing improvement and unintended effects, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of testing improvement and unintended effects, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting testing improvement and unintended effects, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-12", "REF-20" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-30-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the improvement test should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Testing improvement and unintended effects within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. For review of testing improvement and unintended effects, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting testing improvement and unintended effects, for testing improvement and unintended effects, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about testing improvement and unintended effects, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-20", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-30-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in testing improvement and unintended effects. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Testing improvement and unintended effects within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. In interpreting testing improvement and unintended effects, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about testing improvement and unintended effects, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of testing improvement and unintended effects, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For testing improvement and unintended effects, when a group within beneficiary and comparison groups where appropriate cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-30-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of later condition and equity effect should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Testing improvement and unintended effects within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. For decisions about testing improvement and unintended effects, for testing improvement and unintended effects, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of testing improvement and unintended effects, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For testing improvement and unintended effects, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-12", "REF-20", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-30-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes testing improvement and unintended effects. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Testing improvement and unintended effects within Part V — From diagnosis to owned improvement: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Within the scope of testing improvement and unintended effects, a material finding about the improvement test should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For testing improvement and unintended effects, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining testing improvement and unintended effects, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on testing improvement and unintended effects, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-12", "REF-20", "REF-22" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-31", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-vi", "parentId": null, "number": "31", "title": "Learner, family and staff participation", "anchor": "31-learner-family-and-staff-participation", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-31-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Learner, family and staff participation defines the institutional question for the review participation. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Learner, family and staff participation within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. For learner, family and staff participation, the people or responsible units are people experiencing provision and proposed change, and the direct evidence concerns influence on questions and action. In examining learner, family and staff participation, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on learner, family and staff participation, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of learner, family and staff participation, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-08", "REF-13", "REF-24" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-31-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in learner, family and staff participation is that consultation occurs after decisions or represents only confident current users. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Learner, family and staff participation within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. In examining learner, family and staff participation, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on learner, family and staff participation, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the review participation, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of learner, family and staff participation, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-08" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-31-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for learner, family and staff participation is to include least-heard groups early and record how their evidence changed the review. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Learner, family and staff participation within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Within evidence on learner, family and staff participation, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of learner, family and staff participation, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting learner, family and staff participation, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-08", "REF-13" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-31-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the review participation should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Learner, family and staff participation within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. For review of learner, family and staff participation, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting learner, family and staff participation, for learner, family and staff participation, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about learner, family and staff participation, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-24" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-31-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in learner, family and staff participation. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Learner, family and staff participation within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. In interpreting learner, family and staff participation, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about learner, family and staff participation, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of learner, family and staff participation, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For learner, family and staff participation, when a group within people experiencing provision and proposed change cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-24" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-31-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of influence on questions and action should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Learner, family and staff participation within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. For decisions about learner, family and staff participation, for learner, family and staff participation, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of learner, family and staff participation, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For learner, family and staff participation, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-08", "REF-13", "REF-24" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-31-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes learner, family and staff participation. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Learner, family and staff participation within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Within the scope of learner, family and staff participation, a material finding about the review participation should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For learner, family and staff participation, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining learner, family and staff participation, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on learner, family and staff participation, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-08", "REF-13", "REF-24" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-32", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-vi", "parentId": null, "number": "32", "title": "Evidence quality and record control", "anchor": "32-evidence-quality-and-record-control", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-32-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence quality and record control defines the institutional question for the evidence governance. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Evidence quality and record control within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. For evidence quality and record control, the people or responsible units are staff responsible for records, surveys and review findings, and the direct evidence concerns accuracy, completeness and revision. In examining evidence quality and record control, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on evidence quality and record control, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of evidence quality and record control, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-11", "REF-12", "REF-20", "REF-21" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-32-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in evidence quality and record control is that unverified extracts and changing definitions support high-stakes conclusions. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Evidence quality and record control within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. In examining evidence quality and record control, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on evidence quality and record control, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the evidence governance, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of evidence quality and record control, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-11", "REF-12" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-32-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for evidence quality and record control is to assign definitions, validation, access, version, retention and correction responsibilities. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Evidence quality and record control within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Within evidence on evidence quality and record control, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of evidence quality and record control, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting evidence quality and record control, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-12", "REF-20" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-32-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the evidence governance should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Evidence quality and record control within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. For review of evidence quality and record control, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting evidence quality and record control, for evidence quality and record control, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about evidence quality and record control, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-20", "REF-21" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-32-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in evidence quality and record control. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Evidence quality and record control within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. In interpreting evidence quality and record control, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about evidence quality and record control, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of evidence quality and record control, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For evidence quality and record control, when a group within staff responsible for records, surveys and review findings cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-11", "REF-21" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-32-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of accuracy, completeness and revision should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Evidence quality and record control within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. For decisions about evidence quality and record control, for evidence quality and record control, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of evidence quality and record control, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For evidence quality and record control, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-12", "REF-20", "REF-21" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-32-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes evidence quality and record control. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Evidence quality and record control within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Within the scope of evidence quality and record control, a material finding about the evidence governance should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For evidence quality and record control, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining evidence quality and record control, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on evidence quality and record control, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-11", "REF-12", "REF-20", "REF-21" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-33", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-vi", "parentId": null, "number": "33", "title": "Confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation", "anchor": "33-confidentiality-safeguarding-and-non-retaliation", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-33-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation defines the institutional question for the safe review evidence. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. For confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation, the people or responsible units are learners and staff supplying sensitive information, and the direct evidence concerns protection and continued access. In examining confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-12", "REF-13", "REF-21" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-33-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation is that small groups are identifiable or negative evidence leads to retaliation and suppressed reporting. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. In examining confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the safe review evidence, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-12" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-33-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation is to collect only necessary information, control access and provide confidential reporting and remedy. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Within evidence on confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-12", "REF-13" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-33-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the safe review evidence should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. For review of confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation, for confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-21" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-33-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. In interpreting confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation, when a group within learners and staff supplying sensitive information cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-21" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-33-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of protection and continued access should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. For decisions about confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation, for confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-12", "REF-13", "REF-21" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-33-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Within the scope of confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation, a material finding about the safe review evidence should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-12", "REF-13", "REF-21" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-34", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-vi", "parentId": null, "number": "34", "title": "Public reporting with causal restraint", "anchor": "34-public-reporting-with-causal-restraint", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-34-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Public reporting with causal restraint defines the institutional question for the public account. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Public reporting with causal restraint within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. For public reporting with causal restraint, the people or responsible units are communities entitled to understand institutional performance, and the direct evidence concerns finding, limitation and response. In examining public reporting with causal restraint, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on public reporting with causal restraint, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of public reporting with causal restraint, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-12", "REF-20", "REF-24" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-34-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in public reporting with causal restraint is that headline claims overstate attribution or hide unfavourable group results and uncertainty. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Public reporting with causal restraint within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. In examining public reporting with causal restraint, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on public reporting with causal restraint, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the public account, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of public reporting with causal restraint, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-12" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-34-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for public reporting with causal restraint is to publish levels, gaps, sources, limits, decisions, resources, dates and revisions in accessible language. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Public reporting with causal restraint within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Within evidence on public reporting with causal restraint, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of public reporting with causal restraint, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting public reporting with causal restraint, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-12", "REF-20" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-34-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the public account should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Public reporting with causal restraint within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. For review of public reporting with causal restraint, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting public reporting with causal restraint, for public reporting with causal restraint, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about public reporting with causal restraint, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-20", "REF-24" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-34-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in public reporting with causal restraint. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Public reporting with causal restraint within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. In interpreting public reporting with causal restraint, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about public reporting with causal restraint, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of public reporting with causal restraint, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For public reporting with causal restraint, when a group within communities entitled to understand institutional performance cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-24" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-34-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of finding, limitation and response should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Public reporting with causal restraint within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. For decisions about public reporting with causal restraint, for public reporting with causal restraint, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of public reporting with causal restraint, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For public reporting with causal restraint, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-12", "REF-20", "REF-24" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-34-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes public reporting with causal restraint. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Public reporting with causal restraint within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Within the scope of public reporting with causal restraint, a material finding about the public account should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For public reporting with causal restraint, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining public reporting with causal restraint, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on public reporting with causal restraint, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-12", "REF-20", "REF-24" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-35", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-vi", "parentId": null, "number": "35", "title": "External support and institutional autonomy", "anchor": "35-external-support-and-institutional-autonomy", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-35-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "External support and institutional autonomy defines the institutional question for the review coordination. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs External support and institutional autonomy within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. For external support and institutional autonomy, the people or responsible units are institutions, authorities and external support bodies, and the direct evidence concerns support, challenge and decision rights. In examining external support and institutional autonomy, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on external support and institutional autonomy, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of external support and institutional autonomy, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-05", "REF-09", "REF-17", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-35-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in external support and institutional autonomy is that external templates displace local questions or institutional autonomy shields unresolved rights failures. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs External support and institutional autonomy within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. In examining external support and institutional autonomy, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on external support and institutional autonomy, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the review coordination, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of external support and institutional autonomy, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-05", "REF-09" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-35-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for external support and institutional autonomy is to agree evidence standards, bounded challenge, support, escalation and public responsibility. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs External support and institutional autonomy within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Within evidence on external support and institutional autonomy, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of external support and institutional autonomy, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting external support and institutional autonomy, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-09", "REF-17" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-35-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the review coordination should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs External support and institutional autonomy within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. For review of external support and institutional autonomy, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting external support and institutional autonomy, for external support and institutional autonomy, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about external support and institutional autonomy, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-17", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-35-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in external support and institutional autonomy. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs External support and institutional autonomy within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. In interpreting external support and institutional autonomy, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about external support and institutional autonomy, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of external support and institutional autonomy, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For external support and institutional autonomy, when a group within institutions, authorities and external support bodies cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-05", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-35-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of support, challenge and decision rights should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs External support and institutional autonomy within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. For decisions about external support and institutional autonomy, for external support and institutional autonomy, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of external support and institutional autonomy, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For external support and institutional autonomy, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-09", "REF-17", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-35-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes external support and institutional autonomy. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs External support and institutional autonomy within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Within the scope of external support and institutional autonomy, a material finding about the review coordination should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For external support and institutional autonomy, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining external support and institutional autonomy, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on external support and institutional autonomy, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-05", "REF-09", "REF-17", "REF-22" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-36", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-vi", "parentId": null, "number": "36", "title": "A recurring equity-learning-completion compact", "anchor": "36-a-recurring-equity-learning-completion-compact", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-36-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A recurring equity-learning-completion compact defines the institutional question for the review compact. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs A recurring equity-learning-completion compact within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. For a recurring equity-learning-completion compact, the people or responsible units are institutional leaders and learner communities, and the direct evidence concerns integrated review and improvement. In examining a recurring equity-learning-completion compact, review should begin with the learner-facing condition and the decision that may follow, not with whatever record is easiest to extract. Within evidence on a recurring equity-learning-completion compact, the institution should state its authority, the population and period covered, the expected standard and the practical meaning of a material shortfall. For review of a recurring equity-learning-completion compact, this protects the enquiry from drifting into description and makes the eventual action open to challenge by those affected.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-06", "REF-09", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-36-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The central failure risk in a recurring equity-learning-completion compact is that separate reviews create competing priorities and no complete view of the learner pathway. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs A recurring equity-learning-completion compact within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. In examining a recurring equity-learning-completion compact, the risk alters the conclusion, because evidence can look complete while excluding the people, setting or stage where the problem occurs. Within evidence on a recurring equity-learning-completion compact, the review team should list routes by which learners or experiences enter and leave the review compact, determine whether omission is concentrated by group or programme, and retain inconvenient evidence. For review of a recurring equity-learning-completion compact, absence from the record should never be coded automatically as successful provision, learner choice or a neutral zero.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-36-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum review response for a recurring equity-learning-completion compact is to adopt a recurring compact of questions, owners, evidence, action, finance and public follow-up. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs A recurring equity-learning-completion compact within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Within evidence on a recurring equity-learning-completion compact, the specification should identify the observation unit, comparison, source, reference period, coverage, group detail and uncertainty. For review of a recurring equity-learning-completion compact, it should also name the authority able to change the condition and the evidence that would justify action. In interpreting a recurring equity-learning-completion compact, if an external framework is used, the institution should show how its categories correspond to the actual programme, learner population and decision rights rather than assuming that a shared label ensures substantive equivalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-09" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-36-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence for the review compact should be triangulated according to coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs A recurring equity-learning-completion compact within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. For review of a recurring equity-learning-completion compact, administrative records can describe registered events and services; household evidence can reveal people outside provision and living conditions; observation can show enacted teaching or accessibility; learner work can show demand and response; and interviews can explain barriers or unintended effects. In interpreting a recurring equity-learning-completion compact, for a recurring equity-learning-completion compact, disagreement among sources should be investigated rather than averaged away. For decisions about a recurring equity-learning-completion compact, a credible finding states what each source observes, its principal limitation and why the combined interpretation is stronger.", "citationIds": [ "REF-09", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-36-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity analysis is embedded in a recurring equity-learning-completion compact. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs A recurring equity-learning-completion compact within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. In interpreting a recurring equity-learning-completion compact, the relevant comparison may concern sex, poverty, location, disability, language, migration, age or another characteristic connected to a known barrier. For decisions about a recurring equity-learning-completion compact, each group level and population share should remain visible beside any gap or ratio. Within the scope of a recurring equity-learning-completion compact, selected intersections require sufficient evidence and safe disclosure. For a recurring equity-learning-completion compact, when a group within institutional leaders and learner communities cannot be observed reliably, the review should state the gap, seek participatory or alternative evidence and avoid presenting the aggregate as proof of equal institutional quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-36-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation of integrated review and improvement should distinguish observation, explanation and attribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs A recurring equity-learning-completion compact within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. For decisions about a recurring equity-learning-completion compact, for a recurring equity-learning-completion compact, a disparity or weak result can arise from policy, resources, timetable, teaching, cost, accessibility, prior opportunity, learner circumstance or measurement limitation. Within the scope of a recurring equity-learning-completion compact, the review should compare competing explanations and test the ones the institution can influence. For a recurring equity-learning-completion compact, it should reject deficit language where service conditions remain unexamined and should avoid claiming that an institutional measure caused change merely because the measure and outcome occurred in the same period.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-09", "REF-22" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-36-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Responsibility completes a recurring equity-learning-completion compact. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs A recurring equity-learning-completion compact within Part VI — Governance, participation and public accountability: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Within the scope of a recurring equity-learning-completion compact, a material finding about the review compact should lead to a bounded measure with one owner, supporting duties, recurrent resources, a delivery date and a later learner-facing test. For a recurring equity-learning-completion compact, evidence should show who received the change, its quality, burden and any unintended effect. In examining a recurring equity-learning-completion compact, if no immediate intervention is justified, the decision and the next evidence requirement should be recorded. Within evidence on a recurring equity-learning-completion compact, review should finish with an owned action or reasoned non-action, escalation and correction route rather than a recommendation that no institution is required to implement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-01", "REF-06", "REF-09", "REF-22" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-1", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "1", "title": "Duty and authority", "anchor": "1-duty-and-authority", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-1-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Every accountability claim should begin with the applicable duty and the body competent to act. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Duty and authority within Workforce domain I — The accountability chain: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. A national ministry, municipality, governing body, leader or teacher may contribute to the same outcome but control different conditions. The record should state authority, population, service, standard and date.", "citationIds": [] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-1-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Where responsibility overlaps, the lead decision and required contributions should be explicit. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Duty and authority within Workforce domain I — The accountability chain: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. A joint committee can coordinate evidence and action, but it cannot become a place where unanswered duties are parked. Disagreement needs an escalation route.", "citationIds": [] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-2", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "2", "title": "Resources and conditions", "anchor": "2-resources-and-conditions", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-2-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Answerability should follow control. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Resources and conditions within Workforce domain I — The accountability chain: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. A body assigned a duty should have lawful authority, staff, finance, facilities and information adequate to discharge it. Where conditions are absent, the account should identify the authority responsible for supplying them.", "citationIds": [] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-2-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Budget reporting should connect appropriation, transfer, release and learner-facing use. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Resources and conditions within Workforce domain I — The accountability chain: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Delayed or earmarked finance can constrain local choices. Institutions should distinguish what they could correct internally from what required action elsewhere.", "citationIds": [] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-3", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "3", "title": "Evidence and explanation", "anchor": "3-evidence-and-explanation", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-3-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Evidence should match the claim. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Evidence and explanation within Workforce domain I — The accountability chain: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Administrative records may show transactions, observation may show a condition, and learner accounts may show use or experience. Coverage and uncertainty are part of the finding. An explanation should address adverse evidence and alternative causes.", "citationIds": [] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-3-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Public reasons should be intelligible enough for affected people to understand the decision and challenge error. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Evidence and explanation within Workforce domain I — The accountability chain: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Confidentiality may limit disclosure of individual facts, but it should not remove the applicable rule or aggregate limitation from scrutiny.", "citationIds": [] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-4", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "4", "title": "Review and remedy", "anchor": "4-review-and-remedy", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-4-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Review should be conducted by a body with competence and sufficient independence for the consequence. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Review and remedy within Workforce domain I — The accountability chain: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. It should permit factual correction and identify the standard applied. High-consequence exclusions require timely interim protection.", "citationIds": [] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-4-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Remedy may require admission, service restoration, resource correction, staff support, rule change or record correction. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Review and remedy within Workforce domain I — The accountability chain: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. An aggregate improvement does not remedy an individual unlawful exclusion. System learning and individual remedy should reinforce one another without being confused.", "citationIds": [] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-5", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "5", "title": "Central responsibility", "anchor": "5-central-responsibility", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-5-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Central government should maintain the legal and fiscal conditions of an equitable system. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Central responsibility within Workforce domain II — Accountability by level: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. It should publish minimum entitlements, assign competence, provide equalisation and report national distribution. National targets should not displace continuing obligations to populations below the average.", "citationIds": [] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-5-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Central review should test local delivery without assuming uniform circumstances. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Central responsibility within Workforce domain II — Accountability by level: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Comparison requires common definitions, but correction may require differentiated resources. Sanction without a credible support and correction route can intensify inequality.", "citationIds": [] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-6", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "6", "title": "Local responsibility", "anchor": "6-local-responsibility", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-6-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Local bodies often hold information about population, place, service capacity and practical barriers. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Local responsibility within Workforce domain II — Accountability by level: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Their account should connect plans and allocations to schools and learners. Local discretion should operate within common rights and standards.", "citationIds": [] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-6-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "When local capacity is insufficient, escalation should be timely and documented. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Local responsibility within Workforce domain II — Accountability by level: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. The local body should state the service gap and interim action; the central body should decide on resources or adjustment. Neither should treat referral as closure.", "citationIds": [] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-7", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "7", "title": "Institutional responsibility", "anchor": "7-institutional-responsibility", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-7-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Institutions should be answerable for teaching, support, safeguarding and resource use within their mandate. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Institutional responsibility within Workforce domain II — Accountability by level: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Self-review can identify variation, learner experience and operational causes. External scrutiny can test whether the evidence and judgement are credible.", "citationIds": [] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-7-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Institutional reporting should not become a performance display. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Institutional responsibility within Workforce domain II — Accountability by level: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. It should retain missing cases, adverse findings and unfinished action. Leaders should protect candour and distinguish staff support from individual disciplinary matters.", "citationIds": [] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-8", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "8", "title": "Professional responsibility", "anchor": "8-professional-responsibility", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-8-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Professional accountability rests on competence, standards, judgement and support. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Professional responsibility within Workforce domain II — Accountability by level: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Teachers require preparation, time, materials and supervision. An outcome measure alone cannot establish the quality or cause of professional work.", "citationIds": [] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-8-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Development should follow identified need. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Professional responsibility within Workforce domain II — Accountability by level: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Attendance at training does not demonstrate changed practice, while observation should be proportionate and educationally grounded. Professional voice should contribute evidence without acquiring sole authority over public standards.", "citationIds": [] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-9", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "9", "title": "Reporting a complete chain", "anchor": "9-reporting-a-complete-chain", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-9-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A public account should distinguish promise, decision, resource, activity, service and outcome. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Reporting a complete chain within Workforce domain III — Public reporting and participation: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. It should name population, date and geographic coverage. Missing or provisional evidence should be labelled rather than presented as assurance.", "citationIds": [] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-9-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Change over time requires stable definitions. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Reporting a complete chain within Workforce domain III — Public reporting and participation: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. If coverage, population or assessment changes, the series should mark the break. A revised figure should retain its relation to the original public statement.", "citationIds": [] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-10", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "10", "title": "Participation and complaint", "anchor": "10-participation-and-complaint", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-10-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "People affected by education decisions need information, voice and complaint routes. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Participation and complaint within Workforce domain III — Public reporting and participation: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Participation should be accessible across language, disability, age and location. Authorities should state how contributions affected the decision.", "citationIds": [] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-10-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Complaint evidence can reveal recurring system failures, but low complaint volume may reflect inaccessible routes. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Participation and complaint within Workforce domain III — Public reporting and participation: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Bodies should report handling time, outcome and unresolved issues while protecting identity.", "citationIds": [] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-11", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "11", "title": "Avoiding harmful incentives", "anchor": "11-avoiding-harmful-incentives", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-11-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Consequences attached to narrow measures can encourage exclusion, reclassification or attention only to measured content. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Avoiding harmful incentives within Workforce domain III — Public reporting and participation: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Review should examine foreseeable incentives before implementation and monitor changes in population and reporting.", "citationIds": [] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-11-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Measures should inform judgement rather than replace it. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Avoiding harmful incentives within Workforce domain III — Public reporting and participation: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. A balanced account preserves levels, distributions, context and qualitative evidence. Independent verification is strongest where stakes and manipulation risk are high.", "citationIds": [] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-1", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "1", "title": "What national averages conceal", "anchor": "1-what-national-averages-conceal", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-1-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The indicator question concerns national participation or attainment. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs What national averages conceal within Workforce domain I — Purpose and interpretive frame: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Its object is not to divide a population into convenient labels, but to show whether educational opportunity is distributed in a manner that a national total cannot reveal. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-05" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-1-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The preferred construction is the weighted experience of the population included in the denominator. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs What national averages conceal within Workforce domain I — Purpose and interpretive frame: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Numerator, denominator, reference date, unit and exclusions should appear together. If a proportion is reported, its underlying population count remains material: identical percentages can describe very different evidentiary strength and numbers of affected learners. Administrative records should be reconciled with population-based evidence where their coverage differs. A discrepancy is not resolved by selecting the more favourable source. It should require examination of definitions, timing, migration, duplication and non-response. The resulting indicator should be reproducible from stated components, while any necessary estimation remains distinguishable from direct observation.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-28" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-1-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation follows this limitation: distribution within countries, not a league table between them. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs What national averages conceal within Workforce domain I — Purpose and interpretive frame: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. The comparison should show the level for each group as well as any ratio or gap. A ratio can approach one because the more advantaged group deteriorates; a small absolute gap can coexist with severe deprivation for all groups. Reference points therefore need substantive meaning. Where a minimum entitlement or policy threshold is relevant, the distance of every group from that threshold should be visible. Statistical association can identify where disadvantage is concentrated, but it does not establish why the disparity arose. Explanation requires evidence on institutions, resources, households and prior conditions.", "citationIds": [ "REF-29", "REF-31" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-1-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The distributional review must deliberately include remote rural learners, urban informal settlements and displaced populations. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs What national averages conceal within Workforce domain I — Purpose and interpretive frame: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. These populations may be missing not only from good outcomes but from the denominator itself. Coverage assessment should compare survey frames, census listings, administrative registers and local knowledge without assuming that any one is complete. If direct estimation is impossible, the report should state the evidence gap and use appropriate qualitative or service information rather than assign zero. Confidentiality is essential, especially where identity or status creates risk. Protection, however, should lead to careful access and publication rules; it should not make an affected population analytically disappear.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-1-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The decision record should connect the finding to a responsible authority, available intervention and review date. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs What national averages conceal within Workforce domain I — Purpose and interpretive frame: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. An indicator is useful when it can alter service location, staffing, language support, accessibility, household assistance or another defined condition. It should not be used to rank schools or communities where differences in population and opportunity to learn are uncontrolled. Monitoring after action must preserve the original baseline and follow both reach and outcome. Improvement in an average does not demonstrate that the intended group benefited; participation, intensity and learner experience should be checked. The final public statement should identify remaining uncertainty and the next evidentiary step rather than convert a partial result into assurance.", "citationIds": [ "REF-14", "REF-06" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-2", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "2", "title": "Marginalisation as accumulated disadvantage", "anchor": "2-marginalisation-as-accumulated-disadvantage", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-2-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Marginalisation as accumulated disadvantage should be approached as a defined measurement problem. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Marginalisation as accumulated disadvantage within Workforce domain I — Purpose and interpretive frame: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. The substantive interest is distance from a socially secured educational minimum, observed for a population and period that are stated before calculation. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-28" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-2-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Measurement should use the joint effect of exclusion, weak provision and adverse social conditions. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Marginalisation as accumulated disadvantage within Workforce domain I — Purpose and interpretive frame: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. This formulation requires the reporting body to preserve the population base and the observation period beside the result. Counts reveal scale; rates permit comparison; neither is sufficient alone. Source coverage must be tested before sources are combined. School returns may describe enrolled learners well while saying little about children outside institutions, whereas household enquiries may reach non-enrolled children but provide limited school detail. Reconciliation should record what each source can and cannot represent. Where estimates are revised, both the reason and effect of revision should remain accessible.", "citationIds": [ "REF-29", "REF-31" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-2-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The governing caution is that multiple indicators read together over the learner's course. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Marginalisation as accumulated disadvantage within Workforce domain I — Purpose and interpretive frame: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Disparity measures should not replace the underlying distributions. A difference in means may reflect the lower tail, the upper tail or change across the whole range; these possibilities call for different responses. Percentage-point gaps, ratios and relative risks answer different questions and should not be exchanged without explanation. The comparison should identify the reference category but avoid presenting it as a natural norm. Policy significance depends upon the educational consequence and the number of learners affected, not solely upon statistical separation.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-2-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Particular scrutiny is required for children facing poverty, gender disadvantage, disability or minority status. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Marginalisation as accumulated disadvantage within Workforce domain I — Purpose and interpretive frame: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Their circumstances may alter access to enumeration, classification and the service being measured. The review should record non-response, unknown status and excluded locations separately. Combining unknown observations with the majority group biases both estimates and obscures the weakness. Where sample size is limited, several years or compatible areas may sometimes be combined, provided the loss of time or place specificity is stated. Where combination would be misleading, a descriptive case record can establish a service problem without pretending to estimate prevalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-14", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-2-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Policy use should begin with a question that the competent body can answer. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Marginalisation as accumulated disadvantage within Workforce domain I — Purpose and interpretive frame: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. The evidence may justify further enquiry, immediate removal of a barrier, redistribution of resources or evaluation of an existing measure. These are different decisions and require different certainty. Urgent protection need not await a perfect estimate where credible evidence shows serious exclusion, but long-term allocation should be reviewed as coverage improves. Targets should specify the population expected to benefit and guard against gains achieved by concentrating on learners nearest a threshold. Accountability lies in changed opportunity, not in the favourable movement of an indicator alone.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-33" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-3", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "3", "title": "From monitoring commitment to decision", "anchor": "3-from-monitoring-commitment-to-decision", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-3-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "For from monitoring commitment to decision, the first requirement is conceptual clarity. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs From monitoring commitment to decision within Workforce domain I — Purpose and interpretive frame: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. The study seeks evidence on evidence capable of changing resource or service decisions; it does not infer a learner's circumstances from a national or regional mean. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-29", "REF-31" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-3-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A defensible statistic would be based on a link between observed disparity, responsible body and remedy. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs From monitoring commitment to decision within Workforce domain I — Purpose and interpretive frame: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. The definition should be fixed for the comparison at hand and deviations recorded. Analysts need to show whether the observation refers to a stock on one date, activity over a period or a flow between states. This distinction is essential for participation and progression. The estimate should retain its unrounded numerator and denominator for checking, although published precision should not exceed data quality. When several sources exist, consistency is evidence to consider, not proof that common error is absent.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-3-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The analytical rule is clear: indicators selected for action rather than visibility. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs From monitoring commitment to decision within Workforce domain I — Purpose and interpretive frame: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Results should be tested for sensitivity to plausible alternative definitions, particularly where age bands, residence, wealth grouping or programme equivalence are involved. If a conclusion changes under a reasonable specification, that instability is part of the finding. National averages should remain available as context, yet never as a substitute for the distribution. Nor should a group estimate be read as a description of every member. Within-group variation and unmeasured intersecting conditions remain material.", "citationIds": [ "REF-14", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-3-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "An adequate equity account asks whether groups absent from routine plans and budget classifications are represented at each stage: population frame, collection, valid response, classification, analysis and publication. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs From monitoring commitment to decision within Workforce domain I — Purpose and interpretive frame: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Attrition at any stage can produce an apparently complete indicator from a selective population. Field arrangements need relevant languages, accessible formats and safe participation. Analysts should also examine who answers on behalf of whom, since proxy response may be necessary yet less reliable for attendance, impairment or discrimination. Missingness is itself patterned evidence when it clusters by location or social condition, although its magnitude should not be guessed.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-33" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-3-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A proportionate response records who acts, the condition to be changed and the evidence that will show whether reach was equitable. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs From monitoring commitment to decision within Workforce domain I — Purpose and interpretive frame: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Local interpretation is valuable because national classifications cannot capture every barrier; it should operate within common definitions sufficient for aggregation. Communities should be able to question both the category and the conclusion drawn from it. If a measure creates incentives to exclude difficult cases, narrow the denominator or reclassify non-completion, an independent check is required. The report should recognise such behaviour as a measurement risk without assuming misconduct in every discrepancy.", "citationIds": [ "REF-34", "REF-35" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-4", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "4", "title": "Defining the population entitled to education", "anchor": "4-defining-the-population-entitled-to-education", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-4-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A distribution-sensitive account of resident and temporarily absent learners within the relevant age or programme group begins by naming the decision the evidence may inform. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Defining the population entitled to education within Workforce domain II — Population and denominator: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Without that purpose, disaggregation can multiply figures without improving public judgement. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-4-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Operationally, the measure is a denominator consistent with the right, level and reference period under review. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Defining the population entitled to education within Workforce domain II — Population and denominator: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Its metadata should travel with every published value. At minimum this includes population, geography, date, collection method, classification and known exclusions. A national estimate assembled from local reports should disclose reporting completeness and treatment of missing institutions. A survey estimate should disclose weights and uncertainty. A census figure should disclose enumeration rules. These are substantive attributes because they determine who can appear in the evidence. A figure detached from them may be arithmetically correct yet unsuitable for an equity judgement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-14", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-4-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Use of the indicator is bounded by the principle that census, survey and administrative estimates reconciled openly. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Defining the population entitled to education within Workforce domain II — Population and denominator: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. A responsible commentary distinguishes observation, calculation and interpretation. It states whether a disparity is large in educational terms, whether it is estimated precisely enough for the proposed comparison and whether it persists across sources or periods. It does not assign cause from a cross-sectional difference. Apparent exceptions should be examined rather than removed, because they may reveal classification error, a local policy difference or a population not adequately represented elsewhere.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-33" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-4-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "For unregistered residents, migrants and displaced children, a single group label may conceal important internal differences. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Defining the population entitled to education within Workforce domain II — Population and denominator: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Disaggregation should proceed far enough to reveal a plausible service disparity but stop before estimates become unsafe or persons identifiable. This balance is contextual rather than mechanical. It should involve statistical judgement, legal safeguards and knowledge of the affected community. Suppression rules need explanation, and restricted analysis may be preferable to public release of small cells. The public report can still state that a disparity was examined, whether action is required and which body will monitor it.", "citationIds": [ "REF-34", "REF-35" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-4-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Public accountability requires a concise explanation of the result and its boundary. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Defining the population entitled to education within Workforce domain II — Population and denominator: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Readers should be able to see who was counted, who was not, what period the figure covers, how large the underlying population is and which comparisons are justified. A policy conclusion should be no broader than that evidence. Subsequent reports should distinguish real change from late reporting, revised population estimates and altered definitions. Where a disparity remains, the responsible body should state whether the obstacle is knowledge, authority, resources or implementation. This makes the indicator a means of scrutiny rather than a decorative measure of concern.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-38" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-5", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "5", "title": "Age, grade and programme populations", "anchor": "5-age-grade-and-programme-populations", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-5-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The public value of age, grade and programme populations lies in making unequal educational experience observable. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Age, grade and programme populations within Workforce domain II — Population and denominator: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Here, the relevant phenomenon is age-specific, grade-specific and programme-specific participation, not the administrative convenience of the available categories. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-14", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-5-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The preferred construction is separate denominators for different educational questions. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Age, grade and programme populations within Workforce domain II — Population and denominator: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Numerator, denominator, reference date, unit and exclusions should appear together. If a proportion is reported, its underlying population count remains material: identical percentages can describe very different evidentiary strength and numbers of affected learners. Administrative records should be reconciled with population-based evidence where their coverage differs. A discrepancy is not resolved by selecting the more favourable source. It should require examination of definitions, timing, migration, duplication and non-response. The resulting indicator should be reproducible from stated components, while any necessary estimation remains distinguishable from direct observation.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-33" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-5-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation follows this limitation: exact age, school age and enrolled population never substituted silently. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Age, grade and programme populations within Workforce domain II — Population and denominator: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. The comparison should show the level for each group as well as any ratio or gap. A ratio can approach one because the more advantaged group deteriorates; a small absolute gap can coexist with severe deprivation for all groups. Reference points therefore need substantive meaning. Where a minimum entitlement or policy threshold is relevant, the distance of every group from that threshold should be visible. Statistical association can identify where disadvantage is concentrated, but it does not establish why the disparity arose. Explanation requires evidence on institutions, resources, households and prior conditions.", "citationIds": [ "REF-34", "REF-35" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-5-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The distributional review must deliberately include over-age entrants and learners repeating grades. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Age, grade and programme populations within Workforce domain II — Population and denominator: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. These populations may be missing not only from good outcomes but from the denominator itself. Coverage assessment should compare survey frames, census listings, administrative registers and local knowledge without assuming that any one is complete. If direct estimation is impossible, the report should state the evidence gap and use appropriate qualitative or service information rather than assign zero. Confidentiality is essential, especially where identity or status creates risk. Protection, however, should lead to careful access and publication rules; it should not make an affected population analytically disappear.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-38" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-6", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "6", "title": "Population movement and disrupted residence", "anchor": "6-population-movement-and-disrupted-residence", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-6-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The indicator question concerns education status amid migration, displacement and return. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Population movement and disrupted residence within Workforce domain II — Population and denominator: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Its object is not to divide a population into convenient labels, but to show whether educational opportunity is distributed in a manner that a national total cannot reveal. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-33" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-6-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Measurement should use dated location and residence rules with sensitivity to mobility. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Population movement and disrupted residence within Workforce domain II — Population and denominator: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. This formulation requires the reporting body to preserve the population base and the observation period beside the result. Counts reveal scale; rates permit comparison; neither is sufficient alone. Source coverage must be tested before sources are combined. School returns may describe enrolled learners well while saying little about children outside institutions, whereas household enquiries may reach non-enrolled children but provide limited school detail. Reconciliation should record what each source can and cannot represent. Where estimates are revised, both the reason and effect of revision should remain accessible.", "citationIds": [ "REF-34", "REF-35" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-6-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The governing caution is that origin, current location and service responsibility distinguished. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Population movement and disrupted residence within Workforce domain II — Population and denominator: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Disparity measures should not replace the underlying distributions. A difference in means may reflect the lower tail, the upper tail or change across the whole range; these possibilities call for different responses. Percentage-point gaps, ratios and relative risks answer different questions and should not be exchanged without explanation. The comparison should identify the reference category but avoid presenting it as a natural norm. Policy significance depends upon the educational consequence and the number of learners affected, not solely upon statistical separation.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-38" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-6-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Particular scrutiny is required for families affected by conflict, disaster and seasonal movement. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Population movement and disrupted residence within Workforce domain II — Population and denominator: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Their circumstances may alter access to enumeration, classification and the service being measured. The review should record non-response, unknown status and excluded locations separately. Combining unknown observations with the majority group biases both estimates and obscures the weakness. Where sample size is limited, several years or compatible areas may sometimes be combined, provided the loss of time or place specificity is stated. Where combination would be misleading, a descriptive case record can establish a service problem without pretending to estimate prevalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-39", "REF-40" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-7", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "7", "title": "Entry at the official starting age", "anchor": "7-entry-at-the-official-starting-age", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-7-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Entry at the official starting age should be approached as a defined measurement problem. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Entry at the official starting age within Workforce domain III — Access and participation: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. The substantive interest is timely admission to the first grade of primary education, observed for a population and period that are stated before calculation. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-34", "REF-35" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-7-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A defensible statistic would be based on new entrants of official age relative to the corresponding population. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Entry at the official starting age within Workforce domain III — Access and participation: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. The definition should be fixed for the comparison at hand and deviations recorded. Analysts need to show whether the observation refers to a stock on one date, activity over a period or a flow between states. This distinction is essential for participation and progression. The estimate should retain its unrounded numerator and denominator for checking, although published precision should not exceed data quality. When several sources exist, consistency is evidence to consider, not proof that common error is absent.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-38" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-7-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The analytical rule is clear: late entry examined alongside non-entry. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Entry at the official starting age within Workforce domain III — Access and participation: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Results should be tested for sensitivity to plausible alternative definitions, particularly where age bands, residence, wealth grouping or programme equivalence are involved. If a conclusion changes under a reasonable specification, that instability is part of the finding. National averages should remain available as context, yet never as a substitute for the distribution. Nor should a group estimate be read as a description of every member. Within-group variation and unmeasured intersecting conditions remain material.", "citationIds": [ "REF-39", "REF-40" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-7-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "An adequate equity account asks whether children facing fees, distance, disability or documentation barriers are represented at each stage: population frame, collection, valid response, classification, analysis and publication. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Entry at the official starting age within Workforce domain III — Access and participation: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Attrition at any stage can produce an apparently complete indicator from a selective population. Field arrangements need relevant languages, accessible formats and safe participation. Analysts should also examine who answers on behalf of whom, since proxy response may be necessary yet less reliable for attendance, impairment or discrimination. Missingness is itself patterned evidence when it clusters by location or social condition, although its magnitude should not be guessed.", "citationIds": [ "REF-42", "REF-43" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-8", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "8", "title": "Attendance beyond enrolment", "anchor": "8-attendance-beyond-enrolment", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-8-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "For attendance beyond enrolment, the first requirement is conceptual clarity. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Attendance beyond enrolment within Workforce domain III — Access and participation: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. The study seeks evidence on actual participation during a stated recent period; it does not infer a learner's circumstances from a national or regional mean. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-38" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-8-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Operationally, the measure is presence measured independently of registration status. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Attendance beyond enrolment within Workforce domain III — Access and participation: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Its metadata should travel with every published value. At minimum this includes population, geography, date, collection method, classification and known exclusions. A national estimate assembled from local reports should disclose reporting completeness and treatment of missing institutions. A survey estimate should disclose weights and uncertainty. A census figure should disclose enumeration rules. These are substantive attributes because they determine who can appear in the evidence. A figure detached from them may be arithmetically correct yet unsuitable for an equity judgement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-39", "REF-40" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-8-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Use of the indicator is bounded by the principle that frequency, season and reasons for absence retained. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Attendance beyond enrolment within Workforce domain III — Access and participation: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. A responsible commentary distinguishes observation, calculation and interpretation. It states whether a disparity is large in educational terms, whether it is estimated precisely enough for the proposed comparison and whether it persists across sources or periods. It does not assign cause from a cross-sectional difference. Apparent exceptions should be examined rather than removed, because they may reveal classification error, a local policy difference or a population not adequately represented elsewhere.", "citationIds": [ "REF-42", "REF-43" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-8-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "For working children, carers and learners affected by illness, a single group label may conceal important internal differences. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Attendance beyond enrolment within Workforce domain III — Access and participation: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Disaggregation should proceed far enough to reveal a plausible service disparity but stop before estimates become unsafe or persons identifiable. This balance is contextual rather than mechanical. It should involve statistical judgement, legal safeguards and knowledge of the affected community. Suppression rules need explanation, and restricted analysis may be preferable to public release of small cells. The public report can still state that a disparity was examined, whether action is required and which body will monitor it.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-05" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-9", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "9", "title": "Out-of-school status", "anchor": "9-out-of-school-status", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-9-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A distribution-sensitive account of children in the relevant age group not participating at the defined level begins by naming the decision the evidence may inform. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Out-of-school status within Workforce domain III — Access and participation: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Without that purpose, disaggregation can multiply figures without improving public judgement. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-39", "REF-40" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-9-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The preferred construction is a transparent residual from compatible population and participation concepts. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Out-of-school status within Workforce domain III — Access and participation: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Numerator, denominator, reference date, unit and exclusions should appear together. If a proportion is reported, its underlying population count remains material: identical percentages can describe very different evidentiary strength and numbers of affected learners. Administrative records should be reconciled with population-based evidence where their coverage differs. A discrepancy is not resolved by selecting the more favourable source. It should require examination of definitions, timing, migration, duplication and non-response. The resulting indicator should be reproducible from stated components, while any necessary estimation remains distinguishable from direct observation.", "citationIds": [ "REF-42", "REF-43" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-9-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation follows this limitation: never-enrolled and formerly enrolled children separated. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Out-of-school status within Workforce domain III — Access and participation: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. The comparison should show the level for each group as well as any ratio or gap. A ratio can approach one because the more advantaged group deteriorates; a small absolute gap can coexist with severe deprivation for all groups. Reference points therefore need substantive meaning. Where a minimum entitlement or policy threshold is relevant, the distance of every group from that threshold should be visible. Statistical association can identify where disadvantage is concentrated, but it does not establish why the disparity arose. Explanation requires evidence on institutions, resources, households and prior conditions.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-05" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-9-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The distributional review must deliberately include children invisible to school registers. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Out-of-school status within Workforce domain III — Access and participation: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. These populations may be missing not only from good outcomes but from the denominator itself. Coverage assessment should compare survey frames, census listings, administrative registers and local knowledge without assuming that any one is complete. If direct estimation is impossible, the report should state the evidence gap and use appropriate qualitative or service information rather than assign zero. Confidentiality is essential, especially where identity or status creates risk. Protection, however, should lead to careful access and publication rules; it should not make an affected population analytically disappear.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-28" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-10", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "10", "title": "Repetition and grade survival", "anchor": "10-repetition-and-grade-survival", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-10-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The public value of repetition and grade survival lies in making unequal educational experience observable. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Repetition and grade survival within Workforce domain IV — Progression and completion: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Here, the relevant phenomenon is movement through grades without avoidable delay or exit, not the administrative convenience of the available categories. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-42", "REF-43" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-10-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Measurement should use cohort or reconstructed-cohort evidence with explicit assumptions. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Repetition and grade survival within Workforce domain IV — Progression and completion: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. This formulation requires the reporting body to preserve the population base and the observation period beside the result. Counts reveal scale; rates permit comparison; neither is sufficient alone. Source coverage must be tested before sources are combined. School returns may describe enrolled learners well while saying little about children outside institutions, whereas household enquiries may reach non-enrolled children but provide limited school detail. Reconciliation should record what each source can and cannot represent. Where estimates are revised, both the reason and effect of revision should remain accessible.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-05" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-10-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The governing caution is that repeaters distinguished from re-entrants and transfers. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Repetition and grade survival within Workforce domain IV — Progression and completion: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Disparity measures should not replace the underlying distributions. A difference in means may reflect the lower tail, the upper tail or change across the whole range; these possibilities call for different responses. Percentage-point gaps, ratios and relative risks answer different questions and should not be exchanged without explanation. The comparison should identify the reference category but avoid presenting it as a natural norm. Policy significance depends upon the educational consequence and the number of learners affected, not solely upon statistical separation.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-28" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-10-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Particular scrutiny is required for learners in overcrowded or intermittently operating schools. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Repetition and grade survival within Workforce domain IV — Progression and completion: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Their circumstances may alter access to enumeration, classification and the service being measured. The review should record non-response, unknown status and excluded locations separately. Combining unknown observations with the majority group biases both estimates and obscures the weakness. Where sample size is limited, several years or compatible areas may sometimes be combined, provided the loss of time or place specificity is stated. Where combination would be misleading, a descriptive case record can establish a service problem without pretending to estimate prevalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-29", "REF-31" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-11", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "11", "title": "Transition between education levels", "anchor": "11-transition-between-education-levels", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-11-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The indicator question concerns entry to the next level after completion of the preceding one. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Transition between education levels within Workforce domain IV — Progression and completion: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Its object is not to divide a population into convenient labels, but to show whether educational opportunity is distributed in a manner that a national total cannot reveal. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-05" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-11-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A defensible statistic would be based on matched completion and new-entry populations over coherent periods. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Transition between education levels within Workforce domain IV — Progression and completion: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. The definition should be fixed for the comparison at hand and deviations recorded. Analysts need to show whether the observation refers to a stock on one date, activity over a period or a flow between states. This distinction is essential for participation and progression. The estimate should retain its unrounded numerator and denominator for checking, although published precision should not exceed data quality. When several sources exist, consistency is evidence to consider, not proof that common error is absent.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-28" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-11-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The analytical rule is clear: capacity constraints distinguished from learner attainment. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Transition between education levels within Workforce domain IV — Progression and completion: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Results should be tested for sensitivity to plausible alternative definitions, particularly where age bands, residence, wealth grouping or programme equivalence are involved. If a conclusion changes under a reasonable specification, that instability is part of the finding. National averages should remain available as context, yet never as a substitute for the distribution. Nor should a group estimate be read as a description of every member. Within-group variation and unmeasured intersecting conditions remain material.", "citationIds": [ "REF-29", "REF-31" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-11-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "An adequate equity account asks whether rural learners and those unable to relocate are represented at each stage: population frame, collection, valid response, classification, analysis and publication. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Transition between education levels within Workforce domain IV — Progression and completion: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Attrition at any stage can produce an apparently complete indicator from a selective population. Field arrangements need relevant languages, accessible formats and safe participation. Analysts should also examine who answers on behalf of whom, since proxy response may be necessary yet less reliable for attendance, impairment or discrimination. Missingness is itself patterned evidence when it clusters by location or social condition, although its magnitude should not be guessed.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-16" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-12", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "12", "title": "Completion and educational entitlement", "anchor": "12-completion-and-educational-entitlement", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-12-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Completion and educational entitlement should be approached as a defined measurement problem. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Completion and educational entitlement within Workforce domain IV — Progression and completion: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. The substantive interest is finishing the final grade or meeting recognised programme requirements, observed for a population and period that are stated before calculation. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-28" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-12-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Operationally, the measure is completion defined separately from sitting or passing an examination. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Completion and educational entitlement within Workforce domain IV — Progression and completion: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Its metadata should travel with every published value. At minimum this includes population, geography, date, collection method, classification and known exclusions. A national estimate assembled from local reports should disclose reporting completeness and treatment of missing institutions. A survey estimate should disclose weights and uncertainty. A census figure should disclose enumeration rules. These are substantive attributes because they determine who can appear in the evidence. A figure detached from them may be arithmetically correct yet unsuitable for an equity judgement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-29", "REF-31" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-12-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Use of the indicator is bounded by the principle that late completion and alternative pathways reported. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Completion and educational entitlement within Workforce domain IV — Progression and completion: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. A responsible commentary distinguishes observation, calculation and interpretation. It states whether a disparity is large in educational terms, whether it is estimated precisely enough for the proposed comparison and whether it persists across sources or periods. It does not assign cause from a cross-sectional difference. Apparent exceptions should be examined rather than removed, because they may reveal classification error, a local policy difference or a population not adequately represented elsewhere.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-12-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "For over-age learners and people returning after interruption, a single group label may conceal important internal differences. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Completion and educational entitlement within Workforce domain IV — Progression and completion: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Disaggregation should proceed far enough to reveal a plausible service disparity but stop before estimates become unsafe or persons identifiable. This balance is contextual rather than mechanical. It should involve statistical judgement, legal safeguards and knowledge of the affected community. Suppression rules need explanation, and restricted analysis may be preferable to public release of small cells. The public report can still state that a disparity was examined, whether action is required and which body will monitor it.", "citationIds": [ "REF-14", "REF-06" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-13", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "13", "title": "Minimum learning outcomes", "anchor": "13-minimum-learning-outcomes", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-13-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "For minimum learning outcomes, the first requirement is conceptual clarity. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Minimum learning outcomes within Workforce domain V — Learning and assessment: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. The study seeks evidence on demonstrated knowledge or skill against a declared domain; it does not infer a learner's circumstances from a national or regional mean. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-29", "REF-31" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-13-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The preferred construction is assessment evidence whose population and conditions are known. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Minimum learning outcomes within Workforce domain V — Learning and assessment: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Numerator, denominator, reference date, unit and exclusions should appear together. If a proportion is reported, its underlying population count remains material: identical percentages can describe very different evidentiary strength and numbers of affected learners. Administrative records should be reconciled with population-based evidence where their coverage differs. A discrepancy is not resolved by selecting the more favourable source. It should require examination of definitions, timing, migration, duplication and non-response. The resulting indicator should be reproducible from stated components, while any necessary estimation remains distinguishable from direct observation.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-13-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation follows this limitation: results interpreted with opportunity to learn and participation. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Minimum learning outcomes within Workforce domain V — Learning and assessment: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. The comparison should show the level for each group as well as any ratio or gap. A ratio can approach one because the more advantaged group deteriorates; a small absolute gap can coexist with severe deprivation for all groups. Reference points therefore need substantive meaning. Where a minimum entitlement or policy threshold is relevant, the distance of every group from that threshold should be visible. Statistical association can identify where disadvantage is concentrated, but it does not establish why the disparity arose. Explanation requires evidence on institutions, resources, households and prior conditions.", "citationIds": [ "REF-14", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-13-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The distributional review must deliberately include learners taught in an unfamiliar language. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Minimum learning outcomes within Workforce domain V — Learning and assessment: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. These populations may be missing not only from good outcomes but from the denominator itself. Coverage assessment should compare survey frames, census listings, administrative registers and local knowledge without assuming that any one is complete. If direct estimation is impossible, the report should state the evidence gap and use appropriate qualitative or service information rather than assign zero. Confidentiality is essential, especially where identity or status creates risk. Protection, however, should lead to careful access and publication rules; it should not make an affected population analytically disappear.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-33" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-14", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "14", "title": "Assessment participation", "anchor": "14-assessment-participation", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-14-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A distribution-sensitive account of who was eligible, present, absent and excluded from testing begins by naming the decision the evidence may inform. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Assessment participation within Workforce domain V — Learning and assessment: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Without that purpose, disaggregation can multiply figures without improving public judgement. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-14-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Measurement should use a participation profile accompanying every result distribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Assessment participation within Workforce domain V — Learning and assessment: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. This formulation requires the reporting body to preserve the population base and the observation period beside the result. Counts reveal scale; rates permit comparison; neither is sufficient alone. Source coverage must be tested before sources are combined. School returns may describe enrolled learners well while saying little about children outside institutions, whereas household enquiries may reach non-enrolled children but provide limited school detail. Reconciliation should record what each source can and cannot represent. Where estimates are revised, both the reason and effect of revision should remain accessible.", "citationIds": [ "REF-14", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-14-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The governing caution is that non-participation never treated as low attainment or ignored. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Assessment participation within Workforce domain V — Learning and assessment: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Disparity measures should not replace the underlying distributions. A difference in means may reflect the lower tail, the upper tail or change across the whole range; these possibilities call for different responses. Percentage-point gaps, ratios and relative risks answer different questions and should not be exchanged without explanation. The comparison should identify the reference category but avoid presenting it as a natural norm. Policy significance depends upon the educational consequence and the number of learners affected, not solely upon statistical separation.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-33" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-14-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Particular scrutiny is required for learners with disabilities and remote candidates. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Assessment participation within Workforce domain V — Learning and assessment: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Their circumstances may alter access to enumeration, classification and the service being measured. The review should record non-response, unknown status and excluded locations separately. Combining unknown observations with the majority group biases both estimates and obscures the weakness. Where sample size is limited, several years or compatible areas may sometimes be combined, provided the loss of time or place specificity is stated. Where combination would be misleading, a descriptive case record can establish a service problem without pretending to estimate prevalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-34", "REF-35" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-15", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "15", "title": "Distribution of achievement", "anchor": "15-distribution-of-achievement", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-15-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The public value of distribution of achievement lies in making unequal educational experience observable. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Distribution of achievement within Workforce domain V — Learning and assessment: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Here, the relevant phenomenon is variation across the full score or proficiency distribution, not the administrative convenience of the available categories. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-14", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-15-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A defensible statistic would be based on percentiles and threshold shares beside a mean. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Distribution of achievement within Workforce domain V — Learning and assessment: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. The definition should be fixed for the comparison at hand and deviations recorded. Analysts need to show whether the observation refers to a stock on one date, activity over a period or a flow between states. This distinction is essential for participation and progression. The estimate should retain its unrounded numerator and denominator for checking, although published precision should not exceed data quality. When several sources exist, consistency is evidence to consider, not proof that common error is absent.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-33" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-15-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The analytical rule is clear: uncertainty and scale properties stated. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Distribution of achievement within Workforce domain V — Learning and assessment: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Results should be tested for sensitivity to plausible alternative definitions, particularly where age bands, residence, wealth grouping or programme equivalence are involved. If a conclusion changes under a reasonable specification, that instability is part of the finding. National averages should remain available as context, yet never as a substitute for the distribution. Nor should a group estimate be read as a description of every member. Within-group variation and unmeasured intersecting conditions remain material.", "citationIds": [ "REF-34", "REF-35" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-15-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "An adequate equity account asks whether learners concentrated below a minimum proficiency threshold are represented at each stage: population frame, collection, valid response, classification, analysis and publication. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Distribution of achievement within Workforce domain V — Learning and assessment: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Attrition at any stage can produce an apparently complete indicator from a selective population. Field arrangements need relevant languages, accessible formats and safe participation. Analysts should also examine who answers on behalf of whom, since proxy response may be necessary yet less reliable for attendance, impairment or discrimination. Missingness is itself patterned evidence when it clusters by location or social condition, although its magnitude should not be guessed.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-38" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-16", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "16", "title": "Gender parity and its limits", "anchor": "16-gender-parity-and-its-limits", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-16-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The indicator question concerns differences between girls and boys in access, progression and learning. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Gender parity and its limits within Workforce domain VI — Gender and household resources: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Its object is not to divide a population into convenient labels, but to show whether educational opportunity is distributed in a manner that a national total cannot reveal. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-33" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-16-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Operationally, the measure is female-to-male ratios read with levels and absolute gaps. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Gender parity and its limits within Workforce domain VI — Gender and household resources: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Its metadata should travel with every published value. At minimum this includes population, geography, date, collection method, classification and known exclusions. A national estimate assembled from local reports should disclose reporting completeness and treatment of missing institutions. A survey estimate should disclose weights and uncertainty. A census figure should disclose enumeration rules. These are substantive attributes because they determine who can appear in the evidence. A figure detached from them may be arithmetically correct yet unsuitable for an equity judgement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-34", "REF-35" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-16-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Use of the indicator is bounded by the principle that parity not confused with adequacy for either group. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Gender parity and its limits within Workforce domain VI — Gender and household resources: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. A responsible commentary distinguishes observation, calculation and interpretation. It states whether a disparity is large in educational terms, whether it is estimated precisely enough for the proposed comparison and whether it persists across sources or periods. It does not assign cause from a cross-sectional difference. Apparent exceptions should be examined rather than removed, because they may reveal classification error, a local policy difference or a population not adequately represented elsewhere.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-38" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-16-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "For girls in poor rural households and boys exposed to hazardous work, a single group label may conceal important internal differences. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Gender parity and its limits within Workforce domain VI — Gender and household resources: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Disaggregation should proceed far enough to reveal a plausible service disparity but stop before estimates become unsafe or persons identifiable. This balance is contextual rather than mechanical. It should involve statistical judgement, legal safeguards and knowledge of the affected community. Suppression rules need explanation, and restricted analysis may be preferable to public release of small cells. The public report can still state that a disparity was examined, whether action is required and which body will monitor it.", "citationIds": [ "REF-39", "REF-40" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-17", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "17", "title": "Household wealth gradients", "anchor": "17-household-wealth-gradients", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-17-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Household wealth gradients should be approached as a defined measurement problem. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Household wealth gradients within Workforce domain VI — Gender and household resources: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. The substantive interest is education outcomes across relative household resource groups, observed for a population and period that are stated before calculation. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-34", "REF-35" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-17-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The preferred construction is a documented asset or consumption classification within each setting. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Household wealth gradients within Workforce domain VI — Gender and household resources: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Numerator, denominator, reference date, unit and exclusions should appear together. If a proportion is reported, its underlying population count remains material: identical percentages can describe very different evidentiary strength and numbers of affected learners. Administrative records should be reconciled with population-based evidence where their coverage differs. A discrepancy is not resolved by selecting the more favourable source. It should require examination of definitions, timing, migration, duplication and non-response. The resulting indicator should be reproducible from stated components, while any necessary estimation remains distinguishable from direct observation.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-38" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-17-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation follows this limitation: wealth ranks not assumed equivalent across countries or time. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Household wealth gradients within Workforce domain VI — Gender and household resources: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. The comparison should show the level for each group as well as any ratio or gap. A ratio can approach one because the more advantaged group deteriorates; a small absolute gap can coexist with severe deprivation for all groups. Reference points therefore need substantive meaning. Where a minimum entitlement or policy threshold is relevant, the distance of every group from that threshold should be visible. Statistical association can identify where disadvantage is concentrated, but it does not establish why the disparity arose. Explanation requires evidence on institutions, resources, households and prior conditions.", "citationIds": [ "REF-39", "REF-40" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-17-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The distributional review must deliberately include children in the poorest quintile and those near classification boundaries. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Household wealth gradients within Workforce domain VI — Gender and household resources: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. These populations may be missing not only from good outcomes but from the denominator itself. Coverage assessment should compare survey frames, census listings, administrative registers and local knowledge without assuming that any one is complete. If direct estimation is impossible, the report should state the evidence gap and use appropriate qualitative or service information rather than assign zero. Confidentiality is essential, especially where identity or status creates risk. Protection, however, should lead to careful access and publication rules; it should not make an affected population analytically disappear.", "citationIds": [ "REF-42", "REF-43" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-18", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "18", "title": "Costs borne by households", "anchor": "18-costs-borne-by-households", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-18-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "For costs borne by households, the first requirement is conceptual clarity. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Costs borne by households within Workforce domain VI — Gender and household resources: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. The study seeks evidence on fees, materials, transport, clothing and foregone labour; it does not infer a learner's circumstances from a national or regional mean. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-38" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-18-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Measurement should use participation read against direct and indirect education costs. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Costs borne by households within Workforce domain VI — Gender and household resources: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. This formulation requires the reporting body to preserve the population base and the observation period beside the result. Counts reveal scale; rates permit comparison; neither is sufficient alone. Source coverage must be tested before sources are combined. School returns may describe enrolled learners well while saying little about children outside institutions, whereas household enquiries may reach non-enrolled children but provide limited school detail. Reconciliation should record what each source can and cannot represent. Where estimates are revised, both the reason and effect of revision should remain accessible.", "citationIds": [ "REF-39", "REF-40" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-18-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The governing caution is that nominal fee abolition checked against remaining expenditure. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Costs borne by households within Workforce domain VI — Gender and household resources: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Disparity measures should not replace the underlying distributions. A difference in means may reflect the lower tail, the upper tail or change across the whole range; these possibilities call for different responses. Percentage-point gaps, ratios and relative risks answer different questions and should not be exchanged without explanation. The comparison should identify the reference category but avoid presenting it as a natural norm. Policy significance depends upon the educational consequence and the number of learners affected, not solely upon statistical separation.", "citationIds": [ "REF-42", "REF-43" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-18-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Particular scrutiny is required for large families and households hit by economic crisis. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Costs borne by households within Workforce domain VI — Gender and household resources: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Their circumstances may alter access to enumeration, classification and the service being measured. The review should record non-response, unknown status and excluded locations separately. Combining unknown observations with the majority group biases both estimates and obscures the weakness. Where sample size is limited, several years or compatible areas may sometimes be combined, provided the loss of time or place specificity is stated. Where combination would be misleading, a descriptive case record can establish a service problem without pretending to estimate prevalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-05" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-19", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "19", "title": "Rural and urban residence", "anchor": "19-rural-and-urban-residence", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-19-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A distribution-sensitive account of education outcomes by a declared settlement classification begins by naming the decision the evidence may inform. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Rural and urban residence within Workforce domain VII — Place and service geography: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Without that purpose, disaggregation can multiply figures without improving public judgement. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-39", "REF-40" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-19-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A defensible statistic would be based on residence linked to service availability and travel conditions. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Rural and urban residence within Workforce domain VII — Place and service geography: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. The definition should be fixed for the comparison at hand and deviations recorded. Analysts need to show whether the observation refers to a stock on one date, activity over a period or a flow between states. This distinction is essential for participation and progression. The estimate should retain its unrounded numerator and denominator for checking, although published precision should not exceed data quality. When several sources exist, consistency is evidence to consider, not proof that common error is absent.", "citationIds": [ "REF-42", "REF-43" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-19-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The analytical rule is clear: national rural definitions preserved and comparison limitations stated. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Rural and urban residence within Workforce domain VII — Place and service geography: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Results should be tested for sensitivity to plausible alternative definitions, particularly where age bands, residence, wealth grouping or programme equivalence are involved. If a conclusion changes under a reasonable specification, that instability is part of the finding. National averages should remain available as context, yet never as a substitute for the distribution. Nor should a group estimate be read as a description of every member. Within-group variation and unmeasured intersecting conditions remain material.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-05" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-19-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "An adequate equity account asks whether remote villages, pastoral populations and peri-urban settlements are represented at each stage: population frame, collection, valid response, classification, analysis and publication. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Rural and urban residence within Workforce domain VII — Place and service geography: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Attrition at any stage can produce an apparently complete indicator from a selective population. Field arrangements need relevant languages, accessible formats and safe participation. Analysts should also examine who answers on behalf of whom, since proxy response may be necessary yet less reliable for attendance, impairment or discrimination. Missingness is itself patterned evidence when it clusters by location or social condition, although its magnitude should not be guessed.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-28" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-20", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "20", "title": "Subnational administrative disparity", "anchor": "20-subnational-administrative-disparity", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-20-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The public value of subnational administrative disparity lies in making unequal educational experience observable. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Subnational administrative disparity within Workforce domain VII — Place and service geography: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Here, the relevant phenomenon is variation between provinces, districts or comparable areas, not the administrative convenience of the available categories. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-42", "REF-43" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-20-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Operationally, the measure is area estimates with population size and precision. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Subnational administrative disparity within Workforce domain VII — Place and service geography: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Its metadata should travel with every published value. At minimum this includes population, geography, date, collection method, classification and known exclusions. A national estimate assembled from local reports should disclose reporting completeness and treatment of missing institutions. A survey estimate should disclose weights and uncertainty. A census figure should disclose enumeration rules. These are substantive attributes because they determine who can appear in the evidence. A figure detached from them may be arithmetically correct yet unsuitable for an equity judgement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-05" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-20-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Use of the indicator is bounded by the principle that administrative rankings not mistaken for causal explanations. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Subnational administrative disparity within Workforce domain VII — Place and service geography: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. A responsible commentary distinguishes observation, calculation and interpretation. It states whether a disparity is large in educational terms, whether it is estimated precisely enough for the proposed comparison and whether it persists across sources or periods. It does not assign cause from a cross-sectional difference. Apparent exceptions should be examined rather than removed, because they may reveal classification error, a local policy difference or a population not adequately represented elsewhere.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-28" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-20-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "For small districts and areas with incomplete reporting, a single group label may conceal important internal differences. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Subnational administrative disparity within Workforce domain VII — Place and service geography: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Disaggregation should proceed far enough to reveal a plausible service disparity but stop before estimates become unsafe or persons identifiable. This balance is contextual rather than mechanical. It should involve statistical judgement, legal safeguards and knowledge of the affected community. Suppression rules need explanation, and restricted analysis may be preferable to public release of small cells. The public report can still state that a disparity was examined, whether action is required and which body will monitor it.", "citationIds": [ "REF-29", "REF-31" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-21", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "21", "title": "Distance, isolation and transport", "anchor": "21-distance-isolation-and-transport", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-21-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The indicator question concerns physical accessibility of the nearest appropriate service. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Distance, isolation and transport within Workforce domain VII — Place and service geography: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Its object is not to divide a population into convenient labels, but to show whether educational opportunity is distributed in a manner that a national total cannot reveal. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-05" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-21-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The preferred construction is travel time, route safety and seasonal interruption rather than straight-line distance alone. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Distance, isolation and transport within Workforce domain VII — Place and service geography: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Numerator, denominator, reference date, unit and exclusions should appear together. If a proportion is reported, its underlying population count remains material: identical percentages can describe very different evidentiary strength and numbers of affected learners. Administrative records should be reconciled with population-based evidence where their coverage differs. A discrepancy is not resolved by selecting the more favourable source. It should require examination of definitions, timing, migration, duplication and non-response. The resulting indicator should be reproducible from stated components, while any necessary estimation remains distinguishable from direct observation.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-28" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-21-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation follows this limitation: household reports and facility mapping reconciled. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Distance, isolation and transport within Workforce domain VII — Place and service geography: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. The comparison should show the level for each group as well as any ratio or gap. A ratio can approach one because the more advantaged group deteriorates; a small absolute gap can coexist with severe deprivation for all groups. Reference points therefore need substantive meaning. Where a minimum entitlement or policy threshold is relevant, the distance of every group from that threshold should be visible. Statistical association can identify where disadvantage is concentrated, but it does not establish why the disparity arose. Explanation requires evidence on institutions, resources, households and prior conditions.", "citationIds": [ "REF-29", "REF-31" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-21-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The distributional review must deliberately include learners with limited mobility and communities cut off seasonally. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Distance, isolation and transport within Workforce domain VII — Place and service geography: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. These populations may be missing not only from good outcomes but from the denominator itself. Coverage assessment should compare survey frames, census listings, administrative registers and local knowledge without assuming that any one is complete. If direct estimation is impossible, the report should state the evidence gap and use appropriate qualitative or service information rather than assign zero. Confidentiality is essential, especially where identity or status creates risk. Protection, however, should lead to careful access and publication rules; it should not make an affected population analytically disappear.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-16" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-22", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "22", "title": "Disability-sensitive education data", "anchor": "22-disability-sensitive-education-data", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-22-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Disability-sensitive education data should be approached as a defined measurement problem. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Disability-sensitive education data within Workforce domain VIII — Disability, language and identity: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. The substantive interest is participation and learning by functional difficulty and support requirement, observed for a population and period that are stated before calculation. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-28" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-22-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Measurement should use questions designed for comparable reporting without defining the child by diagnosis alone. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Disability-sensitive education data within Workforce domain VIII — Disability, language and identity: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. This formulation requires the reporting body to preserve the population base and the observation period beside the result. Counts reveal scale; rates permit comparison; neither is sufficient alone. Source coverage must be tested before sources are combined. School returns may describe enrolled learners well while saying little about children outside institutions, whereas household enquiries may reach non-enrolled children but provide limited school detail. Reconciliation should record what each source can and cannot represent. Where estimates are revised, both the reason and effect of revision should remain accessible.", "citationIds": [ "REF-29", "REF-31" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-22-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The governing caution is that identification, environment and accommodation kept analytically distinct. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Disability-sensitive education data within Workforce domain VIII — Disability, language and identity: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Disparity measures should not replace the underlying distributions. A difference in means may reflect the lower tail, the upper tail or change across the whole range; these possibilities call for different responses. Percentage-point gaps, ratios and relative risks answer different questions and should not be exchanged without explanation. The comparison should identify the reference category but avoid presenting it as a natural norm. Policy significance depends upon the educational consequence and the number of learners affected, not solely upon statistical separation.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-22-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Particular scrutiny is required for learners whose impairments are not recorded by schools. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Disability-sensitive education data within Workforce domain VIII — Disability, language and identity: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Their circumstances may alter access to enumeration, classification and the service being measured. The review should record non-response, unknown status and excluded locations separately. Combining unknown observations with the majority group biases both estimates and obscures the weakness. Where sample size is limited, several years or compatible areas may sometimes be combined, provided the loss of time or place specificity is stated. Where combination would be misleading, a descriptive case record can establish a service problem without pretending to estimate prevalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-14", "REF-06" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-23", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "23", "title": "Language of home and instruction", "anchor": "23-language-of-home-and-instruction", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-23-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "For language of home and instruction, the first requirement is conceptual clarity. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Language of home and instruction within Workforce domain VIII — Disability, language and identity: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. The study seeks evidence on alignment between learner language, teaching and assessment; it does not infer a learner's circumstances from a national or regional mean. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-29", "REF-31" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-23-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A defensible statistic would be based on language categories reflecting local use and instructional practice. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Language of home and instruction within Workforce domain VIII — Disability, language and identity: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. The definition should be fixed for the comparison at hand and deviations recorded. Analysts need to show whether the observation refers to a stock on one date, activity over a period or a flow between states. This distinction is essential for participation and progression. The estimate should retain its unrounded numerator and denominator for checking, although published precision should not exceed data quality. When several sources exist, consistency is evidence to consider, not proof that common error is absent.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-23-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The analytical rule is clear: small groups not erased through broad national labels. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Language of home and instruction within Workforce domain VIII — Disability, language and identity: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Results should be tested for sensitivity to plausible alternative definitions, particularly where age bands, residence, wealth grouping or programme equivalence are involved. If a conclusion changes under a reasonable specification, that instability is part of the finding. National averages should remain available as context, yet never as a substitute for the distribution. Nor should a group estimate be read as a description of every member. Within-group variation and unmeasured intersecting conditions remain material.", "citationIds": [ "REF-14", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-23-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "An adequate equity account asks whether minority-language and multilingual learners are represented at each stage: population frame, collection, valid response, classification, analysis and publication. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Language of home and instruction within Workforce domain VIII — Disability, language and identity: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Attrition at any stage can produce an apparently complete indicator from a selective population. Field arrangements need relevant languages, accessible formats and safe participation. Analysts should also examine who answers on behalf of whom, since proxy response may be necessary yet less reliable for attendance, impairment or discrimination. Missingness is itself patterned evidence when it clusters by location or social condition, although its magnitude should not be guessed.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-33" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-24", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "24", "title": "Ethnicity, indigeneity and protected identity", "anchor": "24-ethnicity-indigeneity-and-protected-identity", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-24-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A distribution-sensitive account of disparity associated with historically excluded identity groups begins by naming the decision the evidence may inform. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Ethnicity, indigeneity and protected identity within Workforce domain VIII — Disability, language and identity: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Without that purpose, disaggregation can multiply figures without improving public judgement. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-24-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Operationally, the measure is lawful, voluntary and contextually meaningful classification. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Ethnicity, indigeneity and protected identity within Workforce domain VIII — Disability, language and identity: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Its metadata should travel with every published value. At minimum this includes population, geography, date, collection method, classification and known exclusions. A national estimate assembled from local reports should disclose reporting completeness and treatment of missing institutions. A survey estimate should disclose weights and uncertainty. A census figure should disclose enumeration rules. These are substantive attributes because they determine who can appear in the evidence. A figure detached from them may be arithmetically correct yet unsuitable for an equity judgement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-14", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-24-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Use of the indicator is bounded by the principle that self-identification protected and non-response reported. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Ethnicity, indigeneity and protected identity within Workforce domain VIII — Disability, language and identity: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. A responsible commentary distinguishes observation, calculation and interpretation. It states whether a disparity is large in educational terms, whether it is estimated precisely enough for the proposed comparison and whether it persists across sources or periods. It does not assign cause from a cross-sectional difference. Apparent exceptions should be examined rather than removed, because they may reveal classification error, a local policy difference or a population not adequately represented elsewhere.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-33" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-24-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "For communities exposed to discrimination or forced assimilation, a single group label may conceal important internal differences. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Ethnicity, indigeneity and protected identity within Workforce domain VIII — Disability, language and identity: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Disaggregation should proceed far enough to reveal a plausible service disparity but stop before estimates become unsafe or persons identifiable. This balance is contextual rather than mechanical. It should involve statistical judgement, legal safeguards and knowledge of the affected community. Suppression rules need explanation, and restricted analysis may be preferable to public release of small cells. The public report can still state that a disparity was examined, whether action is required and which body will monitor it.", "citationIds": [ "REF-34", "REF-35" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-25", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "25", "title": "Education under conflict and insecurity", "anchor": "25-education-under-conflict-and-insecurity", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-25-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The public value of education under conflict and insecurity lies in making unequal educational experience observable. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Education under conflict and insecurity within Workforce domain IX — Conflict, disaster and mobility: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Here, the relevant phenomenon is access, attendance and learning where violence alters service and movement, not the administrative convenience of the available categories. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-14", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-25-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The preferred construction is location- and time-specific observation with explicit coverage gaps. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Education under conflict and insecurity within Workforce domain IX — Conflict, disaster and mobility: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Numerator, denominator, reference date, unit and exclusions should appear together. If a proportion is reported, its underlying population count remains material: identical percentages can describe very different evidentiary strength and numbers of affected learners. Administrative records should be reconciled with population-based evidence where their coverage differs. A discrepancy is not resolved by selecting the more favourable source. It should require examination of definitions, timing, migration, duplication and non-response. The resulting indicator should be reproducible from stated components, while any necessary estimation remains distinguishable from direct observation.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-33" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-25-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation follows this limitation: absence caused by insecurity distinguished from ordinary dropout. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Education under conflict and insecurity within Workforce domain IX — Conflict, disaster and mobility: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. The comparison should show the level for each group as well as any ratio or gap. A ratio can approach one because the more advantaged group deteriorates; a small absolute gap can coexist with severe deprivation for all groups. Reference points therefore need substantive meaning. Where a minimum entitlement or policy threshold is relevant, the distance of every group from that threshold should be visible. Statistical association can identify where disadvantage is concentrated, but it does not establish why the disparity arose. Explanation requires evidence on institutions, resources, households and prior conditions.", "citationIds": [ "REF-34", "REF-35" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-25-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The distributional review must deliberately include learners in insecure areas and host communities. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Education under conflict and insecurity within Workforce domain IX — Conflict, disaster and mobility: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. These populations may be missing not only from good outcomes but from the denominator itself. Coverage assessment should compare survey frames, census listings, administrative registers and local knowledge without assuming that any one is complete. If direct estimation is impossible, the report should state the evidence gap and use appropriate qualitative or service information rather than assign zero. Confidentiality is essential, especially where identity or status creates risk. Protection, however, should lead to careful access and publication rules; it should not make an affected population analytically disappear.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-38" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-26", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "26", "title": "Disaster-related interruption", "anchor": "26-disaster-related-interruption", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-26-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The indicator question concerns loss of institutions, records, teaching time and household stability. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Disaster-related interruption within Workforce domain IX — Conflict, disaster and mobility: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Its object is not to divide a population into convenient labels, but to show whether educational opportunity is distributed in a manner that a national total cannot reveal. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-33" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-26-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Measurement should use pre-event baseline, dated service status and affected population. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Disaster-related interruption within Workforce domain IX — Conflict, disaster and mobility: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. This formulation requires the reporting body to preserve the population base and the observation period beside the result. Counts reveal scale; rates permit comparison; neither is sufficient alone. Source coverage must be tested before sources are combined. School returns may describe enrolled learners well while saying little about children outside institutions, whereas household enquiries may reach non-enrolled children but provide limited school detail. Reconciliation should record what each source can and cannot represent. Where estimates are revised, both the reason and effect of revision should remain accessible.", "citationIds": [ "REF-34", "REF-35" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-26-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The governing caution is that rapid counts revised without erasing earlier uncertainty. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Disaster-related interruption within Workforce domain IX — Conflict, disaster and mobility: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Disparity measures should not replace the underlying distributions. A difference in means may reflect the lower tail, the upper tail or change across the whole range; these possibilities call for different responses. Percentage-point gaps, ratios and relative risks answer different questions and should not be exchanged without explanation. The comparison should identify the reference category but avoid presenting it as a natural norm. Policy significance depends upon the educational consequence and the number of learners affected, not solely upon statistical separation.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-38" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-26-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Particular scrutiny is required for children displaced by the Haiti earthquake and other emergencies. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Disaster-related interruption within Workforce domain IX — Conflict, disaster and mobility: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Their circumstances may alter access to enumeration, classification and the service being measured. The review should record non-response, unknown status and excluded locations separately. Combining unknown observations with the majority group biases both estimates and obscures the weakness. Where sample size is limited, several years or compatible areas may sometimes be combined, provided the loss of time or place specificity is stated. Where combination would be misleading, a descriptive case record can establish a service problem without pretending to estimate prevalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-39", "REF-40" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-27", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "27", "title": "Refugees, displaced persons and migrants", "anchor": "27-refugees-displaced-persons-and-migrants", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-27-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Refugees, displaced persons and migrants should be approached as a defined measurement problem. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Refugees, displaced persons and migrants within Workforce domain IX — Conflict, disaster and mobility: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. The substantive interest is educational participation across changing legal and residential situations, observed for a population and period that are stated before calculation. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-34", "REF-35" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-27-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A defensible statistic would be based on status, origin, current location and service access recorded separately. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Refugees, displaced persons and migrants within Workforce domain IX — Conflict, disaster and mobility: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. The definition should be fixed for the comparison at hand and deviations recorded. Analysts need to show whether the observation refers to a stock on one date, activity over a period or a flow between states. This distinction is essential for participation and progression. The estimate should retain its unrounded numerator and denominator for checking, although published precision should not exceed data quality. When several sources exist, consistency is evidence to consider, not proof that common error is absent.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-38" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-27-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The analytical rule is clear: mobility never converted into duplicate enrolment or unexplained disappearance. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Refugees, displaced persons and migrants within Workforce domain IX — Conflict, disaster and mobility: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Results should be tested for sensitivity to plausible alternative definitions, particularly where age bands, residence, wealth grouping or programme equivalence are involved. If a conclusion changes under a reasonable specification, that instability is part of the finding. National averages should remain available as context, yet never as a substitute for the distribution. Nor should a group estimate be read as a description of every member. Within-group variation and unmeasured intersecting conditions remain material.", "citationIds": [ "REF-39", "REF-40" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-27-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "An adequate equity account asks whether undocumented migrants, refugees and internally displaced learners are represented at each stage: population frame, collection, valid response, classification, analysis and publication. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Refugees, displaced persons and migrants within Workforce domain IX — Conflict, disaster and mobility: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Attrition at any stage can produce an apparently complete indicator from a selective population. Field arrangements need relevant languages, accessible formats and safe participation. Analysts should also examine who answers on behalf of whom, since proxy response may be necessary yet less reliable for attendance, impairment or discrimination. Missingness is itself patterned evidence when it clusters by location or social condition, although its magnitude should not be guessed.", "citationIds": [ "REF-42", "REF-43" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-28", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "28", "title": "Teacher availability and distribution", "anchor": "28-teacher-availability-and-distribution", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-28-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "For teacher availability and distribution, the first requirement is conceptual clarity. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Teacher availability and distribution within Workforce domain X — School conditions and teachers: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. The study seeks evidence on access to competent teaching across schools and subjects; it does not infer a learner's circumstances from a national or regional mean. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-38" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-28-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Operationally, the measure is teachers present and assigned relative to learner and curriculum need. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Teacher availability and distribution within Workforce domain X — School conditions and teachers: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Its metadata should travel with every published value. At minimum this includes population, geography, date, collection method, classification and known exclusions. A national estimate assembled from local reports should disclose reporting completeness and treatment of missing institutions. A survey estimate should disclose weights and uncertainty. A census figure should disclose enumeration rules. These are substantive attributes because they determine who can appear in the evidence. A figure detached from them may be arithmetically correct yet unsuitable for an equity judgement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-39", "REF-40" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-28-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Use of the indicator is bounded by the principle that payroll totals not substituted for classroom availability. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Teacher availability and distribution within Workforce domain X — School conditions and teachers: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. A responsible commentary distinguishes observation, calculation and interpretation. It states whether a disparity is large in educational terms, whether it is estimated precisely enough for the proposed comparison and whether it persists across sources or periods. It does not assign cause from a cross-sectional difference. Apparent exceptions should be examined rather than removed, because they may reveal classification error, a local policy difference or a population not adequately represented elsewhere.", "citationIds": [ "REF-42", "REF-43" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-28-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "For schools serving poor, remote or displaced communities, a single group label may conceal important internal differences. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Teacher availability and distribution within Workforce domain X — School conditions and teachers: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Disaggregation should proceed far enough to reveal a plausible service disparity but stop before estimates become unsafe or persons identifiable. This balance is contextual rather than mechanical. It should involve statistical judgement, legal safeguards and knowledge of the affected community. Suppression rules need explanation, and restricted analysis may be preferable to public release of small cells. The public report can still state that a disparity was examined, whether action is required and which body will monitor it.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-05" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-29", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "29", "title": "Class size, multi-grade teaching and time", "anchor": "29-class-size-multi-grade-teaching-and-time", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-29-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A distribution-sensitive account of the instructional conditions experienced by learners begins by naming the decision the evidence may inform. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Class size, multi-grade teaching and time within Workforce domain X — School conditions and teachers: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Without that purpose, disaggregation can multiply figures without improving public judgement. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-39", "REF-40" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-29-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The preferred construction is class organisation, scheduled time and delivered time considered together. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Class size, multi-grade teaching and time within Workforce domain X — School conditions and teachers: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Numerator, denominator, reference date, unit and exclusions should appear together. If a proportion is reported, its underlying population count remains material: identical percentages can describe very different evidentiary strength and numbers of affected learners. Administrative records should be reconciled with population-based evidence where their coverage differs. A discrepancy is not resolved by selecting the more favourable source. It should require examination of definitions, timing, migration, duplication and non-response. The resulting indicator should be reproducible from stated components, while any necessary estimation remains distinguishable from direct observation.", "citationIds": [ "REF-42", "REF-43" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-29-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation follows this limitation: simple pupil-teacher ratios not treated as a complete quality measure. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Class size, multi-grade teaching and time within Workforce domain X — School conditions and teachers: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. The comparison should show the level for each group as well as any ratio or gap. A ratio can approach one because the more advantaged group deteriorates; a small absolute gap can coexist with severe deprivation for all groups. Reference points therefore need substantive meaning. Where a minimum entitlement or policy threshold is relevant, the distance of every group from that threshold should be visible. Statistical association can identify where disadvantage is concentrated, but it does not establish why the disparity arose. Explanation requires evidence on institutions, resources, households and prior conditions.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-05" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-29-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The distributional review must deliberately include early grades and mixed-age classes. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Class size, multi-grade teaching and time within Workforce domain X — School conditions and teachers: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. These populations may be missing not only from good outcomes but from the denominator itself. Coverage assessment should compare survey frames, census listings, administrative registers and local knowledge without assuming that any one is complete. If direct estimation is impossible, the report should state the evidence gap and use appropriate qualitative or service information rather than assign zero. Confidentiality is essential, especially where identity or status creates risk. Protection, however, should lead to careful access and publication rules; it should not make an affected population analytically disappear.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-28" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-30", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "30", "title": "Materials, facilities and basic services", "anchor": "30-materials-facilities-and-basic-services", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-30-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The public value of materials, facilities and basic services lies in making unequal educational experience observable. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Materials, facilities and basic services within Workforce domain X — School conditions and teachers: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Here, the relevant phenomenon is usable learning resources and safe, accessible school conditions, not the administrative convenience of the available categories. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-42", "REF-43" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-30-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Measurement should use availability joined to condition, accessibility and regular use. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Materials, facilities and basic services within Workforce domain X — School conditions and teachers: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. This formulation requires the reporting body to preserve the population base and the observation period beside the result. Counts reveal scale; rates permit comparison; neither is sufficient alone. Source coverage must be tested before sources are combined. School returns may describe enrolled learners well while saying little about children outside institutions, whereas household enquiries may reach non-enrolled children but provide limited school detail. Reconciliation should record what each source can and cannot represent. Where estimates are revised, both the reason and effect of revision should remain accessible.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-05" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-30-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The governing caution is that delivery counts checked against learner access. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Materials, facilities and basic services within Workforce domain X — School conditions and teachers: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Disparity measures should not replace the underlying distributions. A difference in means may reflect the lower tail, the upper tail or change across the whole range; these possibilities call for different responses. Percentage-point gaps, ratios and relative risks answer different questions and should not be exchanged without explanation. The comparison should identify the reference category but avoid presenting it as a natural norm. Policy significance depends upon the educational consequence and the number of learners affected, not solely upon statistical separation.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-28" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-30-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Particular scrutiny is required for learners in temporary or damaged premises. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Materials, facilities and basic services within Workforce domain X — School conditions and teachers: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Their circumstances may alter access to enumeration, classification and the service being measured. The review should record non-response, unknown status and excluded locations separately. Combining unknown observations with the majority group biases both estimates and obscures the weakness. Where sample size is limited, several years or compatible areas may sometimes be combined, provided the loss of time or place specificity is stated. Where combination would be misleading, a descriptive case record can establish a service problem without pretending to estimate prevalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-29", "REF-31" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-31", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "31", "title": "Public spending by level and function", "anchor": "31-public-spending-by-level-and-function", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-31-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The indicator question concerns resources assigned to education purposes across the system. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Public spending by level and function within Workforce domain XI — Finance and distribution: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Its object is not to divide a population into convenient labels, but to show whether educational opportunity is distributed in a manner that a national total cannot reveal. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-05" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-31-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A defensible statistic would be based on expenditure classified by level, recurrent or capital use and responsible body. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Public spending by level and function within Workforce domain XI — Finance and distribution: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. The definition should be fixed for the comparison at hand and deviations recorded. Analysts need to show whether the observation refers to a stock on one date, activity over a period or a flow between states. This distinction is essential for participation and progression. The estimate should retain its unrounded numerator and denominator for checking, although published precision should not exceed data quality. When several sources exist, consistency is evidence to consider, not proof that common error is absent.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-28" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-31-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The analytical rule is clear: budgets, commitments and actual expenditure distinguished. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Public spending by level and function within Workforce domain XI — Finance and distribution: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Results should be tested for sensitivity to plausible alternative definitions, particularly where age bands, residence, wealth grouping or programme equivalence are involved. If a conclusion changes under a reasonable specification, that instability is part of the finding. National averages should remain available as context, yet never as a substitute for the distribution. Nor should a group estimate be read as a description of every member. Within-group variation and unmeasured intersecting conditions remain material.", "citationIds": [ "REF-29", "REF-31" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-31-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "An adequate equity account asks whether basic education services under fiscal pressure are represented at each stage: population frame, collection, valid response, classification, analysis and publication. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Public spending by level and function within Workforce domain XI — Finance and distribution: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Attrition at any stage can produce an apparently complete indicator from a selective population. Field arrangements need relevant languages, accessible formats and safe participation. Analysts should also examine who answers on behalf of whom, since proxy response may be necessary yet less reliable for attendance, impairment or discrimination. Missingness is itself patterned evidence when it clusters by location or social condition, although its magnitude should not be guessed.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-16" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-32", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "32", "title": "Incidence of education spending", "anchor": "32-incidence-of-education-spending", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-32-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Incidence of education spending should be approached as a defined measurement problem. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Incidence of education spending within Workforce domain XI — Finance and distribution: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. The substantive interest is who benefits from publicly financed places and services, observed for a population and period that are stated before calculation. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-28" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-32-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Operationally, the measure is unit resources combined with participation across population groups. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Incidence of education spending within Workforce domain XI — Finance and distribution: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Its metadata should travel with every published value. At minimum this includes population, geography, date, collection method, classification and known exclusions. A national estimate assembled from local reports should disclose reporting completeness and treatment of missing institutions. A survey estimate should disclose weights and uncertainty. A census figure should disclose enumeration rules. These are substantive attributes because they determine who can appear in the evidence. A figure detached from them may be arithmetically correct yet unsuitable for an equity judgement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-29", "REF-31" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-32-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Use of the indicator is bounded by the principle that benefit estimates not treated as household income. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Incidence of education spending within Workforce domain XI — Finance and distribution: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. A responsible commentary distinguishes observation, calculation and interpretation. It states whether a disparity is large in educational terms, whether it is estimated precisely enough for the proposed comparison and whether it persists across sources or periods. It does not assign cause from a cross-sectional difference. Apparent exceptions should be examined rather than removed, because they may reveal classification error, a local policy difference or a population not adequately represented elsewhere.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-32-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "For groups excluded before public spending can reach them, a single group label may conceal important internal differences. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Incidence of education spending within Workforce domain XI — Finance and distribution: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Disaggregation should proceed far enough to reveal a plausible service disparity but stop before estimates become unsafe or persons identifiable. This balance is contextual rather than mechanical. It should involve statistical judgement, legal safeguards and knowledge of the affected community. Suppression rules need explanation, and restricted analysis may be preferable to public release of small cells. The public report can still state that a disparity was examined, whether action is required and which body will monitor it.", "citationIds": [ "REF-14", "REF-06" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-33", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "33", "title": "Protecting equity during fiscal constraint", "anchor": "33-protecting-equity-during-fiscal-constraint", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-33-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "For protecting equity during fiscal constraint, the first requirement is conceptual clarity. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Protecting equity during fiscal constraint within Workforce domain XI — Finance and distribution: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. The study seeks evidence on whether reductions or delays fall disproportionately on weaker services; it does not infer a learner's circumstances from a national or regional mean. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-29", "REF-31" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-33-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The preferred construction is dated finance and service indicators read together. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Protecting equity during fiscal constraint within Workforce domain XI — Finance and distribution: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Numerator, denominator, reference date, unit and exclusions should appear together. If a proportion is reported, its underlying population count remains material: identical percentages can describe very different evidentiary strength and numbers of affected learners. Administrative records should be reconciled with population-based evidence where their coverage differs. A discrepancy is not resolved by selecting the more favourable source. It should require examination of definitions, timing, migration, duplication and non-response. The resulting indicator should be reproducible from stated components, while any necessary estimation remains distinguishable from direct observation.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-33-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation follows this limitation: national totals tested against subnational allocation and household costs. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Protecting equity during fiscal constraint within Workforce domain XI — Finance and distribution: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. The comparison should show the level for each group as well as any ratio or gap. A ratio can approach one because the more advantaged group deteriorates; a small absolute gap can coexist with severe deprivation for all groups. Reference points therefore need substantive meaning. Where a minimum entitlement or policy threshold is relevant, the distance of every group from that threshold should be visible. Statistical association can identify where disadvantage is concentrated, but it does not establish why the disparity arose. Explanation requires evidence on institutions, resources, households and prior conditions.", "citationIds": [ "REF-14", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-33-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The distributional review must deliberately include poor households and institutions with little financial reserve. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Protecting equity during fiscal constraint within Workforce domain XI — Finance and distribution: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. These populations may be missing not only from good outcomes but from the denominator itself. Coverage assessment should compare survey frames, census listings, administrative registers and local knowledge without assuming that any one is complete. If direct estimation is impossible, the report should state the evidence gap and use appropriate qualitative or service information rather than assign zero. Confidentiality is essential, especially where identity or status creates risk. Protection, however, should lead to careful access and publication rules; it should not make an affected population analytically disappear.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-33" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-34", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "34", "title": "Administrative records", "anchor": "34-administrative-records", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-34-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A distribution-sensitive account of regular learner, staff, facility and finance information begins by naming the decision the evidence may inform. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Administrative records within Workforce domain XII — Data sources and measurement error: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Without that purpose, disaggregation can multiply figures without improving public judgement. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-34-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Measurement should use clear definitions, reporting coverage and revision history. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Administrative records within Workforce domain XII — Data sources and measurement error: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. This formulation requires the reporting body to preserve the population base and the observation period beside the result. Counts reveal scale; rates permit comparison; neither is sufficient alone. Source coverage must be tested before sources are combined. School returns may describe enrolled learners well while saying little about children outside institutions, whereas household enquiries may reach non-enrolled children but provide limited school detail. Reconciliation should record what each source can and cannot represent. Where estimates are revised, both the reason and effect of revision should remain accessible.", "citationIds": [ "REF-14", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-34-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The governing caution is that non-reporting institutions kept visible in aggregates. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Administrative records within Workforce domain XII — Data sources and measurement error: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Disparity measures should not replace the underlying distributions. A difference in means may reflect the lower tail, the upper tail or change across the whole range; these possibilities call for different responses. Percentage-point gaps, ratios and relative risks answer different questions and should not be exchanged without explanation. The comparison should identify the reference category but avoid presenting it as a natural norm. Policy significance depends upon the educational consequence and the number of learners affected, not solely upon statistical separation.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-33" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-34-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Particular scrutiny is required for small, private, non-formal and emergency providers. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Administrative records within Workforce domain XII — Data sources and measurement error: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Their circumstances may alter access to enumeration, classification and the service being measured. The review should record non-response, unknown status and excluded locations separately. Combining unknown observations with the majority group biases both estimates and obscures the weakness. Where sample size is limited, several years or compatible areas may sometimes be combined, provided the loss of time or place specificity is stated. Where combination would be misleading, a descriptive case record can establish a service problem without pretending to estimate prevalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-34", "REF-35" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-35", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "35", "title": "Household surveys", "anchor": "35-household-surveys", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-35-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The public value of household surveys lies in making unequal educational experience observable. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Household surveys within Workforce domain XII — Data sources and measurement error: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Here, the relevant phenomenon is population-based evidence beyond enrolled learners, not the administrative convenience of the available categories. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-14", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-35-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A defensible statistic would be based on probability samples, weights and field dates documented. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Household surveys within Workforce domain XII — Data sources and measurement error: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. The definition should be fixed for the comparison at hand and deviations recorded. Analysts need to show whether the observation refers to a stock on one date, activity over a period or a flow between states. This distinction is essential for participation and progression. The estimate should retain its unrounded numerator and denominator for checking, although published precision should not exceed data quality. When several sources exist, consistency is evidence to consider, not proof that common error is absent.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-33" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-35-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The analytical rule is clear: sampling and non-response uncertainty carried into group comparisons. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Household surveys within Workforce domain XII — Data sources and measurement error: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Results should be tested for sensitivity to plausible alternative definitions, particularly where age bands, residence, wealth grouping or programme equivalence are involved. If a conclusion changes under a reasonable specification, that instability is part of the finding. National averages should remain available as context, yet never as a substitute for the distribution. Nor should a group estimate be read as a description of every member. Within-group variation and unmeasured intersecting conditions remain material.", "citationIds": [ "REF-34", "REF-35" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-35-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "An adequate equity account asks whether small minorities and mobile households are represented at each stage: population frame, collection, valid response, classification, analysis and publication. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Household surveys within Workforce domain XII — Data sources and measurement error: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Attrition at any stage can produce an apparently complete indicator from a selective population. Field arrangements need relevant languages, accessible formats and safe participation. Analysts should also examine who answers on behalf of whom, since proxy response may be necessary yet less reliable for attendance, impairment or discrimination. Missingness is itself patterned evidence when it clusters by location or social condition, although its magnitude should not be guessed.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-38" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-36", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "36", "title": "Censuses and population frames", "anchor": "36-censuses-and-population-frames", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-36-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The indicator question concerns broad population coverage and small-area denominators. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Censuses and population frames within Workforce domain XII — Data sources and measurement error: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Its object is not to divide a population into convenient labels, but to show whether educational opportunity is distributed in a manner that a national total cannot reveal. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-33" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-36-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Operationally, the measure is enumeration date, usual residence and institutional coverage stated. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Censuses and population frames within Workforce domain XII — Data sources and measurement error: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Its metadata should travel with every published value. At minimum this includes population, geography, date, collection method, classification and known exclusions. A national estimate assembled from local reports should disclose reporting completeness and treatment of missing institutions. A survey estimate should disclose weights and uncertainty. A census figure should disclose enumeration rules. These are substantive attributes because they determine who can appear in the evidence. A figure detached from them may be arithmetically correct yet unsuitable for an equity judgement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-34", "REF-35" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-36-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Use of the indicator is bounded by the principle that long intervals and under-enumeration acknowledged. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Censuses and population frames within Workforce domain XII — Data sources and measurement error: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. A responsible commentary distinguishes observation, calculation and interpretation. It states whether a disparity is large in educational terms, whether it is estimated precisely enough for the proposed comparison and whether it persists across sources or periods. It does not assign cause from a cross-sectional difference. Apparent exceptions should be examined rather than removed, because they may reveal classification error, a local policy difference or a population not adequately represented elsewhere.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-38" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-36-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "For homeless, displaced and geographically isolated people, a single group label may conceal important internal differences. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Censuses and population frames within Workforce domain XII — Data sources and measurement error: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Disaggregation should proceed far enough to reveal a plausible service disparity but stop before estimates become unsafe or persons identifiable. This balance is contextual rather than mechanical. It should involve statistical judgement, legal safeguards and knowledge of the affected community. Suppression rules need explanation, and restricted analysis may be preferable to public release of small cells. The public report can still state that a disparity was examined, whether action is required and which body will monitor it.", "citationIds": [ "REF-39", "REF-40" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-37", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "37", "title": "Single-axis disaggregation", "anchor": "37-single-axis-disaggregation", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-37-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Single-axis disaggregation should be approached as a defined measurement problem. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Single-axis disaggregation within Workforce domain XIII — Disaggregation and intersection: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. The substantive interest is separate reporting by sex, wealth, residence or another characteristic, observed for a population and period that are stated before calculation. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-34", "REF-35" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-37-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The preferred construction is levels, gaps and denominators shown for each category. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Single-axis disaggregation within Workforce domain XIII — Disaggregation and intersection: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Numerator, denominator, reference date, unit and exclusions should appear together. If a proportion is reported, its underlying population count remains material: identical percentages can describe very different evidentiary strength and numbers of affected learners. Administrative records should be reconciled with population-based evidence where their coverage differs. A discrepancy is not resolved by selecting the more favourable source. It should require examination of definitions, timing, migration, duplication and non-response. The resulting indicator should be reproducible from stated components, while any necessary estimation remains distinguishable from direct observation.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-38" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-37-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation follows this limitation: one axis not presented as a complete account of marginalisation. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Single-axis disaggregation within Workforce domain XIII — Disaggregation and intersection: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. The comparison should show the level for each group as well as any ratio or gap. A ratio can approach one because the more advantaged group deteriorates; a small absolute gap can coexist with severe deprivation for all groups. Reference points therefore need substantive meaning. Where a minimum entitlement or policy threshold is relevant, the distance of every group from that threshold should be visible. Statistical association can identify where disadvantage is concentrated, but it does not establish why the disparity arose. Explanation requires evidence on institutions, resources, households and prior conditions.", "citationIds": [ "REF-39", "REF-40" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-37-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The distributional review must deliberately include groups whose disadvantage lies on another unmeasured dimension. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Single-axis disaggregation within Workforce domain XIII — Disaggregation and intersection: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. These populations may be missing not only from good outcomes but from the denominator itself. Coverage assessment should compare survey frames, census listings, administrative registers and local knowledge without assuming that any one is complete. If direct estimation is impossible, the report should state the evidence gap and use appropriate qualitative or service information rather than assign zero. Confidentiality is essential, especially where identity or status creates risk. Protection, however, should lead to careful access and publication rules; it should not make an affected population analytically disappear.", "citationIds": [ "REF-42", "REF-43" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-38", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "38", "title": "Intersecting categories", "anchor": "38-intersecting-categories", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-38-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "For intersecting categories, the first requirement is conceptual clarity. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Intersecting categories within Workforce domain XIII — Disaggregation and intersection: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. The study seeks evidence on joint distributions such as sex by wealth and residence; it does not infer a learner's circumstances from a national or regional mean. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-38" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-38-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Measurement should use pre-specified combinations with sufficient observations. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Intersecting categories within Workforce domain XIII — Disaggregation and intersection: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. This formulation requires the reporting body to preserve the population base and the observation period beside the result. Counts reveal scale; rates permit comparison; neither is sufficient alone. Source coverage must be tested before sources are combined. School returns may describe enrolled learners well while saying little about children outside institutions, whereas household enquiries may reach non-enrolled children but provide limited school detail. Reconciliation should record what each source can and cannot represent. Where estimates are revised, both the reason and effect of revision should remain accessible.", "citationIds": [ "REF-39", "REF-40" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-38-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The governing caution is that empty or unstable cells reported honestly. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Intersecting categories within Workforce domain XIII — Disaggregation and intersection: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Disparity measures should not replace the underlying distributions. A difference in means may reflect the lower tail, the upper tail or change across the whole range; these possibilities call for different responses. Percentage-point gaps, ratios and relative risks answer different questions and should not be exchanged without explanation. The comparison should identify the reference category but avoid presenting it as a natural norm. Policy significance depends upon the educational consequence and the number of learners affected, not solely upon statistical separation.", "citationIds": [ "REF-42", "REF-43" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-38-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Particular scrutiny is required for poor rural girls, disabled learners in remote areas and displaced minorities. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Intersecting categories within Workforce domain XIII — Disaggregation and intersection: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Their circumstances may alter access to enumeration, classification and the service being measured. The review should record non-response, unknown status and excluded locations separately. Combining unknown observations with the majority group biases both estimates and obscures the weakness. Where sample size is limited, several years or compatible areas may sometimes be combined, provided the loss of time or place specificity is stated. Where combination would be misleading, a descriptive case record can establish a service problem without pretending to estimate prevalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-05" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-39", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "39", "title": "Small numbers, disclosure and reliability", "anchor": "39-small-numbers-disclosure-and-reliability", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-39-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A distribution-sensitive account of useful detail without unreliable estimates or identification begins by naming the decision the evidence may inform. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Small numbers, disclosure and reliability within Workforce domain XIII — Disaggregation and intersection: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Without that purpose, disaggregation can multiply figures without improving public judgement. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-39", "REF-40" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-39-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A defensible statistic would be based on suppression, aggregation or qualitative evidence chosen proportionately. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Small numbers, disclosure and reliability within Workforce domain XIII — Disaggregation and intersection: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. The definition should be fixed for the comparison at hand and deviations recorded. Analysts need to show whether the observation refers to a stock on one date, activity over a period or a flow between states. This distinction is essential for participation and progression. The estimate should retain its unrounded numerator and denominator for checking, although published precision should not exceed data quality. When several sources exist, consistency is evidence to consider, not proof that common error is absent.", "citationIds": [ "REF-42", "REF-43" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-39-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The analytical rule is clear: confidentiality decisions separated from claims that no disparity exists. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Small numbers, disclosure and reliability within Workforce domain XIII — Disaggregation and intersection: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Results should be tested for sensitivity to plausible alternative definitions, particularly where age bands, residence, wealth grouping or programme equivalence are involved. If a conclusion changes under a reasonable specification, that instability is part of the finding. National averages should remain available as context, yet never as a substitute for the distribution. Nor should a group estimate be read as a description of every member. Within-group variation and unmeasured intersecting conditions remain material.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-05" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-39-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "An adequate equity account asks whether small communities and learners with rare characteristics are represented at each stage: population frame, collection, valid response, classification, analysis and publication. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Small numbers, disclosure and reliability within Workforce domain XIII — Disaggregation and intersection: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Attrition at any stage can produce an apparently complete indicator from a selective population. Field arrangements need relevant languages, accessible formats and safe participation. Analysts should also examine who answers on behalf of whom, since proxy response may be necessary yet less reliable for attendance, impairment or discrimination. Missingness is itself patterned evidence when it clusters by location or social condition, although its magnitude should not be guessed.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-28" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-40", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "40", "title": "Comparing unlike systems", "anchor": "40-comparing-unlike-systems", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-40-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The public value of comparing unlike systems lies in making unequal educational experience observable. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Comparing unlike systems within Workforce domain XIV — Comparison, uncertainty and change: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Here, the relevant phenomenon is cross-country patterns based on harmonised but bounded concepts, not the administrative convenience of the available categories. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-42", "REF-43" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-40-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Operationally, the measure is metadata tests before numerical comparison. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Comparing unlike systems within Workforce domain XIV — Comparison, uncertainty and change: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Its metadata should travel with every published value. At minimum this includes population, geography, date, collection method, classification and known exclusions. A national estimate assembled from local reports should disclose reporting completeness and treatment of missing institutions. A survey estimate should disclose weights and uncertainty. A census figure should disclose enumeration rules. These are substantive attributes because they determine who can appear in the evidence. A figure detached from them may be arithmetically correct yet unsuitable for an equity judgement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-05" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-40-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Use of the indicator is bounded by the principle that differences in programme structure and classification remain visible. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Comparing unlike systems within Workforce domain XIV — Comparison, uncertainty and change: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. A responsible commentary distinguishes observation, calculation and interpretation. It states whether a disparity is large in educational terms, whether it is estimated precisely enough for the proposed comparison and whether it persists across sources or periods. It does not assign cause from a cross-sectional difference. Apparent exceptions should be examined rather than removed, because they may reveal classification error, a local policy difference or a population not adequately represented elsewhere.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-28" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-40-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "For countries with incomplete or rapidly changing systems, a single group label may conceal important internal differences. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Comparing unlike systems within Workforce domain XIV — Comparison, uncertainty and change: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Disaggregation should proceed far enough to reveal a plausible service disparity but stop before estimates become unsafe or persons identifiable. This balance is contextual rather than mechanical. It should involve statistical judgement, legal safeguards and knowledge of the affected community. Suppression rules need explanation, and restricted analysis may be preferable to public release of small cells. The public report can still state that a disparity was examined, whether action is required and which body will monitor it.", "citationIds": [ "REF-29", "REF-31" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-41", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "41", "title": "Sampling error and other uncertainty", "anchor": "41-sampling-error-and-other-uncertainty", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-41-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The indicator question concerns the range of values reasonably compatible with the observations. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Sampling error and other uncertainty within Workforce domain XIV — Comparison, uncertainty and change: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Its object is not to divide a population into convenient labels, but to show whether educational opportunity is distributed in a manner that a national total cannot reveal. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-05" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-41-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The preferred construction is standard errors, design effects and data-quality qualifications. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Sampling error and other uncertainty within Workforce domain XIV — Comparison, uncertainty and change: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Numerator, denominator, reference date, unit and exclusions should appear together. If a proportion is reported, its underlying population count remains material: identical percentages can describe very different evidentiary strength and numbers of affected learners. Administrative records should be reconciled with population-based evidence where their coverage differs. A discrepancy is not resolved by selecting the more favourable source. It should require examination of definitions, timing, migration, duplication and non-response. The resulting indicator should be reproducible from stated components, while any necessary estimation remains distinguishable from direct observation.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-28" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-41-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation follows this limitation: rank differences smaller than uncertainty not interpreted. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Sampling error and other uncertainty within Workforce domain XIV — Comparison, uncertainty and change: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. The comparison should show the level for each group as well as any ratio or gap. A ratio can approach one because the more advantaged group deteriorates; a small absolute gap can coexist with severe deprivation for all groups. Reference points therefore need substantive meaning. Where a minimum entitlement or policy threshold is relevant, the distance of every group from that threshold should be visible. Statistical association can identify where disadvantage is concentrated, but it does not establish why the disparity arose. Explanation requires evidence on institutions, resources, households and prior conditions.", "citationIds": [ "REF-29", "REF-31" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-41-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The distributional review must deliberately include small disaggregated populations. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Sampling error and other uncertainty within Workforce domain XIV — Comparison, uncertainty and change: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. These populations may be missing not only from good outcomes but from the denominator itself. Coverage assessment should compare survey frames, census listings, administrative registers and local knowledge without assuming that any one is complete. If direct estimation is impossible, the report should state the evidence gap and use appropriate qualitative or service information rather than assign zero. Confidentiality is essential, especially where identity or status creates risk. Protection, however, should lead to careful access and publication rules; it should not make an affected population analytically disappear.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-16" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-42", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "42", "title": "Trends and breaks in series", "anchor": "42-trends-and-breaks-in-series", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-42-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Trends and breaks in series should be approached as a defined measurement problem. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Trends and breaks in series within Workforce domain XIV — Comparison, uncertainty and change: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. The substantive interest is change over time under stable definitions and populations, observed for a population and period that are stated before calculation. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-28" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-42-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Measurement should use parallel reporting where methods or boundaries change. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Trends and breaks in series within Workforce domain XIV — Comparison, uncertainty and change: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. This formulation requires the reporting body to preserve the population base and the observation period beside the result. Counts reveal scale; rates permit comparison; neither is sufficient alone. Source coverage must be tested before sources are combined. School returns may describe enrolled learners well while saying little about children outside institutions, whereas household enquiries may reach non-enrolled children but provide limited school detail. Reconciliation should record what each source can and cannot represent. Where estimates are revised, both the reason and effect of revision should remain accessible.", "citationIds": [ "REF-29", "REF-31" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-42-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The governing caution is that revisions and discontinuities marked at the point of change. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Trends and breaks in series within Workforce domain XIV — Comparison, uncertainty and change: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Disparity measures should not replace the underlying distributions. A difference in means may reflect the lower tail, the upper tail or change across the whole range; these possibilities call for different responses. Percentage-point gaps, ratios and relative risks answer different questions and should not be exchanged without explanation. The comparison should identify the reference category but avoid presenting it as a natural norm. Policy significance depends upon the educational consequence and the number of learners affected, not solely upon statistical separation.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-42-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Particular scrutiny is required for groups entering the data only after improved coverage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Trends and breaks in series within Workforce domain XIV — Comparison, uncertainty and change: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Their circumstances may alter access to enumeration, classification and the service being measured. The review should record non-response, unknown status and excluded locations separately. Combining unknown observations with the majority group biases both estimates and obscures the weakness. Where sample size is limited, several years or compatible areas may sometimes be combined, provided the loss of time or place specificity is stated. Where combination would be misleading, a descriptive case record can establish a service problem without pretending to estimate prevalence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-14", "REF-06" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-43", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "43", "title": "Reading disparity without blaming learners", "anchor": "43-reading-disparity-without-blaming-learners", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-43-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "For reading disparity without blaming learners, the first requirement is conceptual clarity. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Reading disparity without blaming learners within Workforce domain XV — Responsible interpretation and action: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. The study seeks evidence on institutional and social conditions associated with unequal outcomes; it does not infer a learner's circumstances from a national or regional mean. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-29", "REF-31" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-43-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A defensible statistic would be based on descriptive findings separated from causal claims. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Reading disparity without blaming learners within Workforce domain XV — Responsible interpretation and action: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. The definition should be fixed for the comparison at hand and deviations recorded. Analysts need to show whether the observation refers to a stock on one date, activity over a period or a flow between states. This distinction is essential for participation and progression. The estimate should retain its unrounded numerator and denominator for checking, although published precision should not exceed data quality. When several sources exist, consistency is evidence to consider, not proof that common error is absent.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-43-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The analytical rule is clear: group identity never treated as a mechanism by itself. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Reading disparity without blaming learners within Workforce domain XV — Responsible interpretation and action: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Results should be tested for sensitivity to plausible alternative definitions, particularly where age bands, residence, wealth grouping or programme equivalence are involved. If a conclusion changes under a reasonable specification, that instability is part of the finding. National averages should remain available as context, yet never as a substitute for the distribution. Nor should a group estimate be read as a description of every member. Within-group variation and unmeasured intersecting conditions remain material.", "citationIds": [ "REF-14", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-43-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "An adequate equity account asks whether communities subject to stigma are represented at each stage: population frame, collection, valid response, classification, analysis and publication. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Reading disparity without blaming learners within Workforce domain XV — Responsible interpretation and action: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Attrition at any stage can produce an apparently complete indicator from a selective population. Field arrangements need relevant languages, accessible formats and safe participation. Analysts should also examine who answers on behalf of whom, since proxy response may be necessary yet less reliable for attendance, impairment or discrimination. Missingness is itself patterned evidence when it clusters by location or social condition, although its magnitude should not be guessed.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-33" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-44", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "44", "title": "Turning evidence into equitable policy", "anchor": "44-turning-evidence-into-equitable-policy", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-44-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A distribution-sensitive account of a decision rule linking disparity to service, finance or legal responsibility begins by naming the decision the evidence may inform. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Turning evidence into equitable policy within Workforce domain XV — Responsible interpretation and action: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Without that purpose, disaggregation can multiply figures without improving public judgement. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-44-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Operationally, the measure is baseline, intended reach, implementation evidence and review date. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Turning evidence into equitable policy within Workforce domain XV — Responsible interpretation and action: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Its metadata should travel with every published value. At minimum this includes population, geography, date, collection method, classification and known exclusions. A national estimate assembled from local reports should disclose reporting completeness and treatment of missing institutions. A survey estimate should disclose weights and uncertainty. A census figure should disclose enumeration rules. These are substantive attributes because they determine who can appear in the evidence. A figure detached from them may be arithmetically correct yet unsuitable for an equity judgement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-14", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-44-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Use of the indicator is bounded by the principle that targets accompanied by distributional safeguards. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Turning evidence into equitable policy within Workforce domain XV — Responsible interpretation and action: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. A responsible commentary distinguishes observation, calculation and interpretation. It states whether a disparity is large in educational terms, whether it is estimated precisely enough for the proposed comparison and whether it persists across sources or periods. It does not assign cause from a cross-sectional difference. Apparent exceptions should be examined rather than removed, because they may reveal classification error, a local policy difference or a population not adequately represented elsewhere.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-33" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-44-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "For learners farthest below a secured minimum, a single group label may conceal important internal differences. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Turning evidence into equitable policy within Workforce domain XV — Responsible interpretation and action: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Disaggregation should proceed far enough to reveal a plausible service disparity but stop before estimates become unsafe or persons identifiable. This balance is contextual rather than mechanical. It should involve statistical judgement, legal safeguards and knowledge of the affected community. Suppression rules need explanation, and restricted analysis may be preferable to public release of small cells. The public report can still state that a disparity was examined, whether action is required and which body will monitor it.", "citationIds": [ "REF-34", "REF-35" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-45", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "45", "title": "A public account beyond the average", "anchor": "45-a-public-account-beyond-the-average", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-45-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The public value of a public account beyond the average lies in making unequal educational experience observable. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs A public account beyond the average within Workforce domain XV — Responsible interpretation and action: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Here, the relevant phenomenon is a concise national statement of level, distribution, missingness and remedy, not the administrative convenience of the available categories. The measure should preserve both the observed level and the distribution relevant to the claim. A national figure remains necessary for scale and direction, yet it cannot answer which learners receive the service, how far groups lie from an acceptable minimum or whether apparent progress reflects changed coverage. The report should state the educational consequence before choosing a gap, ratio, threshold or rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-14", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-45-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The preferred construction is national totals presented beside selected group and place indicators. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs A public account beyond the average within Workforce domain XV — Responsible interpretation and action: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Numerator, denominator, reference date, unit and exclusions should appear together. If a proportion is reported, its underlying population count remains material: identical percentages can describe very different evidentiary strength and numbers of affected learners. Administrative records should be reconciled with population-based evidence where their coverage differs. A discrepancy is not resolved by selecting the more favourable source. It should require examination of definitions, timing, migration, duplication and non-response. The resulting indicator should be reproducible from stated components, while any necessary estimation remains distinguishable from direct observation.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-33" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-45-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Interpretation follows this limitation: progress claims bounded by evidence coverage and unresolved gaps. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs A public account beyond the average within Workforce domain XV — Responsible interpretation and action: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. The comparison should show the level for each group as well as any ratio or gap. A ratio can approach one because the more advantaged group deteriorates; a small absolute gap can coexist with severe deprivation for all groups. Reference points therefore need substantive meaning. Where a minimum entitlement or policy threshold is relevant, the distance of every group from that threshold should be visible. Statistical association can identify where disadvantage is concentrated, but it does not establish why the disparity arose. Explanation requires evidence on institutions, resources, households and prior conditions.", "citationIds": [ "REF-34", "REF-35" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-45-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The distributional review must deliberately include every learner otherwise hidden by a successful average. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs A public account beyond the average within Workforce domain XV — Responsible interpretation and action: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. These populations may be missing not only from good outcomes but from the denominator itself. Coverage assessment should compare survey frames, census listings, administrative registers and local knowledge without assuming that any one is complete. If direct estimation is impossible, the report should state the evidence gap and use appropriate qualitative or service information rather than assign zero. Confidentiality is essential, especially where identity or status creates risk. Protection, however, should lead to careful access and publication rules; it should not make an affected population analytically disappear.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-38" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-46", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "46", "title": "Composite measures and the loss of meaning", "anchor": "46-composite-measures-and-the-loss-of-meaning", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-46-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The analytical purpose is combining several dimensions into a summary measure. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Composite measures and the loss of meaning within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. That purpose should be written before the calculation because method follows the intended inference. The evidence base comprises participation, completion, learning and school conditions, each of which describes a different feature of educational opportunity. A result is useful only if a reader can identify the represented population, the reference period and the educational consequence attached to movement. The national total supplies context, while the distribution tests whether the total is shared. Where the measure condenses several observations, its construction must remain open to reconstruction from the underlying values. Where it separates groups, classifications must be lawful, meaningful and sufficiently stable for the comparison.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-28" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-46-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The principal methodological questions concern weights, normalisation and substitution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Composite measures and the loss of meaning within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Choices on these matters are not neutral presentation details. They determine how strongly one component, place or population can influence the conclusion. A defensible choice begins with the substantive education question and is then tested against alternative reasonable specifications. If the headline conclusion changes materially, the range of results should be reported. Sensitivity does not make the exercise useless; it prevents a conventional choice from appearing inevitable. Documentation should also state which observations are direct, which are estimated and which are unavailable. Missing values should remain missing unless an explicit estimation method and its effect are shown.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-29" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-46-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The main interpretive danger is a low value in one dimension being concealed by a high value in another. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Composite measures and the loss of meaning within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Avoiding it requires the underlying counts and distributions to remain visible beside any summary. Analysts should check whether an apparently favourable result arose through changed coverage, population movement, reclassification or concentration on cases nearest a threshold. A disparity can narrow because the better-served group deteriorates, while a composite score can improve although a protected minimum worsens. Direction must therefore be joined to adequacy. Comparison should also examine absolute numbers: a smaller rate in a growing population may still correspond to more learners without the secured opportunity. No result should be described as equitable solely because one relative measure improved.", "citationIds": [ "REF-30", "REF-31" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-46-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Source quality should be considered dimension by dimension. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Composite measures and the loss of meaning within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Administrative returns may provide frequent local detail but exclude non-participants and non-reporting institutions. Surveys can represent households beyond formal education, subject to sample size, field access and response. Censuses can support small-area denominators at longer intervals, while enumeration rules and population movement affect coverage. A record of agreement should follow reconciliation of concepts rather than simple numerical proximity. A record of disagreement should identify plausible sources and the decision consequence. If the available evidence does not support a proposed level of disaggregation, the limitation should appear in the finding rather than in a remote methodological note.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-46-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity review asks who can disappear during construction of the measure. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Composite measures and the loss of meaning within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Learners outside school, people in temporary settlements, small language communities, persons with disabilities and households beyond a survey frame can all be absent before analysis begins. Analysts should compare coverage against independent population and service information and preserve an unknown category where classification is incomplete. Small cells require protection against disclosure and caution about statistical stability. These duties do not justify silence about a serious disparity. The public account may report a broader group, a range, a qualitative service failure or restricted findings, provided that it states what cannot safely be quantified and which body is responsible for better evidence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-35" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-46-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The policy user is policy-makers deciding whether a summary aids or obscures resource allocation. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Composite measures and the loss of meaning within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Evidence should lead to a stated decision class: immediate removal of an access barrier, redistribution of staff or finance, further investigation, amendment of a classification, or evaluation of an existing measure. The certainty required depends upon the consequence. Credible indications of severe exclusion can justify protective action before exact prevalence is known, whereas durable allocation formulas require review as evidence improves. Every response should name the expected population reach and the later observation that will test it. Otherwise a disparity can generate activity without demonstrating that conditions changed for the intended learners.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-38" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-46-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Participation by affected communities strengthens both interpretation and legitimacy. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Composite measures and the loss of meaning within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Local knowledge can identify seasonal movement, unsafe routes, hidden household costs, language use and service boundaries that national categories miss. Consultation should not be treated as statistical verification, nor should a survey estimate displace credible evidence of a local barrier. The two forms answer different questions. Authorities should provide accessible explanations of definitions and invite correction where categories misdescribe experience. Feedback needs a recorded route into classification, service design or further enquiry. People should not be asked repeatedly for sensitive information when no competent body can act upon the answer.", "citationIds": [ "REF-40", "REF-42" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-46-b008", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Final reporting should give a clear institutional judgement. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Composite measures and the loss of meaning within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. It should state what the evidence shows, the strength and limits of that conclusion, the people and places most affected, the action within public authority and the date for review. Changes to definitions, boundaries or population estimates should appear at the point where a series changes. Earlier values should remain available so that revision is not mistaken for real progress. A concise account can carry considerable density when every figure retains its population and consequence. The objective is not maximum numerical output. It is a trustworthy connection between unequal educational experience, public responsibility and corrective action.", "citationIds": [ "REF-42", "REF-43" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-47", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "47", "title": "Decomposing an observed education gap", "anchor": "47-decomposing-an-observed-education-gap", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-47-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The analytical purpose is examining how a national disparity is distributed across places and population groups. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Decomposing an observed education gap within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. That purpose should be written before the calculation because method follows the intended inference. The evidence base comprises within-group and between-group differences, each of which describes a different feature of educational opportunity. A result is useful only if a reader can identify the represented population, the reference period and the educational consequence attached to movement. The national total supplies context, while the distribution tests whether the total is shared. Where the measure condenses several observations, its construction must remain open to reconstruction from the underlying values. Where it separates groups, classifications must be lawful, meaningful and sufficiently stable for the comparison.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-29" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-47-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The principal methodological questions concern population shares, outcome levels and overlapping membership. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Decomposing an observed education gap within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Choices on these matters are not neutral presentation details. They determine how strongly one component, place or population can influence the conclusion. A defensible choice begins with the substantive education question and is then tested against alternative reasonable specifications. If the headline conclusion changes materially, the range of results should be reported. Sensitivity does not make the exercise useless; it prevents a conventional choice from appearing inevitable. Documentation should also state which observations are direct, which are estimated and which are unavailable. Missing values should remain missing unless an explicit estimation method and its effect are shown.", "citationIds": [ "REF-30", "REF-31" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-47-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The main interpretive danger is treating a descriptive decomposition as proof of cause. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Decomposing an observed education gap within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Avoiding it requires the underlying counts and distributions to remain visible beside any summary. Analysts should check whether an apparently favourable result arose through changed coverage, population movement, reclassification or concentration on cases nearest a threshold. A disparity can narrow because the better-served group deteriorates, while a composite score can improve although a protected minimum worsens. Direction must therefore be joined to adequacy. Comparison should also examine absolute numbers: a smaller rate in a growing population may still correspond to more learners without the secured opportunity. No result should be described as equitable solely because one relative measure improved.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-47-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The policy user is authorities locating where further enquiry and action are warranted. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Decomposing an observed education gap within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Evidence should lead to a stated decision class: immediate removal of an access barrier, redistribution of staff or finance, further investigation, amendment of a classification, or evaluation of an existing measure. The certainty required depends upon the consequence. Credible indications of severe exclusion can justify protective action before exact prevalence is known, whereas durable allocation formulas require review as evidence improves. Every response should name the expected population reach and the later observation that will test it. Otherwise a disparity can generate activity without demonstrating that conditions changed for the intended learners.", "citationIds": [ "REF-40", "REF-42" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-48", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "48", "title": "Setting distribution-sensitive targets", "anchor": "48-setting-distribution-sensitive-targets", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-48-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The analytical purpose is expressing progress as improvement in secured minimums and unjustified gaps. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Setting distribution-sensitive targets within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. That purpose should be written before the calculation because method follows the intended inference. The evidence base comprises the national level, the least-served group and the lower tail of the distribution, each of which describes a different feature of educational opportunity. A result is useful only if a reader can identify the represented population, the reference period and the educational consequence attached to movement. The national total supplies context, while the distribution tests whether the total is shared. Where the measure condenses several observations, its construction must remain open to reconstruction from the underlying values. Where it separates groups, classifications must be lawful, meaningful and sufficiently stable for the comparison.", "citationIds": [ "REF-30", "REF-31" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-48-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The principal methodological questions concern baseline stability, ambition and safeguards against exclusion. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Setting distribution-sensitive targets within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Choices on these matters are not neutral presentation details. They determine how strongly one component, place or population can influence the conclusion. A defensible choice begins with the substantive education question and is then tested against alternative reasonable specifications. If the headline conclusion changes materially, the range of results should be reported. Sensitivity does not make the exercise useless; it prevents a conventional choice from appearing inevitable. Documentation should also state which observations are direct, which are estimated and which are unavailable. Missing values should remain missing unless an explicit estimation method and its effect are shown.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-48-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The main interpretive danger is meeting a mean target while abandoning those farthest behind. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Setting distribution-sensitive targets within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Avoiding it requires the underlying counts and distributions to remain visible beside any summary. Analysts should check whether an apparently favourable result arose through changed coverage, population movement, reclassification or concentration on cases nearest a threshold. A disparity can narrow because the better-served group deteriorates, while a composite score can improve although a protected minimum worsens. Direction must therefore be joined to adequacy. Comparison should also examine absolute numbers: a smaller rate in a growing population may still correspond to more learners without the secured opportunity. No result should be described as equitable solely because one relative measure improved.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-35" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-48-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The policy user is governments linking national commitments to subnational delivery. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Setting distribution-sensitive targets within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Evidence should lead to a stated decision class: immediate removal of an access barrier, redistribution of staff or finance, further investigation, amendment of a classification, or evaluation of an existing measure. The certainty required depends upon the consequence. Credible indications of severe exclusion can justify protective action before exact prevalence is known, whereas durable allocation formulas require review as evidence improves. Every response should name the expected population reach and the later observation that will test it. Otherwise a disparity can generate activity without demonstrating that conditions changed for the intended learners.", "citationIds": [ "REF-42", "REF-43" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-49", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "49", "title": "Linking learners to service geography", "anchor": "49-linking-learners-to-service-geography", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-49-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The analytical purpose is relating participation and learning to the location and capacity of education services. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Linking learners to service geography within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. That purpose should be written before the calculation because method follows the intended inference. The evidence base comprises settlement populations, travel conditions, schools, teachers and programme levels, each of which describes a different feature of educational opportunity. A result is useful only if a reader can identify the represented population, the reference period and the educational consequence attached to movement. The national total supplies context, while the distribution tests whether the total is shared. Where the measure condenses several observations, its construction must remain open to reconstruction from the underlying values. Where it separates groups, classifications must be lawful, meaningful and sufficiently stable for the comparison.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-49-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The principal methodological questions concern geographical scale, boundary effects and facility catchments. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Linking learners to service geography within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Choices on these matters are not neutral presentation details. They determine how strongly one component, place or population can influence the conclusion. A defensible choice begins with the substantive education question and is then tested against alternative reasonable specifications. If the headline conclusion changes materially, the range of results should be reported. Sensitivity does not make the exercise useless; it prevents a conventional choice from appearing inevitable. Documentation should also state which observations are direct, which are estimated and which are unavailable. Missing values should remain missing unless an explicit estimation method and its effect are shown.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-35" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-49-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The main interpretive danger is assuming the nearest mapped institution is accessible or appropriate. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Linking learners to service geography within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Avoiding it requires the underlying counts and distributions to remain visible beside any summary. Analysts should check whether an apparently favourable result arose through changed coverage, population movement, reclassification or concentration on cases nearest a threshold. A disparity can narrow because the better-served group deteriorates, while a composite score can improve although a protected minimum worsens. Direction must therefore be joined to adequacy. Comparison should also examine absolute numbers: a smaller rate in a growing population may still correspond to more learners without the secured opportunity. No result should be described as equitable solely because one relative measure improved.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-38" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-49-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The policy user is planners choosing sites, transport support and teacher deployment. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Linking learners to service geography within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Evidence should lead to a stated decision class: immediate removal of an access barrier, redistribution of staff or finance, further investigation, amendment of a classification, or evaluation of an existing measure. The certainty required depends upon the consequence. Credible indications of severe exclusion can justify protective action before exact prevalence is known, whereas durable allocation formulas require review as evidence improves. Every response should name the expected population reach and the later observation that will test it. Otherwise a disparity can generate activity without demonstrating that conditions changed for the intended learners.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-28" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-50", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "50", "title": "Reconciling conflicting sources", "anchor": "50-reconciling-conflicting-sources", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-50-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The analytical purpose is interpreting differences between administrative, survey and census estimates. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Reconciling conflicting sources within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. That purpose should be written before the calculation because method follows the intended inference. The evidence base comprises coverage, timing, concepts and reporting incentives, each of which describes a different feature of educational opportunity. A result is useful only if a reader can identify the represented population, the reference period and the educational consequence attached to movement. The national total supplies context, while the distribution tests whether the total is shared. Where the measure condenses several observations, its construction must remain open to reconstruction from the underlying values. Where it separates groups, classifications must be lawful, meaningful and sufficiently stable for the comparison.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-35" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-50-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The principal methodological questions concern a documented comparison of population and variable definitions. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Reconciling conflicting sources within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Choices on these matters are not neutral presentation details. They determine how strongly one component, place or population can influence the conclusion. A defensible choice begins with the substantive education question and is then tested against alternative reasonable specifications. If the headline conclusion changes materially, the range of results should be reported. Sensitivity does not make the exercise useless; it prevents a conventional choice from appearing inevitable. Documentation should also state which observations are direct, which are estimated and which are unavailable. Missing values should remain missing unless an explicit estimation method and its effect are shown.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-38" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-50-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The main interpretive danger is averaging incompatible estimates into an apparently precise figure. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Reconciling conflicting sources within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Avoiding it requires the underlying counts and distributions to remain visible beside any summary. Analysts should check whether an apparently favourable result arose through changed coverage, population movement, reclassification or concentration on cases nearest a threshold. A disparity can narrow because the better-served group deteriorates, while a composite score can improve although a protected minimum worsens. Direction must therefore be joined to adequacy. Comparison should also examine absolute numbers: a smaller rate in a growing population may still correspond to more learners without the secured opportunity. No result should be described as equitable solely because one relative measure improved.", "citationIds": [ "REF-40", "REF-42" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-50-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The policy user is statistical authorities issuing one bounded account with visible uncertainty. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Reconciling conflicting sources within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Evidence should lead to a stated decision class: immediate removal of an access barrier, redistribution of staff or finance, further investigation, amendment of a classification, or evaluation of an existing measure. The certainty required depends upon the consequence. Credible indications of severe exclusion can justify protective action before exact prevalence is known, whereas durable allocation formulas require review as evidence improves. Every response should name the expected population reach and the later observation that will test it. Otherwise a disparity can generate activity without demonstrating that conditions changed for the intended learners.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-29" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-51", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "51", "title": "Monitoring marginalisation during severe disruption", "anchor": "51-monitoring-marginalisation-during-severe-disruption", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-51-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The analytical purpose is maintaining useful distributional evidence when populations and services move rapidly. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Monitoring marginalisation during severe disruption within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. That purpose should be written before the calculation because method follows the intended inference. The evidence base comprises rapid counts, restored administrative returns and household evidence, each of which describes a different feature of educational opportunity. A result is useful only if a reader can identify the represented population, the reference period and the educational consequence attached to movement. The national total supplies context, while the distribution tests whether the total is shared. Where the measure condenses several observations, its construction must remain open to reconstruction from the underlying values. Where it separates groups, classifications must be lawful, meaningful and sufficiently stable for the comparison.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-38" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-51-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The principal methodological questions concern dated estimates, revision practice and minimal essential classifications. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Monitoring marginalisation during severe disruption within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Choices on these matters are not neutral presentation details. They determine how strongly one component, place or population can influence the conclusion. A defensible choice begins with the substantive education question and is then tested against alternative reasonable specifications. If the headline conclusion changes materially, the range of results should be reported. Sensitivity does not make the exercise useless; it prevents a conventional choice from appearing inevitable. Documentation should also state which observations are direct, which are estimated and which are unavailable. Missing values should remain missing unless an explicit estimation method and its effect are shown.", "citationIds": [ "REF-40", "REF-42" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-51-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The main interpretive danger is using an unstable emergency denominator to assert durable improvement. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Monitoring marginalisation during severe disruption within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Avoiding it requires the underlying counts and distributions to remain visible beside any summary. Analysts should check whether an apparently favourable result arose through changed coverage, population movement, reclassification or concentration on cases nearest a threshold. A disparity can narrow because the better-served group deteriorates, while a composite score can improve although a protected minimum worsens. Direction must therefore be joined to adequacy. Comparison should also examine absolute numbers: a smaller rate in a growing population may still correspond to more learners without the secured opportunity. No result should be described as equitable solely because one relative measure improved.", "citationIds": [ "REF-42", "REF-43" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-51-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The policy user is authorities protecting access while rebuilding regular statistics. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Monitoring marginalisation during severe disruption within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Evidence should lead to a stated decision class: immediate removal of an access barrier, redistribution of staff or finance, further investigation, amendment of a classification, or evaluation of an existing measure. The certainty required depends upon the consequence. Credible indications of severe exclusion can justify protective action before exact prevalence is known, whereas durable allocation formulas require review as evidence improves. Every response should name the expected population reach and the later observation that will test it. Otherwise a disparity can generate activity without demonstrating that conditions changed for the intended learners.", "citationIds": [ "REF-30", "REF-31" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-52", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "52", "title": "Communicating uncertainty without losing urgency", "anchor": "52-communicating-uncertainty-without-losing-urgency", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-52-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The analytical purpose is explaining what is known strongly enough to justify action and what remains unresolved. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Communicating uncertainty without losing urgency within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. That purpose should be written before the calculation because method follows the intended inference. The evidence base comprises point estimates, ranges, quality statements and missing populations, each of which describes a different feature of educational opportunity. A result is useful only if a reader can identify the represented population, the reference period and the educational consequence attached to movement. The national total supplies context, while the distribution tests whether the total is shared. Where the measure condenses several observations, its construction must remain open to reconstruction from the underlying values. Where it separates groups, classifications must be lawful, meaningful and sufficiently stable for the comparison.", "citationIds": [ "REF-40", "REF-42" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-52-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The principal methodological questions concern plain institutional language joined to exact metadata. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Communicating uncertainty without losing urgency within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Choices on these matters are not neutral presentation details. They determine how strongly one component, place or population can influence the conclusion. A defensible choice begins with the substantive education question and is then tested against alternative reasonable specifications. If the headline conclusion changes materially, the range of results should be reported. Sensitivity does not make the exercise useless; it prevents a conventional choice from appearing inevitable. Documentation should also state which observations are direct, which are estimated and which are unavailable. Missing values should remain missing unless an explicit estimation method and its effect are shown.", "citationIds": [ "REF-42", "REF-43" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-52-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The main interpretive danger is presenting caution as a reason for inaction or urgency as a reason for overstatement. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Communicating uncertainty without losing urgency within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Avoiding it requires the underlying counts and distributions to remain visible beside any summary. Analysts should check whether an apparently favourable result arose through changed coverage, population movement, reclassification or concentration on cases nearest a threshold. A disparity can narrow because the better-served group deteriorates, while a composite score can improve although a protected minimum worsens. Direction must therefore be joined to adequacy. Comparison should also examine absolute numbers: a smaller rate in a growing population may still correspond to more learners without the secured opportunity. No result should be described as equitable solely because one relative measure improved.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-28" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-52-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The policy user is the public, affected communities and responsible decision-makers. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Communicating uncertainty without losing urgency within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Evidence should lead to a stated decision class: immediate removal of an access barrier, redistribution of staff or finance, further investigation, amendment of a classification, or evaluation of an existing measure. The certainty required depends upon the consequence. Credible indications of severe exclusion can justify protective action before exact prevalence is known, whereas durable allocation formulas require review as evidence improves. Every response should name the expected population reach and the later observation that will test it. Otherwise a disparity can generate activity without demonstrating that conditions changed for the intended learners.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-06" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-53", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "53", "title": "A national marginalisation profile", "anchor": "53-a-national-marginalisation-profile", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-53-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The analytical purpose is assembling a concise recurring account beyond the national average. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs A national marginalisation profile within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. That purpose should be written before the calculation because method follows the intended inference. The evidence base comprises population, access, progression, learning, conditions, finance and unresolved evidence gaps, each of which describes a different feature of educational opportunity. A result is useful only if a reader can identify the represented population, the reference period and the educational consequence attached to movement. The national total supplies context, while the distribution tests whether the total is shared. Where the measure condenses several observations, its construction must remain open to reconstruction from the underlying values. Where it separates groups, classifications must be lawful, meaningful and sufficiently stable for the comparison.", "citationIds": [ "REF-42", "REF-43" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-53-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The principal methodological questions concern a stable core with context-specific distributions. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs A national marginalisation profile within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Choices on these matters are not neutral presentation details. They determine how strongly one component, place or population can influence the conclusion. A defensible choice begins with the substantive education question and is then tested against alternative reasonable specifications. If the headline conclusion changes materially, the range of results should be reported. Sensitivity does not make the exercise useless; it prevents a conventional choice from appearing inevitable. Documentation should also state which observations are direct, which are estimated and which are unavailable. Missing values should remain missing unless an explicit estimation method and its effect are shown.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-28" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-53-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The main interpretive danger is creating an encyclopaedia of indicators without decision priority. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs A national marginalisation profile within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Avoiding it requires the underlying counts and distributions to remain visible beside any summary. Analysts should check whether an apparently favourable result arose through changed coverage, population movement, reclassification or concentration on cases nearest a threshold. A disparity can narrow because the better-served group deteriorates, while a composite score can improve although a protected minimum worsens. Direction must therefore be joined to adequacy. Comparison should also examine absolute numbers: a smaller rate in a growing population may still correspond to more learners without the secured opportunity. No result should be described as equitable solely because one relative measure improved.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-29" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-53-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The policy user is parliament, ministries, local authorities and communities reviewing educational equity. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs A national marginalisation profile within Workforce domain XVI — Applied distributional analysis: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Evidence should lead to a stated decision class: immediate removal of an access barrier, redistribution of staff or finance, further investigation, amendment of a classification, or evaluation of an existing measure. The certainty required depends upon the consequence. Credible indications of severe exclusion can justify protective action before exact prevalence is known, whereas durable allocation formulas require review as evidence improves. Every response should name the expected population reach and the later observation that will test it. Otherwise a disparity can generate activity without demonstrating that conditions changed for the intended learners.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-35" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-54", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "54", "title": "Minimum comparison threshold", "anchor": "54-minimum-comparison-threshold", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-54-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A learning-disparity comparison requires a declared construct, represented population, assessment conditions, scale, uncertainty and distribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Minimum comparison threshold within Workforce domain XVII — Extended disparity interpretation: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. National means should be accompanied by lower-tail, threshold and group evidence. Opportunity to learn, participation and exclusions remain material.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-28" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-55", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "55", "title": "Within-system interpretation", "anchor": "55-within-system-interpretation", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-55-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Within-system gaps should preserve place, group and institutional context without assigning cause from identity. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Within-system interpretation within Workforce domain XVII — Extended disparity interpretation: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Counts, levels, absolute gaps and ratios answer different questions. Missing learners and non-participating schools must remain visible.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-31" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-56", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "56", "title": "Between-system interpretation", "anchor": "56-between-system-interpretation", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-56-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Between-system comparison requires metadata tests for curriculum, age, language, sampling and assessment. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Between-system interpretation within Workforce domain XVII — Extended disparity interpretation: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Rank differences smaller than uncertainty should not support categorical conclusions. Harmonisation does not remove substantive system difference.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-28" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-57", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "57", "title": "Assessment participation and the represented learning population", "anchor": "57-assessment-participation-and-the-represented-learning-population", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-57-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A learning distribution is defined partly by who participates in the assessment. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Assessment participation and the represented learning population within Workforce domain XVIII — Extended analysis of learning disparities: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. The target population, eligible population, sampled population and assessed population should be reported separately. Learners can be absent because of illness, displacement, school non-attendance, language barriers, disability, conflict, administrative exclusion or ordinary sampling loss. These routes have different meanings. A result calculated only for participating learners may describe their performance accurately while failing to describe the educational system's full learner population.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-27", "REF-28" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-57-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Participation should therefore accompany every reported mean, proficiency share or percentile. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Assessment participation and the represented learning population within Workforce domain XVIII — Extended analysis of learning disparities: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. School exclusion and within-school absence need separate observation where the design permits. If institutions outside the frame differ systematically from included schools, a high learner response rate within sampled schools cannot repair the coverage limitation. Similarly, replacement of inaccessible schools can preserve sample size while changing the population represented. Reports should describe replacement rules and show any material effect on geography or institutional type.", "citationIds": [] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-57-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Non-participation should not be assigned a score. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Assessment participation and the represented learning population within Workforce domain XVIII — Extended analysis of learning disparities: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Coding an absent learner as below threshold invents performance evidence; removing every absence without comment creates a different bias. Sensitivity analysis can examine plausible bounds or compare known characteristics of participants and non-participants. Where a numerical adjustment is not defensible, the limitation remains a substantive finding. The absence of learning evidence for a population requiring education attention should not be interpreted as evidence of no disparity.", "citationIds": [] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-57-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Accommodation and language arrangements affect participation and result validity. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Assessment participation and the represented learning population within Workforce domain XVIII — Extended analysis of learning disparities: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. An assessment may permit attendance yet fail to elicit the intended construct if the format, communication or response mode is inaccessible. Exemption practices should be reported by reason and learner group. Where an adapted form changes the construct materially, separate interpretation may be necessary. Where it removes an irrelevant barrier, results may belong in the common distribution. The report should explain that judgement rather than treat all adaptations as either incomparable or automatically identical.", "citationIds": [ "REF-30", "REF-14", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-57-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Public interpretation should connect participation to policy. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Assessment participation and the represented learning population within Workforce domain XVIII — Extended analysis of learning disparities: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. A low response among remote schools may require field and service improvement; absence among out-of-school children may require a population-based study and re-entry action; assessment exclusion may require accessible design. These are not corrections to be made solely through statistical weighting. The responsible education body should identify which population remains unrepresented and when better evidence will be available. A national learning claim should be no broader than that coverage.", "citationIds": [] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-58", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "58", "title": "Scale, threshold and distribution comparability", "anchor": "58-scale-threshold-and-distribution-comparability", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-58-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Comparisons require a clear statement of what the assessment scale represents. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Scale, threshold and distribution comparability within Workforce domain XVIII — Extended analysis of learning disparities: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. A numerical score has meaning through the tasks, response model, scoring rules and population for which interpretation has been supported. Equal numerical differences should not be assumed to represent equal educational differences unless the scale warrants that inference. A threshold adds a substantive judgement about the knowledge or capability learners should demonstrate; it should not be selected merely because it divides the sample conveniently.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-28" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-58-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Means provide one description of the centre and can conceal change elsewhere. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Scale, threshold and distribution comparability within Workforce domain XVIII — Extended analysis of learning disparities: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. The same mean can accompany a compressed distribution, a wide lower tail or polarisation. Reports should therefore consider percentiles, threshold shares and dispersion where technically sound. The lower part of the distribution is especially important for minimum learning opportunity, while the upper part may reveal whether expansion has altered advanced performance. These summaries should remain tied to uncertainty and assessment coverage.", "citationIds": [] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-58-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Threshold comparisons need stable standard-setting and clear labels. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Scale, threshold and distribution comparability within Workforce domain XVIII — Extended analysis of learning disparities: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. A change in the percentage above a threshold may reflect learning, scale revision, task composition or population change. If standards are reset, the break should be visible at the year of change and parallel results reported where possible. Descriptions such as basic, adequate or advanced should be treated as definitions under the assessment, not universal attributes of a learner or education system.", "citationIds": [] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-58-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Cross-language and cross-cultural comparability require evidence, not an assumption that translation has preserved difficulty and meaning. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Scale, threshold and distribution comparability within Workforce domain XVIII — Extended analysis of learning disparities: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Task familiarity, curriculum exposure and response conventions can affect results. Review should examine translation, adaptation, differential item behaviour and opportunity to learn, while avoiding the claim that every detected difference invalidates the whole assessment. Some comparisons may remain defensible at a broad domain while narrower subscales do not. The permissible inference should be stated accordingly.", "citationIds": [] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-58-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A rank is usually less informative than the estimated difference, uncertainty and distribution. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Scale, threshold and distribution comparability within Workforce domain XVIII — Extended analysis of learning disparities: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Small rank movement can follow changes in participating systems or sampling variation. Public reporting should avoid categorical language when intervals overlap or scale linkage is weak. The useful question is whether the evidence indicates a material disparity requiring enquiry, what population is affected and which educational condition might be changed. League order does not answer those questions.", "citationIds": [] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-59", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "59", "title": "Opportunity to learn and interpretation of achievement gaps", "anchor": "59-opportunity-to-learn-and-interpretation-of-achievement-gaps", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-59-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Achievement evidence should be interpreted with opportunity to learn. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Opportunity to learn and interpretation of achievement gaps within Workforce domain XVIII — Extended analysis of learning disparities: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. This includes curriculum entitlement, content actually taught, instructional time, teacher availability, language, materials, attendance and access to support. Opportunity does not determine performance completely, and its measurement is imperfect. It nevertheless prevents a learning gap from being attributed solely to learners or households when institutions supplied different educational conditions.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-04", "REF-33" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-59-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The official curriculum establishes intended opportunity, not delivered instruction. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Opportunity to learn and interpretation of achievement gaps within Workforce domain XVIII — Extended analysis of learning disparities: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Teacher reports, schedules, classroom observation and learner work can add evidence, each with limitations. Teacher self-report may be influenced by recall or expectations; observation covers a short period; work samples are selective. Agreement across sources strengthens interpretation when dates and populations align. Contradictions can identify local variation or weak measurement and should not be resolved by choosing the account most favourable to the system.", "citationIds": [] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-59-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Instructional time should distinguish scheduled, delivered and attended time. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Opportunity to learn and interpretation of achievement gaps within Workforce domain XVIII — Extended analysis of learning disparities: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Closures, teacher absence, shortened shifts and late entry can reduce delivered or usable time. Total hours also conceal subject allocation and teaching quality. A learner receiving more hours of poorly organised instruction does not necessarily have greater opportunity in the intended domain. Time is therefore one component of the explanatory evidence, not a conversion factor for predicted score.", "citationIds": [] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-59-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Resource indicators should be connected to use. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Opportunity to learn and interpretation of achievement gaps within Workforce domain XVIII — Extended analysis of learning disparities: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Textbooks delivered to a school may not be available in the relevant language, grade or classroom. Teacher qualifications recorded administratively may not match subject assignment. Facilities may exist but be inaccessible or unsafe. These conditions should be examined at the level where the learning evidence was collected. National resource averages can obscure concentration of weak provision among the same learners whose scores form the lower tail.", "citationIds": [] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-59-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Policy conclusions should avoid treating opportunity indicators as excuses for low expectations. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Opportunity to learn and interpretation of achievement gaps within Workforce domain XVIII — Extended analysis of learning disparities: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Their purpose is to identify conditions within public responsibility and to design support. Where learners received less curriculum exposure, a response may include additional teaching, staff deployment, accessible materials or revised pacing. Later assessment should test whether opportunity and learning changed. The original disparity and the remedial conditions should remain visible rather than being erased by a new cohort average.", "citationIds": [] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-60", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "60", "title": "Decomposing disparities within education systems", "anchor": "60-decomposing-disparities-within-education-systems", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-60-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A national disparity can reflect differences between regions, schools, classrooms and learners. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Decomposing disparities within education systems within Workforce domain XVIII — Extended analysis of learning disparities: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Decomposition can describe where variation is concentrated, provided it is not treated as proof of cause. A large between-school component may indicate segregation, resource distribution or residential pattern; it does not identify which mechanism operates. A large within-school component can coexist with institutional inequality and should not be read as evidence that schools are irrelevant.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-16", "REF-33" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-60-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The level of analysis should correspond to the sampling and decision structure. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Decomposing disparities within education systems within Workforce domain XVIII — Extended analysis of learning disparities: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Learners are commonly nested within classes and schools, while policies may operate through districts or providers. Standard errors and models should respect clustering. Small schools and sparsely populated areas may require special treatment, but removal changes the population represented. Reports should state exclusions and avoid presenting a modelled residual as direct observation.", "citationIds": [] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-60-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Group composition affects school comparisons. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Decomposing disparities within education systems within Workforce domain XVIII — Extended analysis of learning disparities: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. A raw school mean combines prior opportunity, intake, mobility, attendance and current teaching. Adjusted measures can answer bounded questions but depend on variables and assumptions. They should not replace the unadjusted learner outcome or become a definitive quality rank. Adjustment for a condition influenced by the school can also remove part of the very effect under review. The purpose and causal assumptions need explanation.", "citationIds": [] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-60-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Geographical decomposition should preserve absolute numbers and service context. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Decomposing disparities within education systems within Workforce domain XVIII — Extended analysis of learning disparities: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. A small district with a severe gap may need urgent support even though it contributes little to national variance. A populous area with a modest gap may represent many learners. Policy priority should consider educational severity, population, rights and feasibility rather than statistical contribution alone. Maps and rankings, where used elsewhere, should not expose small communities or imply a boundary creates the disparity.", "citationIds": [] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-60-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The appropriate outcome is a decision agenda. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Decomposing disparities within education systems within Workforce domain XVIII — Extended analysis of learning disparities: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Between-region evidence may lead to allocation review; between-school evidence may lead to staffing, admissions or support enquiry; within-school evidence may lead to classroom, language or accessibility review. Each hypothesis requires additional evidence. The decomposition locates questions; it does not authorise blame. Follow-up should state the condition examined, action taken and later learning evidence.", "citationIds": [] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-61", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "61", "title": "Bounded conclusions between education systems", "anchor": "61-bounded-conclusions-between-education-systems", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-61-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Between-system comparison serves public learning when it identifies patterns, plausible questions and alternative institutional arrangements. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Bounded conclusions between education systems within Workforce domain XVIII — Extended analysis of learning disparities: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. It becomes misleading when harmonised labels conceal different programme structures, ages, curricula, languages, participation or assessment conditions. Metadata review should precede numerical comparison. Where a material difference cannot be reconciled, the systems may still be described separately without a common rank.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-28", "REF-35" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-61-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Country and system averages should not be interpreted as attributes of every school or learner. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Bounded conclusions between education systems within Workforce domain XVIII — Extended analysis of learning disparities: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Within-system distributions can overlap substantially even where means differ. Group composition and population coverage matter. An apparent national advantage may not extend to poor, rural, minority-language or disabled learners. Reports should place distributional evidence beside the system result and avoid using nationality as an explanation.", "citationIds": [] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-61-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Temporal comparison requires stable linkage. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Bounded conclusions between education systems within Workforce domain XVIII — Extended analysis of learning disparities: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Changes in curriculum, assessment mode, participation, sampling frame or system boundaries can create discontinuity. A linked scale can support trend if common items or other methods preserve meaning and security, but linkage error should accompany the estimate. A later higher score should not automatically be described as system improvement where the represented population changed materially.", "citationIds": [] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-61-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Policy borrowing should attend to authority, capacity, sequence and context. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Bounded conclusions between education systems within Workforce domain XVIII — Extended analysis of learning disparities: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. A practice associated with high performance elsewhere may depend upon teacher preparation, finance, curriculum coherence or social conditions absent in the receiving system. The comparison can identify an option, not guarantee its effect. Pilots should state the mechanism and review evidence. Adoption based solely on rank proximity or reputation substitutes imitation for analysis.", "citationIds": [] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-61-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The final international statement should distinguish three levels. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Bounded conclusions between education systems within Workforce domain XVIII — Extended analysis of learning disparities: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Recorded fact describes the observed results under stated methods. Interpretation identifies patterns and limitations. Policy consideration proposes further enquiry or action under national authority. Causal judgement requires additional design. This separation permits strong public concern about a learning disparity without false certainty about its source and protects education systems from both complacency and unsupported prescription.", "citationIds": [] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-62", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "62", "title": "Uncertainty, materiality and the duty to respond", "anchor": "62-uncertainty-materiality-and-the-duty-to-respond", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-62-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Uncertainty should qualify a disparity claim without neutralising it. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Uncertainty, materiality and the duty to respond within Workforce domain XVIII — Extended analysis of learning disparities: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Sampling error, non-response, scale linkage, classification and model choice each affect the range of defensible conclusions. They should be described separately because they support different remedies. A larger sample may reduce sampling error; it does not correct systematic exclusion or an invalid construct. More decimal places cannot repair weak coverage. The public report should identify which uncertainty could alter the decision and which does not affect the direction of urgent protection.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-28" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-62-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Statistical significance should not substitute for educational materiality. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Uncertainty, materiality and the duty to respond within Workforce domain XVIII — Extended analysis of learning disparities: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. A small estimated difference may be precise but have limited practical consequence, while an uncertain large gap affecting a protected minimum may require immediate enquiry. Materiality should consider the knowledge or capability involved, the number of learners, distribution, duration and consequences for later progression. The threshold for action also depends upon reversibility. Additional diagnostic support can be introduced and reviewed more readily than a high-stakes classification of schools or learners.", "citationIds": [] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-62-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A remedy should match the evidence. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Uncertainty, materiality and the duty to respond within Workforce domain XVIII — Extended analysis of learning disparities: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Where participation is selective, improve coverage and examine barriers. Where opportunity to learn differs, address time, teachers, curriculum, language, accessibility or materials. Where scale comparability is weak, improve the assessment before publishing ranks. Where a group disparity persists under several definitions, investigate institutional mechanisms without attributing cause to identity. Every response should name the competent body, intended population, resources and review date.", "citationIds": [] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-62-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Later evidence should be capable of changing the conclusion. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Uncertainty, materiality and the duty to respond within Workforce domain XVIII — Extended analysis of learning disparities: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Reports should preserve the original estimate, method and limitation, then state why revision occurred. Silent replacement makes apparent improvement impossible to distinguish from correction. A national evidence system demonstrates strength when it can acknowledge uncertainty, improve measurement and amend policy. The final test is whether learners receive better educational opportunity and whether remaining disparities continue to be visible rather than whether one annual figure becomes more favourable.", "citationIds": [] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-63", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "63", "title": "Defining a persistent learning gap", "anchor": "63-defining-a-persistent-learning-gap", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-63-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The improvement question concerns a sustained disparity in a declared learning domain, population and period. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Defining a persistent learning gap within Workforce domain XIX — Targeted improvement planning: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. It should be stated with the learner population, educational domain, geography and evidence period. A national average is insufficient when the plan addresses a local or group disparity. The baseline should preserve the underlying distribution and absolute numbers. If the assessment population excludes learners most at risk, the gap is not adequately defined. The plan should state which observation is direct, which is estimated and which remains unknown.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-27" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-63-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The principal error is a fluctuating score or one cohort difference being treated as proof of persistence. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Defining a persistent learning gap within Workforce domain XIX — Targeted improvement planning: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Avoiding it requires evidence on both learning and the opportunity supplied. Achievement differences may be associated with poverty, language, disability or residence, but those characteristics are not instructional mechanisms. Authorities should examine curriculum, teacher availability, time, attendance, materials, assessment access and learner support. Alternative explanations should remain open until evidence discriminates among them. This discipline prevents a targeted plan from attaching deficit to learners instead of changing institutions.", "citationIds": [ "REF-28", "REF-31" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-63-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The required evidence includes baseline, assessment coverage, uncertainty, distribution and opportunity to learn. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Defining a persistent learning gap within Workforce domain XIX — Targeted improvement planning: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Each source should be used within scope. Administrative records can describe staffing and participation while omitting non-enrolled learners. Assessment provides bounded learning evidence subject to coverage and validity. Observation and work samples can explain classroom conditions without estimating national prevalence. Learner and teacher accounts can identify barriers. Agreement adds confidence after dates and definitions align; contradiction should guide further enquiry rather than selective reporting.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-63-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The governing action is to select a gap that is educationally material and within public influence. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Defining a persistent learning gap within Workforce domain XIX — Targeted improvement planning: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Implementation should identify who acts, with what authority, resources and deadline. Dependencies should be sequenced. Teacher guidance without planning time, materials without accessible use, or tutoring without safe attendance cannot deliver the expected mechanism. Local adaptation should remain possible within a common substantive condition. Any departure should be recorded with its reason and expected learner consequence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-33" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-63-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Distributional review should ask who is eligible, offered support, participates, receives the intended intensity and demonstrates a later response. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Defining a persistent learning gap within Workforce domain XIX — Targeted improvement planning: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Gender, household resources, disability, language, residence and prior opportunity may intersect. A plan can improve its average by reaching learners closest to a threshold while leaving those farthest behind. Targets should therefore include the least-served position and protection against exclusion. Small groups require confidentiality and careful precision, not disappearance from review.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-38" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-63-b006", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Professional capability is central. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Defining a persistent learning gap within Workforce domain XIX — Targeted improvement planning: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Teachers need subject knowledge, worked examples, diagnostic interpretation and protected time to collaborate. Moderation should examine evidence and reasoning rather than force identical decisions for unlike cases. Staff workload and turnover should be monitored. A plan relying on a few exceptional individuals is not institutionally secure. Leadership should route obstacles to bodies able to change staffing, finance, curriculum or assessment rather than leaving every correction to the classroom.", "citationIds": [ "REF-42", "REF-43" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-63-b007", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The public account should distinguish authorisation, delivery, use and learning consequence. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Defining a persistent learning gap within Workforce domain XIX — Targeted improvement planning: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. It should report limitations, adverse effects and unresolved learners. A favourable later result may reflect population or assessment change and should be tested against the baseline metadata. Where the intervention is ineffective, adaptation or cessation is responsible improvement. Where benefit depends on temporary support, institutionalisation requires recurrent finance and ordinary ownership. Completion is demonstrated by stronger learning opportunity and a functioning correction route, not by the end of a project.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-27" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-64", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "64", "title": "From diagnosis to an intervention hypothesis", "anchor": "64-from-diagnosis-to-an-intervention-hypothesis", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-64-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The improvement question concerns an explicit account of the condition expected to change learning. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs From diagnosis to an intervention hypothesis within Workforce domain XIX — Targeted improvement planning: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. It should be stated with the learner population, educational domain, geography and evidence period. A national average is insufficient when the plan addresses a local or group disparity. The baseline should preserve the underlying distribution and absolute numbers. If the assessment population excludes learners most at risk, the gap is not adequately defined. The plan should state which observation is direct, which is estimated and which remains unknown.", "citationIds": [ "REF-28", "REF-31" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-64-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The principal error is group identity or low performance being mistaken for a causal explanation. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs From diagnosis to an intervention hypothesis within Workforce domain XIX — Targeted improvement planning: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Avoiding it requires evidence on both learning and the opportunity supplied. Achievement differences may be associated with poverty, language, disability or residence, but those characteristics are not instructional mechanisms. Authorities should examine curriculum, teacher availability, time, attendance, materials, assessment access and learner support. Alternative explanations should remain open until evidence discriminates among them. This discipline prevents a targeted plan from attaching deficit to learners instead of changing institutions.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-64-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The required evidence includes curriculum exposure, teaching practice, language, time, materials and support. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs From diagnosis to an intervention hypothesis within Workforce domain XIX — Targeted improvement planning: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Each source should be used within scope. Administrative records can describe staffing and participation while omitting non-enrolled learners. Assessment provides bounded learning evidence subject to coverage and validity. Observation and work samples can explain classroom conditions without estimating national prevalence. Learner and teacher accounts can identify barriers. Agreement adds confidence after dates and definitions align; contradiction should guide further enquiry rather than selective reporting.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-33" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-64-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The governing action is to state the mechanism and plausible alternatives before choosing activity. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs From diagnosis to an intervention hypothesis within Workforce domain XIX — Targeted improvement planning: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Implementation should identify who acts, with what authority, resources and deadline. Dependencies should be sequenced. Teacher guidance without planning time, materials without accessible use, or tutoring without safe attendance cannot deliver the expected mechanism. Local adaptation should remain possible within a common substantive condition. Any departure should be recorded with its reason and expected learner consequence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-38" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-65", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "65", "title": "Designing the targeted plan", "anchor": "65-designing-the-targeted-plan", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-65-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The improvement question concerns a bounded sequence connecting resources and actions to learner-facing change. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Designing the targeted plan within Workforce domain XIX — Targeted improvement planning: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. It should be stated with the learner population, educational domain, geography and evidence period. A national average is insufficient when the plan addresses a local or group disparity. The baseline should preserve the underlying distribution and absolute numbers. If the assessment population excludes learners most at risk, the gap is not adequately defined. The plan should state which observation is direct, which is estimated and which remains unknown.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-65-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The principal error is a list of activities replacing a coherent implementation logic. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Designing the targeted plan within Workforce domain XIX — Targeted improvement planning: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Avoiding it requires evidence on both learning and the opportunity supplied. Achievement differences may be associated with poverty, language, disability or residence, but those characteristics are not instructional mechanisms. Authorities should examine curriculum, teacher availability, time, attendance, materials, assessment access and learner support. Alternative explanations should remain open until evidence discriminates among them. This discipline prevents a targeted plan from attaching deficit to learners instead of changing institutions.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-33" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-65-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The required evidence includes responsibility, staff capability, learner support, milestones and correction. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Designing the targeted plan within Workforce domain XIX — Targeted improvement planning: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Each source should be used within scope. Administrative records can describe staffing and participation while omitting non-enrolled learners. Assessment provides bounded learning evidence subject to coverage and validity. Observation and work samples can explain classroom conditions without estimating national prevalence. Learner and teacher accounts can identify barriers. Agreement adds confidence after dates and definitions align; contradiction should guide further enquiry rather than selective reporting.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-38" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-65-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The governing action is to choose a feasible intensity and protect the common educational entitlement. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Designing the targeted plan within Workforce domain XIX — Targeted improvement planning: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Implementation should identify who acts, with what authority, resources and deadline. Dependencies should be sequenced. Teacher guidance without planning time, materials without accessible use, or tutoring without safe attendance cannot deliver the expected mechanism. Local adaptation should remain possible within a common substantive condition. Any departure should be recorded with its reason and expected learner consequence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-42", "REF-43" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-66", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "66", "title": "Resourcing equitable implementation", "anchor": "66-resourcing-equitable-implementation", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-66-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The improvement question concerns the staff, time, materials, accessibility and finance required by the selected mechanism. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Resourcing equitable implementation within Workforce domain XIX — Targeted improvement planning: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. It should be stated with the learner population, educational domain, geography and evidence period. A national average is insufficient when the plan addresses a local or group disparity. The baseline should preserve the underlying distribution and absolute numbers. If the assessment population excludes learners most at risk, the gap is not adequately defined. The plan should state which observation is direct, which is estimated and which remains unknown.", "citationIds": [ "REF-04", "REF-33" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-66-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The principal error is weak institutions being expected to implement with the same nominal allocation. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Resourcing equitable implementation within Workforce domain XIX — Targeted improvement planning: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Avoiding it requires evidence on both learning and the opportunity supplied. Achievement differences may be associated with poverty, language, disability or residence, but those characteristics are not instructional mechanisms. Authorities should examine curriculum, teacher availability, time, attendance, materials, assessment access and learner support. Alternative explanations should remain open until evidence discriminates among them. This discipline prevents a targeted plan from attaching deficit to learners instead of changing institutions.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-38" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-66-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The required evidence includes recurrent cost, teacher workload, additional need and household burden. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Resourcing equitable implementation within Workforce domain XIX — Targeted improvement planning: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Each source should be used within scope. Administrative records can describe staffing and participation while omitting non-enrolled learners. Assessment provides bounded learning evidence subject to coverage and validity. Observation and work samples can explain classroom conditions without estimating national prevalence. Learner and teacher accounts can identify barriers. Agreement adds confidence after dates and definitions align; contradiction should guide further enquiry rather than selective reporting.", "citationIds": [ "REF-42", "REF-43" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-66-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The governing action is to direct greater support where barriers and implementation costs are greater. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Resourcing equitable implementation within Workforce domain XIX — Targeted improvement planning: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Implementation should identify who acts, with what authority, resources and deadline. Dependencies should be sequenced. Teacher guidance without planning time, materials without accessible use, or tutoring without safe attendance cannot deliver the expected mechanism. Local adaptation should remain possible within a common substantive condition. Any departure should be recorded with its reason and expected learner consequence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-27" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-67", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "67", "title": "Monitoring reach, quality and learning response", "anchor": "67-monitoring-reach-quality-and-learning-response", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-67-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The improvement question concerns evidence that the intended learners received the intervention as designed and benefited educationally. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Monitoring reach, quality and learning response within Workforce domain XIX — Targeted improvement planning: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. It should be stated with the learner population, educational domain, geography and evidence period. A national average is insufficient when the plan addresses a local or group disparity. The baseline should preserve the underlying distribution and absolute numbers. If the assessment population excludes learners most at risk, the gap is not adequately defined. The plan should state which observation is direct, which is estimated and which remains unknown.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-38" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-67-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The principal error is participation counts being treated as learning evidence. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Monitoring reach, quality and learning response within Workforce domain XIX — Targeted improvement planning: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Avoiding it requires evidence on both learning and the opportunity supplied. Achievement differences may be associated with poverty, language, disability or residence, but those characteristics are not instructional mechanisms. Authorities should examine curriculum, teacher availability, time, attendance, materials, assessment access and learner support. Alternative explanations should remain open until evidence discriminates among them. This discipline prevents a targeted plan from attaching deficit to learners instead of changing institutions.", "citationIds": [ "REF-42", "REF-43" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-67-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The required evidence includes eligibility, offer, take-up, dosage, teaching quality, work and assessment. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Monitoring reach, quality and learning response within Workforce domain XIX — Targeted improvement planning: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Each source should be used within scope. Administrative records can describe staffing and participation while omitting non-enrolled learners. Assessment provides bounded learning evidence subject to coverage and validity. Observation and work samples can explain classroom conditions without estimating national prevalence. Learner and teacher accounts can identify barriers. Agreement adds confidence after dates and definitions align; contradiction should guide further enquiry rather than selective reporting.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-27" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-67-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The governing action is to combine timely implementation evidence with valid learning review. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Monitoring reach, quality and learning response within Workforce domain XIX — Targeted improvement planning: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Implementation should identify who acts, with what authority, resources and deadline. Dependencies should be sequenced. Teacher guidance without planning time, materials without accessible use, or tutoring without safe attendance cannot deliver the expected mechanism. Local adaptation should remain possible within a common substantive condition. Any departure should be recorded with its reason and expected learner consequence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-28", "REF-31" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-68", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "68", "title": "Adaptation, institutionalisation and exit", "anchor": "68-adaptation-institutionalisation-and-exit", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-68-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The improvement question concerns reasoned decisions to continue, change, scale or end the plan. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Adaptation, institutionalisation and exit within Workforce domain XIX — Targeted improvement planning: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. It should be stated with the learner population, educational domain, geography and evidence period. A national average is insufficient when the plan addresses a local or group disparity. The baseline should preserve the underlying distribution and absolute numbers. If the assessment population excludes learners most at risk, the gap is not adequately defined. The plan should state which observation is direct, which is estimated and which remains unknown.", "citationIds": [ "REF-42", "REF-43" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-68-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The principal error is temporary measures persisting without benefit or disappearing before durable capability exists. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Adaptation, institutionalisation and exit within Workforce domain XIX — Targeted improvement planning: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Avoiding it requires evidence on both learning and the opportunity supplied. Achievement differences may be associated with poverty, language, disability or residence, but those characteristics are not instructional mechanisms. Authorities should examine curriculum, teacher availability, time, attendance, materials, assessment access and learner support. Alternative explanations should remain open until evidence discriminates among them. This discipline prevents a targeted plan from attaching deficit to learners instead of changing institutions.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-27" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-68-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The required evidence includes thresholds, adverse effects, unresolved cases, recurrent ownership and later evidence. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Adaptation, institutionalisation and exit within Workforce domain XIX — Targeted improvement planning: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Each source should be used within scope. Administrative records can describe staffing and participation while omitting non-enrolled learners. Assessment provides bounded learning evidence subject to coverage and validity. Observation and work samples can explain classroom conditions without estimating national prevalence. Learner and teacher accounts can identify barriers. Agreement adds confidence after dates and definitions align; contradiction should guide further enquiry rather than selective reporting.", "citationIds": [ "REF-28", "REF-31" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-68-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The governing action is to retain useful capability while ending ineffective or inequitable arrangements. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Adaptation, institutionalisation and exit within Workforce domain XIX — Targeted improvement planning: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Implementation should identify who acts, with what authority, resources and deadline. Dependencies should be sequenced. Teacher guidance without planning time, materials without accessible use, or tutoring without safe attendance cannot deliver the expected mechanism. Local adaptation should remain possible within a common substantive condition. Any departure should be recorded with its reason and expected learner consequence.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-16" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-69", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "69", "title": "Fixing the contemporaneous institutional baseline", "anchor": "69-fixing-the-contemporaneous-institutional-baseline", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-69-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Institutional planning should begin from the position established by 14 December 2025. The Incheon Declaration expressed the education community's commitment to inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning; Addis established a wider financing framework; the General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda; and the Education 2030 Framework for Action supplied an implementation reference available by the cut-off. These texts provide direction without proving that national or institutional delivery has occurred.", "citationIds": [ "REF-44", "REF-45", "REF-46", "REF-47" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-69-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The distinction between adoption and implementation is essential. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Fixing the contemporaneous institutional baseline within Workforce domain XX — National translation after adoption of the 2030 Agenda: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Adoption establishes an agreed direction and permits governments to begin alignment. It does not prove that national law, plans, budgets, information or delivery arrangements already satisfy the commitment. Each country should identify which obligations and targets can be acted upon under existing authority, which require legislative or administrative change, and which depend on clarification through later competent decisions. Unsettled detail should be recorded as such rather than filled by anticipation.", "citationIds": [ "REF-05", "REF-06", "REF-46" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-69-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The baseline should preserve existing education commitments and national evidence. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Fixing the contemporaneous institutional baseline within Workforce domain XX — National translation after adoption of the 2030 Agenda: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. The new agenda does not erase the right to education, the unfinished Education for All undertaking, programme structures or established statistical series. National authorities should map the newly adopted targets against those instruments and against the education stages, populations and institutions already in law and plans. This avoids two risks: abandoning useful evidence because terminology changed, and claiming continuity where a new target has broader scope or different educational substance.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-16", "REF-44" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-69-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A dated commitment register can support institutional accuracy. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Fixing the contemporaneous institutional baseline within Workforce domain XX — National translation after adoption of the 2030 Agenda: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. For each relevant proposition, it should record the adopting body, date, legal or policy status, national authority, present implementing instrument and unresolved question. This is not an administrative inventory for its own sake. It prevents a proposed measure from being represented as an obligation, a declaration from being treated as proof of delivery, and a later decision from being projected backwards. The register should be revised openly as competent bodies act.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-38", "REF-46" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-69-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Public communication should use the same discipline. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Fixing the contemporaneous institutional baseline within Workforce domain XX — National translation after adoption of the 2030 Agenda: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Governments can state that the 2030 Agenda has been adopted and that national alignment is commencing. They should not state that every indicator, national milestone or implementation mechanism has already been internationally settled. A precise account strengthens credibility because it makes clear which choices belong to national democratic and administrative procedure and which follow directly from adopted commitments. It also establishes a reliable point from which later implementation can be judged.", "citationIds": [ "REF-44", "REF-45", "REF-46" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-70", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "70", "title": "Selecting priorities without narrowing the commitment", "anchor": "70-selecting-priorities-without-narrowing-the-commitment", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-70-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The breadth of Goal 4 requires sequencing, not selective abandonment. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Selecting priorities without narrowing the commitment within Workforce domain XX — National translation after adoption of the 2030 Agenda: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. A national plan cannot improve every condition simultaneously, yet it should retain a complete map of early childhood, primary and secondary education, technical and vocational learning, tertiary participation, adult learning, relevant skills, equality, literacy, learning environments, scholarships and teachers as they appear in the adopted targets. A first improvement priority should be chosen because evidence shows a serious and remediable break, not because other elements have ceased to matter.", "citationIds": [ "REF-44", "REF-46" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-70-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Priority selection should apply four tests. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Selecting priorities without narrowing the commitment within Workforce domain XX — National translation after adoption of the 2030 Agenda: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. The entitlement test asks which population and educational condition are at stake. The consequence test asks the scale and severity of the denial. The actionability test asks whether a competent authority has a plausible means of change. The equity test asks whether the measure will reach learners farthest from the secured opportunity. A priority that scores highly on visibility but weakly on consequence or equity should be reconsidered. The reasons for selection should be published beside the evidence and known limitations.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-28", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-70-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "National averages should not determine the sequence alone. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Selecting priorities without narrowing the commitment within Workforce domain XX — National translation after adoption of the 2030 Agenda: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. A moderate national gap may conceal acute failure in one district or population; a large aggregate shortfall may require broad system expansion alongside targeted support. Analysis should retain the national level, absolute number affected, subnational and group distributions and the minimum educational floor. It should also distinguish poor data from satisfactory conditions. Where the least-served population is weakly observed, strengthening coverage can itself become an immediate priority while urgent service evidence supports proportionate protection.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-31", "REF-43" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-70-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Dependencies should influence sequence. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Selecting priorities without narrowing the commitment within Workforce domain XX — National translation after adoption of the 2030 Agenda: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. An assessment reform cannot improve learning without curriculum alignment, teacher capability and participation. Expansion of secondary places may depend on primary completion, trained staff and facilities. Adult learning may require flexible provision, recognition and learner support. The plan should make these dependencies visible and decide which must precede or accompany the selected measure. Otherwise a high-level commitment can be converted into an isolated activity unable to change the learner-facing condition.", "citationIds": [ "REF-28", "REF-35", "REF-37" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-70-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Selection should remain revisable. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Selecting priorities without narrowing the commitment within Workforce domain XX — National translation after adoption of the 2030 Agenda: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. New evidence may show that the diagnosed mechanism was wrong, that another population is more severely affected or that implementation capacity is insufficient. Revision is not a retreat from ambition when reasons and consequences are published. It is a condition of responsible improvement. The complete commitment map should remain in view so that repeated concentration on one readily measured target does not produce silent neglect of lifelong learning, equality, educational quality or populations outside formal schooling.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-44", "REF-46" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-71", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "71", "title": "From global target to national improvement proposition", "anchor": "71-from-global-target-to-national-improvement-proposition", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-71-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A national improvement proposition should translate a broad target into a bounded statement of change. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs From global target to national improvement proposition within Workforce domain XX — National translation after adoption of the 2030 Agenda: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. It should name the population, present educational condition, institutional mechanism, responsible body, resources, time and evidence of success. For example, a commitment to equitable quality education is too broad to guide one implementation decision; a proposition to improve regular attendance for a defined remote population through transport, staffing and calendar changes can be examined and corrected. The narrower proposition remains connected to the universal commitment and should not be mistaken for its completion.", "citationIds": [ "REF-05", "REF-06", "REF-46" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-71-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Diagnosis should precede instrument choice. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs From global target to national improvement proposition within Workforce domain XX — National translation after adoption of the 2030 Agenda: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. A low completion rate may reflect late entry, repetition, household cost, distance, school safety, language, disability exclusion, teacher shortage or unreliable records. These mechanisms require different responses. A government should compare administrative, household, assessment and local service evidence and state where inference remains uncertain. Consultation with teachers, learners and communities can identify mechanisms, but it should not replace representative population evidence when prevalence is claimed.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-28", "REF-43" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-71-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The intervention hypothesis should explain how the proposed measure changes the barrier. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs From global target to national improvement proposition within Workforce domain XX — National translation after adoption of the 2030 Agenda: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Additional materials will not improve learning if teachers lack time or knowledge to use them; professional guidance will not improve attendance where transport is decisive; a new indicator will not correct exclusion without authority and resources. The plan should identify necessary dependencies and foreseeable adverse effects. It should specify which part of the hypothesis is established by evidence and which remains to be tested during implementation.", "citationIds": [ "REF-31", "REF-06", "REF-35" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-71-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "National adaptation should preserve educational substance. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs From global target to national improvement proposition within Workforce domain XX — National translation after adoption of the 2030 Agenda: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Targets may need national definitions for programme levels, age groups, language and institutional responsibility. Adaptation is legitimate where it makes the commitment operational and comparable over time. It is not legitimate where it narrows the entitled population, lowers expectations for disadvantaged groups or converts learning into attendance alone. The public record should show the relationship between the global target, national definition and selected measure, including any material difference from an existing series.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-14", "REF-44" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-71-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The proposition should end with a decision rule. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs From global target to national improvement proposition within Workforce domain XX — National translation after adoption of the 2030 Agenda: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Authorities should state what evidence would justify continuation, expansion, adaptation or cessation and when that decision will occur. A pilot that continues because it attracts support rather than because it changes the intended condition is not an improvement method. Conversely, an intervention should not be abandoned merely because early outcomes are uncertain where delivery has not reached intended intensity. Review must distinguish theory failure, implementation failure, measurement weakness and insufficient time.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-32", "REF-42" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-72", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "72", "title": "Aligning authority, finance and professional capability", "anchor": "72-aligning-authority-finance-and-professional-capability", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-72-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Implementation requires a chain of competent authority. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Aligning authority, finance and professional capability within Workforce domain XX — National translation after adoption of the 2030 Agenda: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. National policy may set the priority, but regional administrations, municipalities, schools, training institutions or other bodies may control staffing, facilities and learner support. The plan should allocate each function to the body able to perform it and identify escalation where local authority is insufficient. Coordination should not allow responsibility to become diffuse. One public owner should remain answerable for whether the learner-facing condition changes.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-36", "REF-38" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-72-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Finance should cover the complete intervention rather than visible start-up items. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Aligning authority, finance and professional capability within Workforce domain XX — National translation after adoption of the 2030 Agenda: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Staff preparation, salaries, accessible materials, transport, maintenance, guidance, assessment, evidence and review may all be necessary. The Addis Ababa Action Agenda places national action within a broader financing context, but an international commitment does not supply a national cost estimate. Authorities should identify recurrent and capital requirements, the source and timing of funds, distribution rules and the conditions for continuity after temporary support.", "citationIds": [ "REF-34", "REF-45" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-72-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Allocation should respond to unequal cost and starting capacity. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Aligning authority, finance and professional capability within Workforce domain XX — National translation after adoption of the 2030 Agenda: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Equal per-learner funding can reproduce inequality where remoteness, disability, language, insecurity or weak infrastructure makes adequate provision more expensive. Formulae should state which need factors are recognised and should be checked against actual receipt. Announced expenditure is not proof of delivery: review should trace authorization, transfer, institutional use and learner consequence. Where households continue to bear material cost, formal fee policy should not be represented as full accessibility.", "citationIds": [ "REF-31", "REF-14", "REF-04" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-72-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Teachers and institutional leaders require capability proportionate to the change. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Aligning authority, finance and professional capability within Workforce domain XX — National translation after adoption of the 2030 Agenda: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. A new curriculum, assessment or inclusion expectation needs more than notification. Professional learning should provide subject substance, practical examples, time for collaboration and a route to support. Staffing and turnover should be examined in the locations expected to implement first. A plan dependent on exceptional individuals or uncompensated workload is not institutionally secure and can deepen disparity between strong and weak institutions.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-37" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-72-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "International cooperation should strengthen ordinary national capacity. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Aligning authority, finance and professional capability within Workforce domain XX — National translation after adoption of the 2030 Agenda: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. External support may finance initial expansion, evidence, technical work or regional learning, but roles, conditions and exit should be clear. Parallel activities and reporting arrangements can fragment public authority. Assistance should align with a national improvement proposition, use compatible records and establish how essential functions will enter recurrent provision. Its success should be judged by national capability and equitable learner opportunity, not the duration or visibility of the supporting activity.", "citationIds": [ "REF-41", "REF-45", "REF-46" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-73", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "73", "title": "Monitoring delivery, reach and educational consequence", "anchor": "73-monitoring-delivery-reach-and-educational-consequence", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-73-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Monitoring should follow the causal sequence of the improvement proposition. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Monitoring delivery, reach and educational consequence within Workforce domain XX — National translation after adoption of the 2030 Agenda: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Inputs show whether resources and staff were available; delivery evidence shows whether the measure operated; reach shows which eligible learners participated and with what intensity; educational evidence shows whether the intended condition changed. These stages should not be collapsed. A budget can be executed without materials arriving, a programme can operate without reaching disadvantaged learners, and participation can rise without improvement in learning or progression.", "citationIds": [ "REF-28", "REF-31", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-73-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The baseline should retain numerator, denominator, population, date, geography, definition and exclusions. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Monitoring delivery, reach and educational consequence within Workforce domain XX — National translation after adoption of the 2030 Agenda: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Where a new target requires a new measure, authorities should preserve the preceding series and identify any break. Apparent improvement caused by revised population estimates, wider institutional reporting or changed assessment participation should be separated from educational change. Comparable trends are valuable, but continuity should not be asserted where concepts differ materially.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-42", "REF-43" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-73-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity monitoring should show eligibility, offer, take-up, attendance, completion and outcome for relevant groups and places. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Monitoring delivery, reach and educational consequence within Workforce domain XX — National translation after adoption of the 2030 Agenda: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. A plan can improve its average by reaching learners already closest to the desired condition. It should therefore report the least-served position and protect against exclusion or deterioration. Disaggregation must remain lawful, meaningful and safe. Small numbers may require controlled access or combined reporting, but the affected population and public responsibility should not disappear.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-14", "REF-04" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-73-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Learning evidence requires population coverage and opportunity to learn. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Monitoring delivery, reach and educational consequence within Workforce domain XX — National translation after adoption of the 2030 Agenda: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Assessment results should identify the domain, eligible population, participation and exclusions. A favourable mean among tested learners cannot represent those outside school or absent from assessment. Classroom observation, work samples and learner accounts can illuminate mechanism without establishing national prevalence. Agreement across sources strengthens a conclusion only after definitions and dates align; disagreement should guide investigation rather than selective reporting.", "citationIds": [ "REF-28", "REF-43" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-73-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Public reporting should connect the result to a decision. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Monitoring delivery, reach and educational consequence within Workforce domain XX — National translation after adoption of the 2030 Agenda: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. A concise account should state what was implemented, who received it, what changed, what remains uncertain, which adverse effects occurred and whether the measure will continue, adapt, expand or cease. The next review date and responsible authority should be visible. This makes monitoring a means of correction rather than an obligation to produce favourable figures. The adopted agenda gains national credibility when evidence can alter action and expose populations who remain underserved.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-44", "REF-46" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-74", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "74", "title": "First national decisions after adoption", "anchor": "74-first-national-decisions-after-adoption", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-74-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The immediate national decision is to establish governance for alignment without pretending that implementation detail is complete. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs First national decisions after adoption within Workforce domain XX — National translation after adoption of the 2030 Agenda: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Governments can designate a competent coordinating authority, preserve existing sector responsibilities, assemble a dated commitment register and commission a baseline review. The review should map every adopted education target against national law, plans, budgets and evidence. It should identify urgent gaps and unsettled definitions separately. This creates a disciplined bridge between global adoption and national action.", "citationIds": [ "REF-44", "REF-46" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-74-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "A first priority should be small enough for accountable action and important enough to change educational opportunity. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs First national decisions after adoption within Workforce domain XX — National translation after adoption of the 2030 Agenda: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. It should name the population and condition, state why it takes precedence, and preserve the wider commitment map. Where credible evidence reveals severe exclusion or harm, protective action need not await a perfect estimate. Longer-term allocation, however, should be reviewed as coverage improves. The plan should guard against choosing only learners and institutions most likely to produce rapid favourable results.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-31", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-74-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The first budget decision should identify recurrent implications. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs First national decisions after adoption within Workforce domain XX — National translation after adoption of the 2030 Agenda: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Temporary finance may permit testing, but teachers, learner support, accessible facilities, maintenance and evidence cannot be sustained by an announcement. The national authority should state the source, timing and distribution of finance and how external cooperation relates to ordinary provision. A financing gap should be described rather than hidden through reduced educational substance or transfer of cost to poor households.", "citationIds": [ "REF-34", "REF-45" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-74-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The first public report should be candid about chronology. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs First national decisions after adoption within Workforce domain XX — National translation after adoption of the 2030 Agenda: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. It can state that the principal education, financing and implementation texts named in this report were available by the cut-off. It should also state that later indicator settlements, technical revisions and results are outside the record. This protects the difference between an adopted commitment, a national policy choice, an institutional plan and later statistical clarification. Accurate status is a condition of accountable planning, not a reason for delay.", "citationIds": [ "REF-44", "REF-45", "REF-46", "REF-47" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-74-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The first review should test whether institutions learned, not merely whether a plan was issued. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs First national decisions after adoption within Workforce domain XX — National translation after adoption of the 2030 Agenda: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. It should examine authority, delivery, reach, professional capability, finance, learner experience and early educational consequence. It should record adverse findings and adapt the measure where the hypothesis or delivery proves weak. The transition from global commitment to national improvement is complete only when ordinary institutions can sustain the changed condition and correct foreseeable departures; the end of a project or reporting period is not evidence of that result.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-06", "REF-42" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-75", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "75", "title": "Institutional mandate and scope", "anchor": "75-institutional-mandate-and-scope", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-75-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "An institutional improvement plan should begin by identifying the authority under which the institution acts and the population for whom it is responsible. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Institutional mandate and scope within Workforce domain XXI — Institutional improvement plans aligned with Education 2030: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. A school, training provider, university, local administration or other body does not implement the whole global agenda alone. It contributes within its mandate, while national authorities retain responsibilities for law, finance, curriculum, workforce and equitable system provision. The plan should therefore map each selected Education 2030 priority to the institutional function that can materially influence it and identify dependencies requiring action at another level.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-44", "REF-47" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-75-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Scope should be expressed as a learner-facing condition rather than a broad aspiration. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Institutional mandate and scope within Workforce domain XXI — Institutional improvement plans aligned with Education 2030: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. An institution may seek more regular participation, stronger foundational learning, safer and more accessible facilities, better transition, improved teacher support or a more equitable adult-learning offer. The statement should name the eligible population, current condition, intended change and period. A global target supplies direction, but the institutional proposition must be narrow enough for authority, resources and evidence to be assigned.", "citationIds": [ "REF-05", "REF-46", "REF-47" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-75-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Institutional plans should preserve the relationship among access, equity and quality. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Institutional mandate and scope within Workforce domain XXI — Institutional improvement plans aligned with Education 2030: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. A plan concerned with learning cannot ignore assessment participation or opportunity to learn; a plan concerned with enrolment cannot treat registration as regular attendance; a plan concerned with completion should examine the educational substance and recognised value of the programme. Selecting one priority does not authorize deterioration in another essential condition. Safeguards should state which minimums must be protected during implementation.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-28", "REF-16" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-75-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The plan should distinguish obligations from discretionary methods. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Institutional mandate and scope within Workforce domain XXI — Institutional improvement plans aligned with Education 2030: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Rights, national requirements and adopted policy establish conditions that the institution must respect. The choice of timetable, professional-learning arrangement, local partnership or diagnostic method may permit adaptation. This distinction allows institutions to respond to context without treating national variation or resource constraint as authority to lower the substantive entitlement of disadvantaged learners. Any requested exception should identify the legal basis, expected consequence and competent approving body.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-14", "REF-47" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-75-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Governance should identify one accountable owner and the roles of staff, learners, communities and partner bodies. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Institutional mandate and scope within Workforce domain XXI — Institutional improvement plans aligned with Education 2030: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Participation can reveal barriers and test whether proposed measures are workable; it should not transfer public responsibility to those affected by weak provision. The decision record should show how evidence and consultation altered the priority. Where the institution lacks authority over a material dependency, the plan should route the issue to the responsible authority and retain it as an unresolved risk rather than quietly narrow the objective.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-38", "REF-44" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-76", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "76", "title": "Diagnostic review and priority selection", "anchor": "76-diagnostic-review-and-priority-selection", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-76-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Diagnostic review should begin with the institution's eligible population and educational course. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Diagnostic review and priority selection within Workforce domain XXI — Institutional improvement plans aligned with Education 2030: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Entry, attendance, progression, completion, learning and transition should be mapped together with staffing, instructional time, facilities, accessibility and learner support. The purpose is to locate the first material break rather than compile every available statistic. Administrative records describe registered learners and delivery; household or community evidence may reveal people outside the institution; assessment and work samples describe bounded aspects of learning.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-28", "REF-43" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-76-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The review should compare level, distribution and trend. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Diagnostic review and priority selection within Workforce domain XXI — Institutional improvement plans aligned with Education 2030: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. A stable institutional mean can conceal deterioration among one programme or learner group. Sex, household constraint, disability, language, residence, displacement and prior opportunity may be relevant, subject to lawful collection and protection. Small groups require caution about precision and disclosure, but the service barrier should remain visible. Where population estimates are weak, qualitative and case evidence may justify immediate correction without being represented as a prevalence estimate.", "citationIds": [ "REF-31", "REF-14", "REF-04" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-76-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Diagnosis should distinguish symptom from mechanism. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Diagnostic review and priority selection within Workforce domain XXI — Institutional improvement plans aligned with Education 2030: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Low attendance may be associated with transport, cost, safety, calendar, health, discrimination or inaccessible instruction. Weak learning may reflect interrupted participation, limited curriculum exposure, teacher absence, language, assessment design or inadequate support. A descriptive difference cannot rank these explanations. The institution should gather the smallest additional evidence needed for a practical decision and should identify explanations requiring action outside its authority.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-30", "REF-06" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-76-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Priority selection should consider severity, scale, equity, feasibility and dependency. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Diagnostic review and priority selection within Workforce domain XXI — Institutional improvement plans aligned with Education 2030: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. A condition affecting fewer learners may warrant immediate action if the consequence is severe or violates a minimum entitlement. Conversely, a large but weakly measured difference may first require stronger evidence. The plan should explain why the selected priority takes precedence, which learners are expected to benefit and how the rest of the institutional responsibility remains monitored. Ease of measurement alone is not a sufficient selection criterion.", "citationIds": [ "REF-05", "REF-35", "REF-47" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-76-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The baseline should be preserved at the point of decision. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Diagnostic review and priority selection within Workforce domain XXI — Institutional improvement plans aligned with Education 2030: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Population, definitions, source completeness, date, uncertainty and any exclusions should travel with the starting value. Where the institution changes its record system or assessment during implementation, overlap evidence should be retained and breaks marked. A baseline reconstructed after results are known is vulnerable to selective interpretation. The plan should approve the baseline and revision rule before judging change.", "citationIds": [ "REF-28", "REF-42", "REF-43" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-77", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "77", "title": "Improvement proposition and implementation design", "anchor": "77-improvement-proposition-and-implementation-design", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-77-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The improvement proposition should state how a defined measure is expected to change the diagnosed condition. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Improvement proposition and implementation design within Workforce domain XXI — Institutional improvement plans aligned with Education 2030: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. It should connect an action to an institutional mechanism: additional instructional support to a documented curriculum gap; revised attendance arrangements to a known timing or transport barrier; accessible materials and assessment to exclusion of learners with disabilities; professional support to weak subject teaching. Activities should not be listed without the reason they are expected to alter learner opportunity.", "citationIds": [ "REF-14", "REF-06", "REF-47" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-77-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Dependencies should be sequenced. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Improvement proposition and implementation design within Workforce domain XXI — Institutional improvement plans aligned with Education 2030: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Teacher guidance may require curriculum clarification, planning time, examples and leadership support. New materials require procurement, accessible formats, distribution and maintenance. Learner support may require eligibility rules, communication and protection of personal information. A plan should identify the latest point at which a missing dependency can be corrected without compromising delivery. Where a dependency lies with another authority, agreement and escalation should precede large-scale implementation.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-37", "REF-44" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-77-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Implementation intensity should be specified. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Improvement proposition and implementation design within Workforce domain XXI — Institutional improvement plans aligned with Education 2030: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. An institution should know which learners or staff receive the measure, how frequently, for how long and with what expected standard. Without intensity, non-response cannot be distinguished from weak delivery. Attendance at one professional meeting, receipt of materials or registration in support does not prove sustained use. Monitoring should capture actual exposure and reasons for incomplete delivery while avoiding burdens so heavy that they displace teaching or service.", "citationIds": [ "REF-28", "REF-31", "REF-35" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-77-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equity should be built into eligibility, outreach and adaptation. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Improvement proposition and implementation design within Workforce domain XXI — Institutional improvement plans aligned with Education 2030: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. An apparently equal offer may be unusable because of cost, time, language, disability, safety or location. The plan should test which learners can take up the measure and provide the additional condition required for substantive access. Local adaptation is desirable where it removes a barrier while protecting the common educational objective. It becomes inequitable where learners facing disadvantage receive reduced content, weaker staff or an unrecognised route.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-04", "REF-33" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-77-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Foreseeable adverse effects should be recorded. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Improvement proposition and implementation design within Workforce domain XXI — Institutional improvement plans aligned with Education 2030: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Additional assessment can narrow curriculum or increase exclusion; targeted grouping can stigmatise learners; extended time can increase household costs; intensive support for one cohort can divert staff from another. The plan should identify indicators or qualitative evidence that would reveal these effects and the authority able to intervene. Improvement is not established by movement of the selected measure if another essential condition deteriorates.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-32", "REF-42" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-78", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "78", "title": "Resources and professional capability", "anchor": "78-resources-and-professional-capability", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-78-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The resource plan should cover the complete recurrent service: personnel, preparation, instructional time, accessible materials, facilities, learner support, assessment, coordination, evidence and review. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Resources and professional capability within Workforce domain XXI — Institutional improvement plans aligned with Education 2030: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Capital expenditure or a temporary grant may be necessary but cannot establish sustained capability by itself. The institution should identify which costs fall within its budget, which require higher-level allocation and which are presently unfunded. An unfunded dependency should remain visible in the risk statement.", "citationIds": [ "REF-34", "REF-45", "REF-47" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-78-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Distributional finance matters within institutions as well as across systems. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Resources and professional capability within Workforce domain XXI — Institutional improvement plans aligned with Education 2030: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Programmes serving learners with greater need may require more staff time, specialist support, transport or accessible materials. Equal departmental or per-learner amounts can reproduce unequal opportunity. Allocation reasons should be documented and reviewed against actual receipt and use. Additional finance should be justified by the common educational condition it protects, not by a permanent assumption of lower capability among the affected learners.", "citationIds": [ "REF-31", "REF-14", "REF-04" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-78-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Professional capability is a central implementation condition. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Resources and professional capability within Workforce domain XXI — Institutional improvement plans aligned with Education 2030: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Teachers, trainers and institutional leaders need subject knowledge, diagnostic skill, practical examples and time to collaborate. Where the plan alters curriculum, assessment or inclusion arrangements, staff should have supported opportunities to understand the educational reasoning. One briefing does not establish readiness for sustained change. The plan should monitor participation, usable learning, workload, turnover and access to later assistance.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-37", "REF-44" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-78-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Leadership should create a route from classroom or service evidence to institutional and system correction. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Resources and professional capability within Workforce domain XXI — Institutional improvement plans aligned with Education 2030: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Staff should not be held responsible for changing transport, staffing establishment, qualification rules or infrastructure beyond their authority. Conversely, higher-level constraints should not prevent local correction that is lawful and feasible. The plan should identify decision thresholds, escalation routes and the time within which the responsible body will respond.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-36", "REF-38" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-78-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "External partnership should strengthen ordinary capability. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Resources and professional capability within Workforce domain XXI — Institutional improvement plans aligned with Education 2030: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Universities, civil society, employers or international bodies may contribute knowledge, facilities or finance, but programme status, data protection and continuity should be clear. Parallel arrangements can create fragmented standards or reporting burdens. Agreements should state the educational purpose, authority, resource duration, records, safeguards and handover. The measure of partnership is whether the institution can sustain equitable quality and correction after exceptional support ends.", "citationIds": [ "REF-41", "REF-45", "REF-47" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-79", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "79", "title": "Evidence, adaptation and institutionalisation", "anchor": "79-evidence-adaptation-and-institutionalisation", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-79-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Review should distinguish authorization, delivery, reach, educational quality and consequence. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Evidence, adaptation and institutionalisation within Workforce domain XXI — Institutional improvement plans aligned with Education 2030: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Approval of the plan establishes authority; expenditure demonstrates a resource transaction; implementation records show activity; learner evidence shows participation or change. None automatically proves the next. The review schedule should collect evidence proportionate to each claim and identify the population represented. A favourable result should not be broadened beyond the learners, content and period observed.", "citationIds": [ "REF-28", "REF-35", "REF-43" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-79-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Reach should be examined from eligibility through offer, take-up, participation and intended intensity. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Evidence, adaptation and institutionalisation within Workforce domain XXI — Institutional improvement plans aligned with Education 2030: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Non-participation can reveal communication, cost, timing, safety or accessibility barriers. The review should disaggregate where lawful and precise and should retain absolute numbers. An improved average does not establish that learners farthest from the baseline benefited. The plan should define a minimum floor or least-served test alongside its aggregate objective.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-31", "REF-04" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-79-b003", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Educational consequence may require several forms of evidence. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Evidence, adaptation and institutionalisation within Workforce domain XXI — Institutional improvement plans aligned with Education 2030: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Assessment can show a bounded learning domain; attendance and completion records show participation; observation and work samples can explain teaching and learner activity; interviews can identify experience and mechanism. Agreement strengthens the conclusion only after dates and definitions align. Contradiction should initiate enquiry into coverage, implementation or measurement rather than selection of the most favourable source.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-06", "REF-42" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-79-b004", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Adaptation should follow a stated decision rule. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Evidence, adaptation and institutionalisation within Workforce domain XXI — Institutional improvement plans aligned with Education 2030: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Weak outcomes may reflect an incorrect hypothesis, incomplete delivery, insufficient intensity, adverse conditions, measurement weakness or inadequate time. These explanations call for different action. The review should record which is supported, what changes and how the baseline or comparison remains interpretable. Ending an ineffective measure is responsible improvement when learner safeguards and alternative provision are addressed.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-32", "REF-47" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-79-b005", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Institutionalisation requires ordinary authority, recurrent finance, professional ownership and a functioning correction route. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Evidence, adaptation and institutionalisation within Workforce domain XXI — Institutional improvement plans aligned with Education 2030: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Continued activity after a pilot is not sufficient if it depends on exceptional staff or external funds. The final decision should state which function enters ordinary provision, which limitation remains, who owns it and when evidence will next be examined. Completion means that the institution can sustain the improved learner-facing condition and correct foreseeable departure, not that the plan period has ended.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-44", "REF-45" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-92", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "92", "title": "Protecting the complete education function", "anchor": "92-protecting-the-complete-education-function", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-92-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Budget protection should begin with the functions required to preserve access, teaching, learner welfare and recovery. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Protecting the complete education function within Workforce domain XXIV — Fiscal protection for education continuity: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. A nominal sector ceiling can remain stable while salaries are delayed, school grants fall, maintenance stops or support for disadvantaged learners is removed. Authorities should therefore examine allocation, release, commitment and expenditure by function and level, together with the population and service each amount is intended to reach.", "citationIds": [ "REF-28", "REF-36" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-92-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Emergency health, distance provision and reopening costs are additional to many ordinary obligations. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Protecting the complete education function within Workforce domain XXIV — Fiscal protection for education continuity: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Devices, printed materials, sanitation, protective measures, transport adaptation and remedial teaching require initial and recurrent finance. A transfer from another essential education function may maintain the total envelope while creating a later failure. Reprioritisation should state the displaced activity, educational consequence and restoration plan.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-45" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-93", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "93", "title": "Distribution and equalisation", "anchor": "93-distribution-and-equalisation", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-93-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Equal percentage reductions can deepen inequality because institutions begin with different staffing, infrastructure and household capacity. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Distribution and equalisation within Workforce domain XXIV — Fiscal protection for education continuity: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. Allocation should consider poverty, disability, remoteness, displacement, language support, enrolment change and the cost of safe continuity. A common minimum service may require greater per-learner resources where barriers and delivery costs are higher.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-14" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-93-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "School-level grants should arrive predictably and with enough flexibility to address documented local needs, subject to public standards and controls. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Distribution and equalisation within Workforce domain XXIV — Fiscal protection for education continuity: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Flexibility without adequate funds transfers responsibility without capacity; rigid categories can prevent urgent adaptation. The financing body should publish allocation criteria, release dates and unresolved delays and should provide a correction route.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-38" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-94", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "94", "title": "Teachers and the recurrent base", "anchor": "94-teachers-and-the-recurrent-base", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-94-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Teacher salaries, authorised posts, professional support and safe working conditions are central to continuity. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Teachers and the recurrent base within Workforce domain XXIV — Fiscal protection for education continuity: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. Short-term savings through unpaid or precarious work can increase attrition, reduce contact and weaken reopening. Where enrolment shifts or smaller groups are required, staffing finance should respond to actual service need. Emergency recruitment should include preparation, supervision and a route to recognised status.", "citationIds": [ "REF-34", "REF-37" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-94-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Non-salary recurrent spending also matters. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Teachers and the recurrent base within Workforce domain XXIV — Fiscal protection for education continuity: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. Materials, communication, utilities, cleaning, accessibility, counselling and maintenance enable teachers and learners to use provision. Capital assets without operating finance can remain idle. Budget review should connect each funded input to receipt and operation rather than infer service from procurement alone.", "citationIds": [ "REF-41", "REF-42" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-95", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "95", "title": "Execution, transparency and fiscal uncertainty", "anchor": "95-execution-transparency-and-fiscal-uncertainty", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-95-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "An approved budget is not an executed service. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Execution, transparency and fiscal uncertainty within Workforce domain XXIV — Fiscal protection for education continuity: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Public reporting should distinguish appropriation, allotment, transfer, commitment, payment and verified receipt. Delays can be educationally consequential even when the annual amount is later spent. Where subnational authorities or institutions carry costs in advance, reimbursement rules and timing should be explicit.", "citationIds": [ "REF-28", "REF-43" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-95-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Fiscal forecasts were unusually uncertain during 2020. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Execution, transparency and fiscal uncertainty within Workforce domain XXIV — Fiscal protection for education continuity: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Scenarios should identify revenue assumptions, protected functions, triggers for revision and the consequences of each adjustment. Uncertainty justifies contingency planning, not opaque across-the-board withholding. Supplementary finance and donor support should be reported by status and should not be counted before receipt.", "citationIds": [ "REF-45", "REF-48" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-96", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "96", "title": "Recovery and review", "anchor": "96-recovery-and-review", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-96-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Recovery finance should address accumulated learning need, re-entry, teacher support and populations lost from routine records. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Recovery and review within Workforce domain XXIV — Fiscal protection for education continuity: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. A short reopening allocation may be insufficient where disruption has compounded prior disadvantage. Plans should state duration, recurrent implications and which function enters the ordinary budget after emergency funding ends.", "citationIds": [ "REF-32", "REF-47" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-96-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The final review should ask whether funds reached the responsible institution on time, whether the intended service operated, who used it and whether access and learning continuity improved. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Recovery and review within Workforce domain XXIV — Fiscal protection for education continuity: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. Expenditure rates alone do not establish value; a low rate may reflect delay or unusable rules, while a high rate may conceal poor distribution. The public account should connect finance to learner-facing evidence and assign correction to the authority controlling the relevant failure.", "citationIds": [] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-97", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "97", "title": "Nominal and real expenditure", "anchor": "97-nominal-and-real-expenditure", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-97-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Nominal expenditure should be converted to constant prices with a stated deflator, base period and currency method. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Nominal and real expenditure within Workforce domain XXV — Comparative financing measures after disruption: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; implementation should connect learner entitlement to resources, professional action and follow-up. General inflation, public-service wage change and education-specific input prices can move differently. A real series should therefore explain what purchasing power it represents and should not be described as educational capacity without evidence on staffing, materials and service delivery.", "citationIds": [ "REF-28", "REF-42" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-97-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Total spending should be paired with spending per relevant learner and with the size of the population entitled to service. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Nominal and real expenditure within Workforce domain XXV — Comparative financing measures after disruption: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Enrolment loss can raise per-learner expenditure mechanically while access deteriorates; rapid inclusion can reduce it even when the budget grows. Both totals and rates are required, with displaced and out-of-school populations retained in the planning account.", "citationIds": [ "REF-03", "REF-31" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-98", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "98", "title": "Budget share and public priority", "anchor": "98-budget-share-and-public-priority", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-98-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Education's share of total public expenditure measures relative budget priority, not adequacy. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Budget share and public priority within Workforce domain XXV — Comparative financing measures after disruption: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the decision should remain reasoned, contestable and capable of correction. The share can rise because other functions contract and fall while real education spending grows. Reports should present the numerator, denominator, government level, fiscal year and treatment of debt, emergency and extra-budgetary funds.", "citationIds": [ "REF-36", "REF-45" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-98-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Share of national income supplies another scale but remains sensitive to economic contraction. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Budget share and public priority within Workforce domain XXV — Comparative financing measures after disruption: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; comparison is warranted only where definitions, coverage and timing have been reconciled. During a recession, a stable ratio can accompany lower real resources. Interpretation should therefore join real levels, demographic need, public expenditure share, revenue conditions and the cost of the substantive education plan.", "citationIds": [ "REF-41", "REF-48" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-99", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "99", "title": "Allocation, execution and function", "anchor": "99-allocation-execution-and-function", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-99-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Approved, revised and executed budgets should remain separate. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Allocation, execution and function within Workforce domain XXV — Comparative financing measures after disruption: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; institutional performance should be judged by learner-facing consequence rather than announced activity. Execution rates require compatible denominators and should identify commitments, cash payments and verified receipt where systems differ. A high rate can coexist with late releases or inequitable distribution; a low rate may show capacity or procurement barriers requiring correction.", "citationIds": [ "REF-28", "REF-43" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-99-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Functional analysis should distinguish personnel, school grants, learning materials, infrastructure, support, administration and other nationally meaningful categories. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Allocation, execution and function within Workforce domain XXV — Comparative financing measures after disruption: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the competent body should identify the population, decision authority and review point. Classification change should be bridged or break the series. Emergency spending should identify whether it supplements ordinary provision or replaces a prior commitment.", "citationIds": [ "REF-06", "REF-37" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-100", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "100", "title": "Household burden", "anchor": "100-household-burden", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-100-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Household education cost includes fees, contributions, materials, connectivity, transport, uniforms, meals, tutoring and other required expenditure. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Household burden within Workforce domain XXV — Comparative financing measures after disruption: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the public account should distinguish observation from explanation and attributed effect. Surveys should identify payer, learner, level, reference period and zero or missing values. Average cost among spenders should not be confused with cost across all households.", "citationIds": [ "REF-27", "REF-14" ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-100-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "Burden should be compared with household resources and distribution, not only as an amount. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Household burden within Workforce domain XXV — Comparative financing measures after disruption: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the finding must preserve its denominator, uncertainty and available remedy. The same charge can be negligible for one household and exclusionary for another. Reports should examine foregone participation and debt where evidence permits and should not treat private spending automatically as an addition to public quality.", "citationIds": [ "REF-13", "REF-34" ] } ] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-101", "partId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "parentId": null, "number": "101", "title": "Temporal boundary and final account", "anchor": "101-temporal-boundary-and-final-account", "level": 1, "blocks": [ { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-101-b001", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "As at 14 December 2025, the annual account relies on adopted frameworks and official financing evidence then available, connecting tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity to accountable public action.", "citationIds": [] }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-101-b002", "type": "PARAGRAPH", "text": "The minimum comparative account presents nominal and real public spending, per-learner levels, public expenditure and income shares, allocation and execution, functional and territorial distribution, and household costs by relevant population. For the 2025 annual account of tertiary participation, basic skills and workforce capacity, this proposition directly informs Temporal boundary and final account within Workforce domain XXV — Comparative financing measures after disruption: whether evidence connects learner pathways, system capability and sustainable public responsibility; the equity judgement should identify people absent from the observed or served population. Each measure needs definitions, dates and limitations. Financing progress is credible when real resources reach institutions on time, household barriers fall and the least-served learners receive the planned educational condition.", "citationIds": [] } ] } ], "technicalAppendices": [], "notes": [], "references": [ { "id": "REF-01", "authoringBody": "Education for All Global Monitoring Report Team", "title": "Education for All 2000–2015: Achievements and Challenges — EFA Global Monitoring Report 2015", "year": 2015, "publicationDate": "2015-04-09", "sourceType": "GLOBAL_MONITORING_REPORT", "url": "https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000232205", "evidenceRole": "Contemporaneous assessment of progress, unequal achievement and unfinished Education for All commitments." }, { "id": "REF-02", "authoringBody": "Education for All Global Monitoring Report Team", "title": "Teaching and Learning: Achieving Quality for All — EFA Global Monitoring Report 2013/4", "year": 2014, "publicationDate": "2014-01-29", "sourceType": "GLOBAL_MONITORING_REPORT", "url": "https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000225660", "evidenceRole": "Evidence on teaching, learning, inequality and education quality." }, { "id": "REF-03", "authoringBody": "Education for All Global Monitoring Report Team", "title": "Reaching the Marginalized — EFA Global Monitoring Report 2010", "year": 2010, "publicationDate": "2010-01-19", "sourceType": "GLOBAL_MONITORING_REPORT", "url": "https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000186606", "evidenceRole": "Global evidence on intersecting disadvantage and educational marginalisation." }, { "id": "REF-04", "authoringBody": "Education for All Global Monitoring Report Team", "title": "Overcoming Inequality: Why Governance Matters — EFA Global Monitoring Report 2009", "year": 2008, "publicationDate": "2008-11-25", "sourceType": "GLOBAL_MONITORING_REPORT", "url": "https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000177683", "evidenceRole": "Evidence on inequality, governance, finance and unequal opportunity." }, { "id": "REF-05", "authoringBody": "World Education Forum", "title": "The Dakar Framework for Action: Education for All — Meeting Our Collective Commitments", "year": 2000, "publicationDate": "2000-04-28", "sourceType": "INTERGOVERNMENTAL_FRAMEWORK", "url": "https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000121147", "evidenceRole": "The internationally agreed Education for All goals, quality commitments and national responsibility." }, { "id": "REF-06", "authoringBody": "United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund", "title": "A Human Rights-Based Approach to Education for All", "year": 2007, "publicationDate": "2007-01-01", "sourceType": "UNITED_NATIONS_GUIDANCE", "url": "https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000154861", "evidenceRole": "Rights-based duties for access, quality, inclusion, participation and accountability." }, { "id": "REF-07", "authoringBody": "United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization", "title": "Guidelines for Inclusion: Ensuring Access to Education for All", "year": 2005, "publicationDate": "2005-01-01", "sourceType": "UNITED_NATIONS_GUIDANCE", "url": "https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000140224", "evidenceRole": "Institutional guidance on barriers to participation and inclusive education." }, { "id": "REF-08", "authoringBody": "United Nations Children’s Fund", "title": "Child Friendly Schools Manual", "year": 2009, "publicationDate": "2009-03-01", "sourceType": "UNITED_NATIONS_GUIDANCE", "url": "https://www.unicef.org/reports/child-friendly-schools-manual", "evidenceRole": "Guidance on inclusive, effective, protective and participatory school quality." }, { "id": "REF-09", "authoringBody": "United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization", "title": "General Education Quality Analysis and Diagnosis Framework", "year": 2012, "publicationDate": "2012-01-01", "sourceType": "UNITED_NATIONS_QUALITY_FRAMEWORK", "url": "https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000217520", "evidenceRole": "Systemic analysis of education quality, enabling inputs, teaching, learning and outcomes." }, { "id": "REF-10", "authoringBody": "UNESCO Institute for Statistics", "title": "Global Education Digest 2012: Opportunities Lost — The Impact of Grade Repetition and Early School Leaving", "year": 2012, "publicationDate": "2012-10-01", "sourceType": "OFFICIAL_STATISTICAL_REPORT", "url": "https://uis.unesco.org/sites/default/files/documents/global-education-digest-2012-opportunities-lost-the-impact-of-grade-repetition-and-early-school-leaving-en_0.pdf", "evidenceRole": "Comparable evidence on progression, repetition and early leaving." }, { "id": "REF-11", "authoringBody": "UNESCO Institute for Statistics", "title": "Guide to the Analysis and Use of Household Survey and Census Education Data", "year": 2004, "publicationDate": "2004-01-01", "sourceType": "STATISTICAL_METHOD_GUIDE", "url": "https://uis.unesco.org/sites/default/files/documents/guide-to-the-analysis-and-use-of-household-survey-and-census-education-data-en_0.pdf", "evidenceRole": "Methods and limitations for education indicators from household and census evidence." }, { "id": "REF-12", "authoringBody": "Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights", "title": "Human Rights Indicators: A Guide to Measurement and Implementation", "year": 2012, "publicationDate": "2012-11-01", "sourceType": "UNITED_NATIONS_GUIDANCE", "url": "https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/Publications/Human_rights_indicators_en.pdf", "evidenceRole": "Rights-sensitive indicator design, disaggregation and interpretation." }, { "id": "REF-13", "authoringBody": "United Nations General Assembly", "title": "Convention on the Rights of the Child", "year": 1989, "publicationDate": "1989-11-20", "sourceType": "TREATY", "url": "https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-child", "evidenceRole": "Education, non-discrimination, development, participation and best-interests obligations." }, { "id": "REF-14", "authoringBody": "United Nations General Assembly", "title": "Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities", "year": 2006, "publicationDate": "2006-12-13", "sourceType": "TREATY", "url": "https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-persons-disabilities", "evidenceRole": "Equality, accessibility, reasonable accommodation and inclusive education obligations." }, { "id": "REF-15", "authoringBody": "United Nations General Assembly", "title": "Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women", "year": 1979, "publicationDate": "1979-12-18", "sourceType": "TREATY", "url": "https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-elimination-all-forms-discrimination-against-women", "evidenceRole": "Equality and non-discrimination obligations relevant to education participation and outcomes." }, { "id": "REF-16", "authoringBody": "United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights", "title": "General Comment No. 13: The Right to Education", "year": 1999, "publicationDate": "1999-12-08", "sourceType": "TREATY_BODY_INTERPRETATION", "url": "https://undocs.org/E/C.12/1999/10", "evidenceRole": "Interpretation of availability, accessibility, acceptability and adaptability in education." }, { "id": "REF-17", "authoringBody": "Council of the European Union", "title": "Conclusions on a Strategic Framework for European Cooperation in Education and Training (ET 2020)", "year": 2009, "publicationDate": "2009-05-28", "sourceType": "EU_COUNCIL_CONCLUSIONS", "url": "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52009XG0528(01)", "evidenceRole": "European framework for lifelong learning, equity, quality and measurable improvement." }, { "id": "REF-18", "authoringBody": "European Commission", "title": "Education and Training Monitor 2014", "year": 2014, "publicationDate": "2014-11-12", "sourceType": "EU_MONITORING_REPORT", "url": "https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/0de1b50a-7f48-11e4-9f89-01aa75ed71a1", "evidenceRole": "European evidence on attainment, early leaving, learning, inequality and investment." }, { "id": "REF-19", "authoringBody": "Council of the European Union", "title": "Conclusions on the Social Dimension of Education and Training", "year": 2010, "publicationDate": "2010-05-11", "sourceType": "EU_COUNCIL_CONCLUSIONS", "url": "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52010XG0526(01)", "evidenceRole": "European commitments on equitable access, outcomes and disadvantage." }, { "id": "REF-20", "authoringBody": "European Statistical System Committee", "title": "European Statistics Code of Practice", "year": 2011, "publicationDate": "2011-09-28", "sourceType": "EU_INSTITUTIONAL_STANDARD", "url": "https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/quality/european-quality-standards/european-statistics-code-of-practice", "evidenceRole": "Institutional, statistical and output principles for trustworthy official evidence." }, { "id": "REF-21", "authoringBody": "European Parliament and Council of the European Union", "title": "Regulation (EC) No 223/2009 on European Statistics", "year": 2009, "publicationDate": "2009-03-11", "sourceType": "EU_REGULATION", "url": "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32009R0223", "evidenceRole": "European requirements for professional independence, quality, confidentiality and dissemination." }, { "id": "REF-22", "authoringBody": "European Parliament and Council of the European Union", "title": "Recommendation on the Establishment of a European Quality Assurance Reference Framework for Vocational Education and Training", "year": 2009, "publicationDate": "2009-06-18", "sourceType": "EU_RECOMMENDATION", "url": "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32009H0708(01)", "evidenceRole": "European reference points for planning, implementation, evaluation and review in vocational education." }, { "id": "REF-23", "authoringBody": "Council of the European Union", "title": "Recommendation on Policies to Reduce Early School Leaving", "year": 2011, "publicationDate": "2011-06-28", "sourceType": "EU_COUNCIL_RECOMMENDATION", "url": "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32011H0701(01)", "evidenceRole": "European framework for prevention, intervention and compensation concerning early school leaving." }, { "id": "REF-24", "authoringBody": "United Nations Children’s Fund", "title": "The State of the World’s Children 2014 in Numbers: Every Child Counts — Revealing Disparities, Advancing Children’s Rights", "year": 2014, "publicationDate": "2014-01-30", "sourceType": "UNITED_NATIONS_FLAGSHIP_REPORT", "url": "https://www.unicef.org/reports/state-worlds-children-2014", "evidenceRole": "Evidence on disaggregation, unequal child outcomes and statistical visibility." }, { "id": "REF-25", "authoringBody": "Global Education Monitoring Report Team", "title": "Leadership in Education: Lead for Learning — Global Education Monitoring Report 2024/5", "year": 2024, "publicationDate": "2024-10-31", "sourceType": "GLOBAL_EDUCATION_MONITORING_REPORT", "url": "https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000391406", "evidenceRole": "Contemporaneous evidence on institutional leadership and conditions for learning-focused improvement." }, { "id": "REF-26", "authoringBody": "UNESCO", "title": "Costing and Financing the Teaching Profession: Strategic Investment in Education", "year": 2025, "publicationDate": "2025-06-16", "sourceType": "UNESCO_POLICY_NOTE", "url": "https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/costing-and-financing-teaching-profession-strategic-investment-education?hub=365", "evidenceRole": "Cutoff-date policy evidence on the recurrent professional capacity required for coherent programmes and timely learner support." }, { "id": "REF-27", "authoringBody": "UNESCO Institute for Statistics", "title": "Global Education Digest 2010: Comparing Education Statistics Across the World", "year": 2010, "publicationDate": "2010-09-20", "sourceType": "OFFICIAL_STATISTICAL_REPORT", "url": "https://uis.unesco.org/sites/default/files/documents/global-education-digest-2010-comparing-education-statistics-across-the-world-en.pdf", "evidenceRole": "Comparative education statistics, definitions and limitations." }, { "id": "REF-28", "authoringBody": "UNESCO Institute for Statistics", "title": "Education Indicators: Technical Guidelines", "year": 2009, "publicationDate": "2009-11-01", "sourceType": "OFFICIAL_STATISTICAL_GUIDANCE", "url": "https://uis.unesco.org/sites/default/files/documents/education-indicators-technical-guidelines-en_0.pdf", "evidenceRole": "Definitions and interpretation of participation, progression, completion and resource indicators." }, { "id": "REF-29", "authoringBody": "United Nations", "title": "The Millennium Development Goals Report 2010", "year": 2010, "publicationDate": "2010-06-23", "sourceType": "GLOBAL_MONITORING_REPORT", "url": "https://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/MDG%20Report%202010%20En%20r15%20-low%20res%2020100615%20-.pdf", "evidenceRole": "Global and regional monitoring of primary education, gender, poverty and related development conditions." }, { "id": "REF-30", "authoringBody": "United Nations Development Programme", "title": "Human Development Report 2010: The Real Wealth of Nations — Pathways to Human Development", "year": 2010, "publicationDate": "2010-11-04", "sourceType": "GLOBAL_DEVELOPMENT_REPORT", "url": "https://hdr.undp.org/content/human-development-report-2010", "evidenceRole": "Distribution-sensitive human development concepts and evidence available before the cut-off." }, { "id": "REF-31", "authoringBody": "UNICEF", "title": "Progress for Children: Achieving the MDGs with Equity, Number 9", "year": 2010, "publicationDate": "2010-09-07", "sourceType": "GLOBAL_CHILDREN_MONITORING_REPORT", "url": "https://www.unicef.org/reports/progress-children-no-9", "evidenceRole": "Equity-focused child indicators and comparison between population groups." }, { "id": "REF-32", "authoringBody": "United Nations", "title": "Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement", "year": 1998, "publicationDate": "1998-02-11", "sourceType": "UNITED_NATIONS_GUIDING_PRINCIPLES", "url": "https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-internally-displaced-persons/international-standards", "evidenceRole": "Principles relevant to protection, documentation, education and non-discrimination of displaced persons." }, { "id": "REF-33", "authoringBody": "World Bank", "title": "World Development Report 2006: Equity and Development", "year": 2005, "publicationDate": "2005-09-01", "sourceType": "GLOBAL_DEVELOPMENT_REPORT", "url": "https://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/435331468127174418/pdf/322040World0Development0Report02006.pdf", "evidenceRole": "Concepts of unequal opportunity, institutions and equitable public action." }, { "id": "REF-34", "authoringBody": "World Bank", "title": "Safeguarding Education During Economic Crisis", "year": 2009, "publicationDate": "2009-04-01", "sourceType": "CRISIS_POLICY_NOTE", "url": "https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/489131468340200911/pdf/485120WP0Avert10Box338912B01PUBLIC1.pdf", "evidenceRole": "Risks to budgets, households, participation and long-term human development during economic crisis." }, { "id": "REF-35", "authoringBody": "Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development", "title": "Education at a Glance 2010: OECD Indicators", "year": 2010, "publicationDate": "2010-09-07", "sourceType": "COMPARATIVE_INDICATOR_REPORT", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1787/eag-2010-en", "evidenceRole": "Comparative participation, progression, expenditure and outcomes evidence with system-level metadata." }, { "id": "REF-36", "authoringBody": "European Commission", "title": "Europe 2020: A Strategy for Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth", "year": 2010, "publicationDate": "2010-03-03", "sourceType": "COMMISSION_COMMUNICATION", "url": "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52010DC2020", "evidenceRole": "Contemporaneous European policy context for education, inclusion, employment and headline indicators." }, { "id": "REF-37", "authoringBody": "European Commission", "title": "Youth on the Move: An Initiative to Unleash the Potential of Young People to Achieve Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth in the European Union", "year": 2010, "publicationDate": "2010-09-15", "sourceType": "COMMISSION_COMMUNICATION", "url": "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52010DC0477", "evidenceRole": "European education, mobility, attainment and youth inclusion policy context." }, { "id": "REF-38", "authoringBody": "European Commission", "title": "A Renewed Commitment to Social Europe: Reinforcing the Open Method of Coordination for Social Protection and Social Inclusion", "year": 2008, "publicationDate": "2008-07-02", "sourceType": "COMMISSION_COMMUNICATION", "url": "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52008DC0418", "evidenceRole": "Social inclusion monitoring, common objectives and context-sensitive indicators." }, { "id": "REF-39", "authoringBody": "United Nations General Assembly", "title": "Resolution 64/250: Assistance to Haiti in the Aftermath of the Recent Earthquake", "year": 2010, "publicationDate": "2010-01-22", "sourceType": "UNITED_NATIONS_RESOLUTION", "url": "https://undocs.org/A/RES/64/250", "evidenceRole": "Contemporaneous recognition of humanitarian and reconstruction needs and national leadership." }, { "id": "REF-40", "authoringBody": "United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs", "title": "Haiti Revised Humanitarian Appeal", "year": 2010, "publicationDate": "2010-02-18", "sourceType": "HUMANITARIAN_APPEAL", "url": "https://reliefweb.int/report/haiti/haiti-revised-humanitarian-appeal-2010", "evidenceRole": "Displacement, service disruption and humanitarian education context." }, { "id": "REF-41", "authoringBody": "European Commission", "title": "European Union Response to the Earthquake in Haiti", "year": 2010, "publicationDate": "2010-02-10", "sourceType": "COMMISSION_COMMUNICATION", "url": "https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52010DC0056", "evidenceRole": "European humanitarian and recovery support, coordination and Haitian ownership." }, { "id": "REF-42", "authoringBody": "United Nations Economic and Social Council", "title": "Principles and Recommendations for Population and Housing Censuses, Revision 2", "year": 2008, "publicationDate": "2008-01-01", "sourceType": "OFFICIAL_STATISTICAL_STANDARD", "url": "https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/Standards-and-Methods/files/Principles_and_Recommendations/Population-and-Housing-Censuses/Series_M67Rev2-E.pdf", "evidenceRole": "Official principles for population coverage, definitions, classifications and data quality." }, { "id": "REF-43", "authoringBody": "United Nations Statistics Division", "title": "Designing Household Survey Samples: Practical Guidelines", "year": 2005, "publicationDate": "2005-01-01", "sourceType": "OFFICIAL_STATISTICAL_GUIDANCE", "url": "https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sources/surveys/Handbook23June05.pdf", "evidenceRole": "Sample design, estimation, precision and non-response guidance." }, { "id": "REF-44", "authoringBody": "World Education Forum 2015", "title": "Incheon Declaration: Education 2030 — Towards Inclusive and Equitable Quality Education and Lifelong Learning for All", "year": 2015, "publicationDate": "2015-05-21", "sourceType": "GLOBAL_EDUCATION_DECLARATION", "url": "https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000233137", "evidenceRole": "Education commitments adopted at Incheon and their contemporaneous institutional status." }, { "id": "REF-45", "authoringBody": "United Nations General Assembly", "title": "Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development", "year": 2015, "publicationDate": "2015-07-27", "sourceType": "UNITED_NATIONS_RESOLUTION", "url": "https://undocs.org/A/RES/69/313", "evidenceRole": "Adopted global financing framework and relevant principles for domestic public finance and international cooperation." }, { "id": "REF-46", "authoringBody": "United Nations General Assembly", "title": "Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development", "year": 2015, "publicationDate": "2015-09-25", "sourceType": "UNITED_NATIONS_RESOLUTION", "url": "https://undocs.org/A/RES/70/1", "evidenceRole": "Agenda adopted on 25 September 2015, including Goal 4 and its education targets, as available at the evidence cut-off." }, { "id": "REF-47", "authoringBody": "UNESCO", "title": "Education 2030: Incheon Declaration and Framework for Action for the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 4", "year": 2015, "publicationDate": "2015-11-04", "sourceType": "GLOBAL_EDUCATION_FRAMEWORK_FOR_ACTION", "url": "https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000245656", "evidenceRole": "Framework for Action available before the cut-off and relevant to institutional planning, coordination, equity and review." }, { "id": "REF-48", "authoringBody": "United Nations Secretary-General", "title": "One Humanity: Shared Responsibility — Report of the Secretary-General for the World Humanitarian Summit", "year": 2016, "publicationDate": "2016-02-02", "documentSymbol": "A/70/709", "sourceType": "UNITED_NATIONS_REPORT", "url": "https://docs.un.org/A/70/709", "evidenceRole": "Secretary-General’s pre-Summit Agenda for Humanity and proposals for humanitarian responsibility." }, { "id": "REF-49", "authoringBody": "Chair of the World Humanitarian Summit", "title": "Chair’s Summary: Standing Up for Humanity — Committing to Action", "year": 2016, "publicationDate": "2016-05-24", "sourceType": "SUMMIT_CHAIRS_SUMMARY", "url": "https://agendaforhumanity.org/sites/default/files/resources/2017/Jul/chairs_summary.pdf", "evidenceRole": "Official Chair’s account of the May 2016 Summit discussions and commitments, used with its status as a summary." }, { "id": "REF-50", "authoringBody": "United Nations", "title": "New Fund Launched at UN Humanitarian Summit to Address Education in Crisis Zones", "year": 2016, "publicationDate": "2016-05-23", "sourceType": "OFFICIAL_LAUNCH_ACCOUNT", "url": "https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2016/05/new-fund-launched-at-un-humanitarian-summit-to-address-education-in-crisis-zones/", "evidenceRole": "Contemporaneous official account of the Education Cannot Wait launch and stated aims; not evidence of later finance or results." }, { "id": "REF-51", "authoringBody": "United Nations General Assembly", "title": "The Right to Education in Emergency Situations", "year": 2010, "publicationDate": "2010-07-09", "documentSymbol": "A/RES/64/290", "sourceType": "UNITED_NATIONS_RESOLUTION", "url": "https://docs.un.org/A/RES/64/290", "evidenceRole": "Recognition of education as an integral element of humanitarian response and calls for access, continuity, protection and support." }, { "id": "REF-52", "authoringBody": "United Nations General Assembly", "title": "New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, Resolution 71/1", "year": 2016, "publicationDate": "2016-09-19", "sourceType": "UNITED_NATIONS_GENERAL_ASSEMBLY_RESOLUTION", "url": "https://undocs.org/A/RES/71/1", "evidenceRole": "Contemporaneous commitment relevant to shared responsibility, refugee and migrant education, and the reporting boundary between commitment and result." }, { "id": "REF-53", "authoringBody": "Global Education Monitoring Report Team", "title": "Accountability in Education: Meeting Our Commitments — Global Education Monitoring Report 2017/8", "year": 2017, "publicationDate": "2017-10-24", "sourceType": "GLOBAL_EDUCATION_MONITORING_REPORT", "url": "https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000259338", "evidenceRole": "Principal contemporaneous analysis of accountability relations, responsibility, transparency, participation and unintended effects in education." }, { "id": "REF-54", "authoringBody": "World Bank", "title": "World Development Report 2018: Learning to Realize Education's Promise", "year": 2018, "publicationDate": "2017-09-26", "sourceType": "WORLD_DEVELOPMENT_REPORT", "url": "https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/wdr2018", "evidenceRole": "Principal contemporaneous analysis of learning, measurement, evidence-led action and alignment of education actors." }, { "id": "REF-55", "authoringBody": "United Nations General Assembly", "title": "Global Compact on Refugees, Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Part II, affirmed by Resolution 73/151", "year": 2018, "publicationDate": "2018-12-17", "sourceType": "UNITED_NATIONS_GLOBAL_COMPACT", "url": "https://www.unhcr.org/media/global-compact-refugees-booklet", "evidenceRole": "Controlling contemporaneous compact on predictable and equitable responsibility-sharing, national arrangements and refugee inclusion, including education." }, { "id": "REF-56", "authoringBody": "UNESCO", "title": "With One in Five Learners Kept out of School, UNESCO Mobilizes Education Ministers to Face the COVID-19 Crisis", "year": 2020, "publicationDate": "2020-03-10", "sourceType": "UNESCO_OFFICIAL_EDUCATION_RESPONSE", "url": "https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/one-five-learners-kept-out-school-unesco-mobilizes-education-ministers-face-covid-19-crisis", "evidenceRole": "Early contemporaneous record of rapidly expanding institutional closures and international education coordination." }, { "id": "REF-57", "authoringBody": "World Health Organization", "title": "WHO Director-General's Opening Remarks at the Media Briefing on COVID-19 — 11 March 2020", "year": 2020, "publicationDate": "2020-03-11", "sourceType": "WHO_OFFICIAL_STATEMENT", "url": "https://www.who.int/news-room/speeches/item/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19---11-march-2020", "evidenceRole": "Contemporaneous characterization of COVID-19 as a pandemic and call for comprehensive national action." }, { "id": "REF-58", "authoringBody": "United Nations", "title": "Shared Responsibility, Global Solidarity: Responding to the Socio-Economic Impacts of COVID-19", "year": 2020, "publicationDate": "2020-03-31", "sourceType": "UNITED_NATIONS_POLICY_REPORT", "url": "https://unsdg.un.org/resources/shared-responsibility-global-solidarity-responding-socio-economic-impacts-covid-19", "evidenceRole": "Contemporaneous United Nations account of social and economic disruption and the need for rights-respecting coordinated action." }, { "id": "REF-59", "authoringBody": "Global Education Monitoring Report Team", "title": "Inclusion and Education: All Means All — Global Education Monitoring Report 2020", "year": 2020, "publicationDate": "2020-06-23", "sourceType": "GLOBAL_EDUCATION_MONITORING_REPORT", "url": "https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000373718", "evidenceRole": "Principal contemporaneous inclusion analysis available before the cutoff, used to interpret unequal access and populations omitted by disruption measures." }, { "id": "REF-60", "authoringBody": "United Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession", "title": "Recommendations on the Teaching Profession", "year": 2024, "publicationDate": "2024-02-26", "sourceType": "UNITED_NATIONS_RECOMMENDATIONS", "url": "https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/?p=113161", "evidenceRole": "Authoritative contemporaneous recommendations on professional conditions, recruitment, retention, voice and public investment." }, { "authoringBody": "Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development", "title": "Education at a Glance 2025: OECD Indicators", "year": 2025, "publicationDate": "2025-09-09", "sourceType": "OECD_INDICATOR_REPORT", "url": "https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/education-at-a-glance-2025_1c0d9c79-en.html", "evidenceRole": "Contemporaneous comparative evidence on tertiary access, attainment, transitions, adult skills and education resources.", "id": "REF-61" }, { "authoringBody": "European Commission", "title": "Action Plan on Basic Skills", "year": 2025, "publicationDate": "2025-03-05", "sourceType": "EUROPEAN_COMMISSION_POLICY_COMMUNICATION", "url": "https://education.ec.europa.eu/news/basic-skills-and-stem-action-plan-to-support-education-and-training", "evidenceRole": "Regional policy reference on basic literacy, mathematics, science, citizenship and digital competence, interpreted within European Union scope.", "id": "REF-62" }, { "authoringBody": "UNESCO", "title": "Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education", "year": 2025, "publicationDate": "2025-11-10", "sourceType": "UNESCO_OPERATIONAL_GUIDANCE", "url": "https://www.unesco.org/en/legal-affairs/global-convention-recognition-qualifications-concerning-higher-education?hub=686", "evidenceRole": "Cutoff-period guidance relevant to fair recognition, transparency and tertiary mobility.", "id": "REF-63" } ], "readerNodes": [ { "id": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-i", "nodeType": "PART", "parentId": null, "number": "I", "title": "Participation, pathway and completion", "anchor": "part-i-participation-pathway-and-completion", "sortOrder": 1 }, { "id": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-i", "nodeType": "PART", "parentId": null, "number": "I", "title": "Purpose, scope and evidential discipline", "anchor": "part-i-purpose-scope-and-evidential-discipline", "sortOrder": 2 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-1", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-i", "number": "1", "title": "A review mandate centred on learners", "anchor": "1-a-review-mandate-centred-on-learners", "sortOrder": 3 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-2", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-i", "number": "2", "title": "Defining the institution and its responsibility", "anchor": "2-defining-the-institution-and-its-responsibility", "sortOrder": 4 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-3", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-i", "number": "3", "title": "Connecting inputs, experience and results", "anchor": "3-connecting-inputs-experience-and-results", "sortOrder": 5 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-4", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-i", "number": "4", "title": "Baseline, question and decision threshold", "anchor": "4-baseline-question-and-decision-threshold", "sortOrder": 6 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-5", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-i", "number": "5", "title": "Triangulation without selective confirmation", "anchor": "5-triangulation-without-selective-confirmation", "sortOrder": 7 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-6", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-i", "number": "6", "title": "Proportionality and review burden", "anchor": "6-proportionality-and-review-burden", "sortOrder": 8 }, { "id": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-ii", "nodeType": "PART", "parentId": null, "number": "II", "title": "Equity as a test of institutional quality", "anchor": "part-ii-equity-as-a-test-of-institutional-quality", "sortOrder": 9 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-7", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-ii", "number": "7", "title": "Admission and initial placement", "anchor": "7-admission-and-initial-placement", "sortOrder": 10 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-8", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-ii", "number": "8", "title": "Attendance, time and usable access", "anchor": "8-attendance-time-and-usable-access", "sortOrder": 11 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-9", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-ii", "number": "9", "title": "Sex, poverty and location", "anchor": "9-sex-poverty-and-location", "sortOrder": 12 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-10", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-ii", "number": "10", "title": "Disability, accessibility and accommodation", "anchor": "10-disability-accessibility-and-accommodation", "sortOrder": 13 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-11", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-ii", "number": "11", "title": "Language, status and belonging", "anchor": "11-language-status-and-belonging", "sortOrder": 14 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-12", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-ii", "number": "12", "title": "Fees, transport and indirect cost", "anchor": "12-fees-transport-and-indirect-cost", "sortOrder": 15 }, { "id": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-iii", "nodeType": "PART", "parentId": null, "number": "III", "title": "Learning, teaching and curriculum evidence", "anchor": "part-iii-learning-teaching-and-curriculum-evidence", "sortOrder": 16 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-13", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-iii", "number": "13", "title": "Curriculum entitlement and taught breadth", "anchor": "13-curriculum-entitlement-and-taught-breadth", "sortOrder": 17 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-14", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-iii", "number": "14", "title": "Instructional time and opportunity to learn", "anchor": "14-instructional-time-and-opportunity-to-learn", "sortOrder": 18 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-15", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-iii", "number": "15", "title": "Teaching practice and cognitive demand", "anchor": "15-teaching-practice-and-cognitive-demand", "sortOrder": 19 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-16", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-iii", "number": "16", "title": "Learner work as evidence of progression", "anchor": "16-learner-work-as-evidence-of-progression", "sortOrder": 20 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-17", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-iii", "number": "17", "title": "Assessment fitness and fair access", "anchor": "17-assessment-fitness-and-fair-access", "sortOrder": 21 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-18", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-iii", "number": "18", "title": "Targeted support and learner response", "anchor": "18-targeted-support-and-learner-response", "sortOrder": 22 }, { "id": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-iv", "nodeType": "PART", "parentId": null, "number": "IV", "title": "Completion, progression and transition", "anchor": "part-iv-completion-progression-and-transition", "sortOrder": 23 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-19", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-iv", "number": "19", "title": "Cohort entry and progression", "anchor": "19-cohort-entry-and-progression", "sortOrder": 24 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-20", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-iv", "number": "20", "title": "Repetition and accumulated delay", "anchor": "20-repetition-and-accumulated-delay", "sortOrder": 25 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-21", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-iv", "number": "21", "title": "Early warning and supportive response", "anchor": "21-early-warning-and-supportive-response", "sortOrder": 26 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-22", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-iv", "number": "22", "title": "Interruption, return and second chance", "anchor": "22-interruption-return-and-second-chance", "sortOrder": 27 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-23", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-iv", "number": "23", "title": "Completion and certification", "anchor": "23-completion-and-certification", "sortOrder": 28 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-24", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-iv", "number": "24", "title": "Transition to the next stage or work", "anchor": "24-transition-to-the-next-stage-or-work", "sortOrder": 29 }, { "id": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-v", "nodeType": "PART", "parentId": null, "number": "V", "title": "From diagnosis to owned improvement", "anchor": "part-v-from-diagnosis-to-owned-improvement", "sortOrder": 30 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-25", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-v", "number": "25", "title": "Selecting material review questions", "anchor": "25-selecting-material-review-questions", "sortOrder": 31 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-26", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-v", "number": "26", "title": "Diagnosing causes without blaming learners", "anchor": "26-diagnosing-causes-without-blaming-learners", "sortOrder": 32 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-27", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-v", "number": "27", "title": "Choosing a proportionate intervention", "anchor": "27-choosing-a-proportionate-intervention", "sortOrder": 33 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-28", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-v", "number": "28", "title": "Assigning authority, resources and milestones", "anchor": "28-assigning-authority-resources-and-milestones", "sortOrder": 34 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-29", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-v", "number": "29", "title": "Monitoring fidelity and adaptation", "anchor": "29-monitoring-fidelity-and-adaptation", "sortOrder": 35 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-30", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-v", "number": "30", "title": "Testing improvement and unintended effects", "anchor": "30-testing-improvement-and-unintended-effects", "sortOrder": 36 }, { "id": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-vi", "nodeType": "PART", "parentId": null, "number": "VI", "title": "Governance, participation and public accountability", "anchor": "part-vi-governance-participation-and-public-accountability", "sortOrder": 37 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-31", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-vi", "number": "31", "title": "Learner, family and staff participation", "anchor": "31-learner-family-and-staff-participation", "sortOrder": 38 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-32", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-vi", "number": "32", "title": "Evidence quality and record control", "anchor": "32-evidence-quality-and-record-control", "sortOrder": 39 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-33", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-vi", "number": "33", "title": "Confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation", "anchor": "33-confidentiality-safeguarding-and-non-retaliation", "sortOrder": 40 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-34", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-vi", "number": "34", "title": "Public reporting with causal restraint", "anchor": "34-public-reporting-with-causal-restraint", "sortOrder": 41 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-35", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-vi", "number": "35", "title": "External support and institutional autonomy", "anchor": "35-external-support-and-institutional-autonomy", "sortOrder": 42 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-36", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-vi", "number": "36", "title": "A recurring equity-learning-completion compact", "anchor": "36-a-recurring-equity-learning-completion-compact", "sortOrder": 43 }, { "id": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "nodeType": "PART", "parentId": null, "number": "XII", "title": "Workforce capacity and sustainable finance", "anchor": "part-xii-workforce-capacity-and-sustainable-finance", "sortOrder": 44 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-1", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "1", "title": "A review mandate centred on learners", "anchor": "1-a-review-mandate-centred-on-learners", "sortOrder": 45 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-2", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "2", "title": "Defining the institution and its responsibility", "anchor": "2-defining-the-institution-and-its-responsibility", "sortOrder": 46 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-3", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "3", "title": "Connecting inputs, experience and results", "anchor": "3-connecting-inputs-experience-and-results", "sortOrder": 47 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-4", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "4", "title": "Baseline, question and decision threshold", "anchor": "4-baseline-question-and-decision-threshold", "sortOrder": 48 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-5", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "5", "title": "Triangulation without selective confirmation", "anchor": "5-triangulation-without-selective-confirmation", "sortOrder": 49 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-6", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "6", "title": "Proportionality and review burden", "anchor": "6-proportionality-and-review-burden", "sortOrder": 50 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-7", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "7", "title": "Admission and initial placement", "anchor": "7-admission-and-initial-placement", "sortOrder": 51 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-8", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "8", "title": "Attendance, time and usable access", "anchor": "8-attendance-time-and-usable-access", "sortOrder": 52 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-9", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "9", "title": "Sex, poverty and location", "anchor": "9-sex-poverty-and-location", "sortOrder": 53 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-10", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "10", "title": "Disability, accessibility and accommodation", "anchor": "10-disability-accessibility-and-accommodation", "sortOrder": 54 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-11", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "11", "title": "Language, status and belonging", "anchor": "11-language-status-and-belonging", "sortOrder": 55 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-1", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "1", "title": "A review mandate centred on learners", "anchor": "1-a-review-mandate-centred-on-learners", "sortOrder": 56 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-2", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "2", "title": "Defining the institution and its responsibility", "anchor": "2-defining-the-institution-and-its-responsibility", "sortOrder": 57 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-3", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "3", "title": "Connecting inputs, experience and results", "anchor": "3-connecting-inputs-experience-and-results", "sortOrder": 58 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-4", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "4", "title": "Baseline, question and decision threshold", "anchor": "4-baseline-question-and-decision-threshold", "sortOrder": 59 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-5", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "5", "title": "Triangulation without selective confirmation", "anchor": "5-triangulation-without-selective-confirmation", "sortOrder": 60 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-6", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "6", "title": "Proportionality and review burden", "anchor": "6-proportionality-and-review-burden", "sortOrder": 61 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-7", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "7", "title": "Admission and initial placement", "anchor": "7-admission-and-initial-placement", "sortOrder": 62 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-8", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "8", "title": "Attendance, time and usable access", "anchor": "8-attendance-time-and-usable-access", "sortOrder": 63 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-9", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "9", "title": "Sex, poverty and location", "anchor": "9-sex-poverty-and-location", "sortOrder": 64 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-10", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "10", "title": "Disability, accessibility and accommodation", "anchor": "10-disability-accessibility-and-accommodation", "sortOrder": 65 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-11", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "11", "title": "Language, status and belonging", "anchor": "11-language-status-and-belonging", "sortOrder": 66 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-12", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "12", "title": "Fees, transport and indirect cost", "anchor": "12-fees-transport-and-indirect-cost", "sortOrder": 67 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-13", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "13", "title": "Curriculum entitlement and taught breadth", "anchor": "13-curriculum-entitlement-and-taught-breadth", "sortOrder": 68 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-14", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "14", "title": "Instructional time and opportunity to learn", "anchor": "14-instructional-time-and-opportunity-to-learn", "sortOrder": 69 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-15", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "15", "title": "Teaching practice and cognitive demand", "anchor": "15-teaching-practice-and-cognitive-demand", "sortOrder": 70 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-16", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "16", "title": "Learner work as evidence of progression", "anchor": "16-learner-work-as-evidence-of-progression", "sortOrder": 71 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-17", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "17", "title": "Assessment fitness and fair access", "anchor": "17-assessment-fitness-and-fair-access", "sortOrder": 72 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-18", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "18", "title": "Targeted support and learner response", "anchor": "18-targeted-support-and-learner-response", "sortOrder": 73 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-19", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "19", "title": "Cohort entry and progression", "anchor": "19-cohort-entry-and-progression", "sortOrder": 74 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-20", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "20", "title": "Repetition and accumulated delay", "anchor": "20-repetition-and-accumulated-delay", "sortOrder": 75 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-21", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "21", "title": "Early warning and supportive response", "anchor": "21-early-warning-and-supportive-response", "sortOrder": 76 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-22", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "22", "title": "Interruption, return and second chance", "anchor": "22-interruption-return-and-second-chance", "sortOrder": 77 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-23", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "23", "title": "Completion and certification", "anchor": "23-completion-and-certification", "sortOrder": 78 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-24", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "24", "title": "Transition to the next stage or work", "anchor": "24-transition-to-the-next-stage-or-work", "sortOrder": 79 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-25", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "25", "title": "Selecting material review questions", "anchor": "25-selecting-material-review-questions", "sortOrder": 80 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-26", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "26", "title": "Diagnosing causes without blaming learners", "anchor": "26-diagnosing-causes-without-blaming-learners", "sortOrder": 81 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-27", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "27", "title": "Choosing a proportionate intervention", "anchor": "27-choosing-a-proportionate-intervention", "sortOrder": 82 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-28", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "28", "title": "Assigning authority, resources and milestones", "anchor": "28-assigning-authority-resources-and-milestones", "sortOrder": 83 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-29", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "29", "title": "Monitoring fidelity and adaptation", "anchor": "29-monitoring-fidelity-and-adaptation", "sortOrder": 84 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-30", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "30", "title": "Testing improvement and unintended effects", "anchor": "30-testing-improvement-and-unintended-effects", "sortOrder": 85 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-31", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "31", "title": "Learner, family and staff participation", "anchor": "31-learner-family-and-staff-participation", "sortOrder": 86 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-32", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "32", "title": "Evidence quality and record control", "anchor": "32-evidence-quality-and-record-control", "sortOrder": 87 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-33", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "33", "title": "Confidentiality, safeguarding and non-retaliation", "anchor": "33-confidentiality-safeguarding-and-non-retaliation", "sortOrder": 88 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-34", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "34", "title": "Public reporting with causal restraint", "anchor": "34-public-reporting-with-causal-restraint", "sortOrder": 89 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-35", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "35", "title": "External support and institutional autonomy", "anchor": "35-external-support-and-institutional-autonomy", "sortOrder": 90 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-36", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "36", "title": "A recurring equity-learning-completion compact", "anchor": "36-a-recurring-equity-learning-completion-compact", "sortOrder": 91 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-37", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "37", "title": "Single-axis disaggregation", "anchor": "37-single-axis-disaggregation", "sortOrder": 92 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-38", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "38", "title": "Intersecting categories", "anchor": "38-intersecting-categories", "sortOrder": 93 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-39", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "39", "title": "Small numbers, disclosure and reliability", "anchor": "39-small-numbers-disclosure-and-reliability", "sortOrder": 94 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-40", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "40", "title": "Comparing unlike systems", "anchor": "40-comparing-unlike-systems", "sortOrder": 95 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-41", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "41", "title": "Sampling error and other uncertainty", "anchor": "41-sampling-error-and-other-uncertainty", "sortOrder": 96 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-42", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "42", "title": "Trends and breaks in series", "anchor": "42-trends-and-breaks-in-series", "sortOrder": 97 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-43", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "43", "title": "Reading disparity without blaming learners", "anchor": "43-reading-disparity-without-blaming-learners", "sortOrder": 98 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-44", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "44", "title": "Turning evidence into equitable policy", "anchor": "44-turning-evidence-into-equitable-policy", "sortOrder": 99 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-45", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "45", "title": "A public account beyond the average", "anchor": "45-a-public-account-beyond-the-average", "sortOrder": 100 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-46", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "46", "title": "Composite measures and the loss of meaning", "anchor": "46-composite-measures-and-the-loss-of-meaning", "sortOrder": 101 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-47", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "47", "title": "Decomposing an observed education gap", "anchor": "47-decomposing-an-observed-education-gap", "sortOrder": 102 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-48", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "48", "title": "Setting distribution-sensitive targets", "anchor": "48-setting-distribution-sensitive-targets", "sortOrder": 103 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-49", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "49", "title": "Linking learners to service geography", "anchor": "49-linking-learners-to-service-geography", "sortOrder": 104 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-50", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "50", "title": "Reconciling conflicting sources", "anchor": "50-reconciling-conflicting-sources", "sortOrder": 105 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-51", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "51", "title": "Monitoring marginalisation during severe disruption", "anchor": "51-monitoring-marginalisation-during-severe-disruption", "sortOrder": 106 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-52", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "52", "title": "Communicating uncertainty without losing urgency", "anchor": "52-communicating-uncertainty-without-losing-urgency", "sortOrder": 107 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-53", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "53", "title": "A national marginalisation profile", "anchor": "53-a-national-marginalisation-profile", "sortOrder": 108 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-54", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "54", "title": "Minimum comparison threshold", "anchor": "54-minimum-comparison-threshold", "sortOrder": 109 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-55", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "55", "title": "Within-system interpretation", "anchor": "55-within-system-interpretation", "sortOrder": 110 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-56", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "56", "title": "Between-system interpretation", "anchor": "56-between-system-interpretation", "sortOrder": 111 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-57", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "57", "title": "Assessment participation and the represented learning population", "anchor": "57-assessment-participation-and-the-represented-learning-population", "sortOrder": 112 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-58", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "58", "title": "Scale, threshold and distribution comparability", "anchor": "58-scale-threshold-and-distribution-comparability", "sortOrder": 113 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-59", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "59", "title": "Opportunity to learn and interpretation of achievement gaps", "anchor": "59-opportunity-to-learn-and-interpretation-of-achievement-gaps", "sortOrder": 114 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-60", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "60", "title": "Decomposing disparities within education systems", "anchor": "60-decomposing-disparities-within-education-systems", "sortOrder": 115 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-61", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "61", "title": "Bounded conclusions between education systems", "anchor": "61-bounded-conclusions-between-education-systems", "sortOrder": 116 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-62", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "62", "title": "Uncertainty, materiality and the duty to respond", "anchor": "62-uncertainty-materiality-and-the-duty-to-respond", "sortOrder": 117 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-63", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "63", "title": "Defining a persistent learning gap", "anchor": "63-defining-a-persistent-learning-gap", "sortOrder": 118 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-64", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "64", "title": "From diagnosis to an intervention hypothesis", "anchor": "64-from-diagnosis-to-an-intervention-hypothesis", "sortOrder": 119 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-65", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "65", "title": "Designing the targeted plan", "anchor": "65-designing-the-targeted-plan", "sortOrder": 120 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-66", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "66", "title": "Resourcing equitable implementation", "anchor": "66-resourcing-equitable-implementation", "sortOrder": 121 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-67", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "67", "title": "Monitoring reach, quality and learning response", "anchor": "67-monitoring-reach-quality-and-learning-response", "sortOrder": 122 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-68", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "68", "title": "Adaptation, institutionalisation and exit", "anchor": "68-adaptation-institutionalisation-and-exit", "sortOrder": 123 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-69", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "69", "title": "Fixing the contemporaneous institutional baseline", "anchor": "69-fixing-the-contemporaneous-institutional-baseline", "sortOrder": 124 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-70", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "70", "title": "Selecting priorities without narrowing the commitment", "anchor": "70-selecting-priorities-without-narrowing-the-commitment", "sortOrder": 125 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-71", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "71", "title": "From global target to national improvement proposition", "anchor": "71-from-global-target-to-national-improvement-proposition", "sortOrder": 126 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-72", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "72", "title": "Aligning authority, finance and professional capability", "anchor": "72-aligning-authority-finance-and-professional-capability", "sortOrder": 127 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-73", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "73", "title": "Monitoring delivery, reach and educational consequence", "anchor": "73-monitoring-delivery-reach-and-educational-consequence", "sortOrder": 128 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-74", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "74", "title": "First national decisions after adoption", "anchor": "74-first-national-decisions-after-adoption", "sortOrder": 129 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-75", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "75", "title": "Institutional mandate and scope", "anchor": "75-institutional-mandate-and-scope", "sortOrder": 130 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-76", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "76", "title": "Diagnostic review and priority selection", "anchor": "76-diagnostic-review-and-priority-selection", "sortOrder": 131 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-77", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "77", "title": "Improvement proposition and implementation design", "anchor": "77-improvement-proposition-and-implementation-design", "sortOrder": 132 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-78", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "78", "title": "Resources and professional capability", "anchor": "78-resources-and-professional-capability", "sortOrder": 133 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-79", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "79", "title": "Evidence, adaptation and institutionalisation", "anchor": "79-evidence-adaptation-and-institutionalisation", "sortOrder": 134 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-92", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "92", "title": "Protecting the complete education function", "anchor": "92-protecting-the-complete-education-function", "sortOrder": 135 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-93", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "93", "title": "Distribution and equalisation", "anchor": "93-distribution-and-equalisation", "sortOrder": 136 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-94", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "94", "title": "Teachers and the recurrent base", "anchor": "94-teachers-and-the-recurrent-base", "sortOrder": 137 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-95", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "95", "title": "Execution, transparency and fiscal uncertainty", "anchor": "95-execution-transparency-and-fiscal-uncertainty", "sortOrder": 138 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-96", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "96", "title": "Recovery and review", "anchor": "96-recovery-and-review", "sortOrder": 139 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-97", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "97", "title": "Nominal and real expenditure", "anchor": "97-nominal-and-real-expenditure", "sortOrder": 140 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-98", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "98", "title": "Budget share and public priority", "anchor": "98-budget-share-and-public-priority", "sortOrder": 141 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-99", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "99", "title": "Allocation, execution and function", "anchor": "99-allocation-execution-and-function", "sortOrder": 142 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-100", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "100", "title": "Household burden", "anchor": "100-household-burden", "sortOrder": 143 }, { "id": "sec-iceqc-r-2025-13-101", "nodeType": "SECTION", "parentId": "part-iceqc-r-2025-13-xii", "number": "101", "title": "Temporal boundary and final account", "anchor": "101-temporal-boundary-and-final-account", "sortOrder": 144 } ], "statistics": { "partCount": 8, "sectionCount": 136, "appendixCount": 0, "paragraphCount": 628, "tableCount": 0, "referenceCount": 63, "mainTextWords": 97532, "technicalAppendixWords": 0, "totalWords": 97532 }, "contentHash": "sha256-793aed0c7862f17c7fc1ee8045c1e871c8e9e1c6fed8bed00833de98bf43ac71" }