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Thematic Research Report series

Thematic Research Reports

241 complete publications covering the years 2005 to 2026.

Showing 12 of 64 results

241 publications in this series

ICEQC-R-2018-06

Thematic Research Report

Foundational Literacy and Numeracy: Comparable Measures and Reporting Limits

A comparative indicator study of constructs, populations, assessment conditions and valid public claims

Comparable reporting requires clarity about the construct, proficiency standard, target population, sampling or coverage, administration and uncertainty. A percentage without those elements cannot support a valid comparison. Foundational literacy and numeracy are essential capabilities, but their measurement is not a single interchangeable operation. An assessment observes performance on specified tasks, in a language, format, setting and period, for a population reached by its design. The institutional consequence is a documented decision with a responsible body and review point. For comparable reporting on foundational literacy and numeracy, the issue under review within Executive summary must establish whether the measure retains its domain, population and reporting limits.

Research category
Data and Indicator Research
Report archetype
Comparative Indicator Study
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2018-01

Thematic Research Report

Schooling and Learning: Distinguishing Participation from Educational Progress

A global comparative indicator study of participation, exposure, learning and educational continuity

Participation and learning are connected entitlements that require distinct evidence. Registration, attendance, grade progression, completion, assessed proficiency and durable educational capability should not be used as substitutes for one another. Expanded schooling is a major public achievement, yet enrolment alone does not establish that children attend regularly, receive adequate teaching, acquire secure foundations or progress into further education. The institutional consequence is a documented decision with a responsible body and review point. For the distinction between formal participation and educational progress, the issue under review within Executive summary must establish whether the learner receives sustained instruction and demonstrable learning.

Research category
Data and Indicator Research
Report archetype
Comparative Indicator Study
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2017-10

Thematic Research Report

Reporting Progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 4: Baselines and Data Gaps

A global comparative indicator study of baseline construction, coverage, inequality and public accountability

The first years of reporting towards Sustainable Development Goal 4 require unusual restraint. The global indicator framework establishes a common direction, but many series have different reference years, incomplete population coverage, uncertain links between national and global measures, or no suitable observations. Baseline reporting must therefore identify the value, period, population, source, definition, uncertainty and missing groups. A first value should not be mistaken for a complete 2015 starting point.

Research category
Data and Indicator Research
Report archetype
Comparative Indicator Study
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2017-06

Thematic Research Report

Education Aid Allocation and the Public Reporting of Results

A comparative indicator study of need, commitment, disbursement, service and educational result

Financing education in a protracted crisis should be reported as a sequence from assessed educational requirement to available finance, commitment, receipt, expenditure, delivered service and educational continuity. These states are not interchangeable. A public announcement may establish intent; a pledge may remain conditional; a commitment may not yet have reached an implementing body; expenditure may purchase an input without proving that learners received the intended service. Predictability concerns whether responsible institutions can plan and sustain the complete educational condition over the relevant period, not merely whether an aggregate amount was announced.

Research category
Data and Indicator Research
Report archetype
Comparative Indicator Study
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2017-04

Thematic Research Report

School-Level Performance Measures and the Risk of Misclassification

A global comparative indicator study of measure validity, uncertainty, incentives and proportionate accountability

School-level performance measures can support diagnosis, resource allocation and improvement, but a classification is not a neutral description. It places a school above or below a threshold, into a category or in a rank, often with consequences for staff, learners and community confidence. Misclassification occurs when the observed evidence, threshold or model places a school in a category that does not represent the underlying condition relevant to the decision.

Research category
Data and Indicator Research
Report archetype
Comparative Indicator Study
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2016-07

Thematic Research Report

National Baselines for Sustainable Development Goal 4: Availability and Comparability

A global comparative indicator study of baseline fitness, source coverage, equity and provisional comparability

National baselines for Sustainable Development Goal 4 must establish where countries and population groups stand at the beginning of implementation. The task is more demanding than locating the nearest national value. A defensible baseline is tied to a target concept, population, reference date, definition, source coverage and stated uncertainty. It preserves the actual observation year and discloses any estimation, correspondence or gap. It is designed for future comparison but does not claim comparability where programme structures, age bands, thresholds or source coverage differ materially.

Research category
Data and Indicator Research
Report archetype
Comparative Indicator Study
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2016-05

Thematic Research Report

Financing Education in Protracted Crises: Needs, Gaps and Predictability

A global comparative indicator study of requirements, funding states, continuity and learner-facing use

feasibility and aggregate, amount, announced in Financing Education in Protracted Crises: Needs, Gaps and Predictability require to connect evidence with delivery, unequal effect and correction. These states are not interchangeable. A public announcement may establish intent; a pledge may remain conditional; a commitment may not yet have reached an implementing body; expenditure may purchase an input without proving that learners received the intended service. Predictability concerns whether responsible institutions can plan and sustain the complete educational condition over the relevant period, not merely whether an aggregate amount was announced.

Research category
Data and Indicator Research
Report archetype
Comparative Indicator Study
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2016-01

Thematic Research Report

Participation in Early Childhood, Technical and Adult Education under the New Global Framework

An early Education 2030 baseline for participation, quality, equity and recognised progression across under-observed learning fields

Early childhood provision spans education, care, health and family support. Technical and vocational education spans school, college, workplace and occupational institutions. Adult education spans literacy, basic education, continuing learning, community provision and employment-related study. Administrative boundaries therefore vary, and no single register observes the full entitled population. A credible baseline begins with definitions, provider coverage and a population frame.

Research category
Data and Indicator Research
Report archetype
Comparative Indicator Study
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2015-08

Thematic Research Report

Baseline Requirements for Monitoring the Education Targets of the 2030 Agenda

A global comparative indicator study of target concepts, population coverage, historical baselines and statistical responsibility

The adoption of the 2030 Agenda places defined new demands on national and international education evidence. As at 24 November 2015, the Incheon Declaration, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the 2030 Agenda and the Education 2030 Framework for Action were officially available. Goal 4 and its targets therefore provide the policy concepts for this study. Later indicator selections, technical refinements and reported results do not. Baseline readiness must be assessed against the adopted target substance while the institutional status of each measurement proposal remains explicit.

Research category
Data and Indicator Research
Report archetype
Comparative Indicator Study
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2015-02

Thematic Research Report

Education for All 2000–2015: Progress, Distribution and Unfinished Commitments

A global comparative indicator study of access, equality, learning and the limits of aggregate progress

The close of the Education for All period calls for a disciplined assessment of progress without anticipating evidence or agreements issued after 31 March 2015. The six commitments adopted at Dakar linked early childhood care and education, universal primary education, learning opportunities for young people and adults, adult literacy, gender equality and educational quality. They should be examined as a connected public undertaking rather than reduced to one enrolment trend. Expansion of access is material progress; it does not establish timely entry, sustained attendance, completion, learning or equality among the populations entitled to education.

Research category
Data and Indicator Research
Report archetype
Comparative Indicator Study
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2015-01

Thematic Research Report

Data Readiness for Disaggregated Monitoring under a Universal Education Goal

A global comparative indicator study of measurement scope, population visibility and sustainable statistical capability

The prospect of a universal education goal places new demands on national and international evidence. As at 14 February 2015, the goal and its targets remained under intergovernmental negotiation. The Open Working Group had proposed a broad education goal, and the Secretary-General had presented a synthesis for the negotiating year, but later declarations, adopted goals and final indicator arrangements did not yet exist. Data readiness at this date must therefore be assessed against plausible concepts and enduring statistical duties without presenting a proposal as an agreed outcome.

Research category
Data and Indicator Research
Report archetype
Comparative Indicator Study
Geographic scope
Global
ICEQC-R-2014-11

Thematic Research Report

Evidence and Attribution in Public Claims of Educational Improvement

A global comparative indicator study of change, contribution and responsible public interpretation

Public claims of educational improvement influence confidence, finance, institutional judgement and policy continuation. Such claims should identify the outcome, population, period, baseline and evidence and should distinguish observed change, contribution and causal attribution.

Research category
Data and Indicator Research
Report archetype
Comparative Indicator Study
Geographic scope
Global