Reforms without evaluation

A new report from the OECD offers a detailed look at 450 education reforms adopted across OECD countries between 2008 and 2014. Sixteen percent focused on ensuring quality and equity in education; 29 percent aimed to better prepare students for the future, in some cases via vocational education or work-based training and apprenticeships; 24 percent focused on school improvement through development of positive learning environments and quality staff; and 12 percent focused on assessment. Given that the governance of education systems has become increasingly complex, 9 percent of reforms elaborated overarching visions. Eleven percent of all reform measures addressed funding at the system level, the institutional level, and the student level. For all of this -- critically -- the report finds that once most new policies are adopted, countries conduct little follow-up. Only 10 percent of policies that the OECD looked at had been evaluated for impact. Measuring impact more rigorously and consistently, the report notes, is not only cost-effective in the long run, it is essential for developing useful, practicable, and successful policy options. One in five 15-year-olds in OECD countries does not acquire the minimum skills necessary to participate fully in today's society. More

Source:  Public Education News Blast

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Los Angeles Education Partnership (LAEP) is an education support organization that works as a collaborative partner in high-poverty communities.