Schooling Is Not Education: Using Assessment to Change the Politics of Non-Learning

Featuring
Alice Albright
Chair, Global Partnership for Education

Charles Kenny
Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development

Lant Pritchett
Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development

Chaired by
Nancy Birdsall
President, Center for Global Development

The last decade has seen considerable progress enrolling children in schools worldwide: today most people live in countries on track to meet the Millennium Development Goal of 100% primary completion by 2015.

Sadly, enrollment doesn’t necessarily equal learning. A new report by the CGD Study Group on Measuring Learning Outcomes shows a shockingly wide gap between education inputs and learning outcomes – many children finish primary school unable to read, write or do simple addition. The report, Schooling is Not Education: Using Assessment to Change the Politics of Non-Learning, finds the learning crisis reflects systemic issues in education sectors worldwide. It recommends strong assessment regimes as part of the solution.

On May 9, CGD president Nancy Birdsall will chair a conversation on the report with Alice Albright, chair of the Global Partnership for Education; CGD Study Group co-chair Lant Pritchett; Project director Charles Kenny; and other members of the Study Group. They will discuss the findings and implications for education in the post-2015 development agenda.