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Researchers Urge a Focus on Raising Learning Targets for All Contact: Holly Shulman hshulman@cgdev.org Even if the education gap between rich and poor kids in the developing world was completely closed, many students still would not be proficient in basic math and reading, according to a new study from the Research on Improving Systems of Education (RISE) Programme. The researchers examined data from households in India, Pakistan, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania and found that while there is a significant achievement gap between poor kids and rich kids, learning levels are so low across-the-board that even the best-off kids are far from mastering basic math and reading by age 12. “Instead of bringing poor kids up to the still-not-adequate learning levels of rich kids, we need to raise learning standards across the board,” said Maryam Akmal, the lead author of the study and a researcher at the Center for Global Development. “In a system where basically no kids can read or write—no matter what their schooling—a focus on equality isn’t going to change outcomes. Everyone needs to be better across the board. We can't set a target for mediocrity and then put all our effort into making sure everyone meets it—that's selling kids in developing countries short. Real educational equity means making sure that every kid is able to read or do basic math.” In Pakistan, for instance, the study found that barely two thirds of kids from the richest households—the wealthiest 20%—can read by age 12. And poor kids are even worse off. “A big focus in the development world has been on closing the gap between poor kids and rich kids, but even the rich kids are far, far behind where they should be. Targeting vulnerable groups is absolutely important, but the primary focus has to be on raising learning levels across the board—or we're going to end up with a whole generation that can't read or do basic math.” You can read the full study at https://www.cgdev.org/publication/learning-equity-requires-more-equality-learning-goals-and-achievement-gaps ##

From the article: WASHINGTON — U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Mark Green will testify at the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday in a hearing that will likely offer a window into the status of the agency’s ongoing reorganization. Many of the changes Green and his team hope to make require approval from lawmakers. The agency laid out its request in a series of congressional notifications last summer. The notifications, which Devex obtained, provide an in-depth look at the reasons behind Green’s proposed changes, what the agency’s leaders expect will be required to make them happen, and the specific problems each of the proposals are intended to fix. -- “Operating as two distinct organizational units to address a common set of humanitarian issues is inherently inefficient as it requires two sets of management and support structures with separate policies, processes, systems, tools and staffs,” the notification reads. It also creates an unhelpful barrier to delivering complementary forms of assistance, such as food and health interventions, as Jeremy Konyndyk, former head of OFDA, noted on Twitter. Under the new plan, OFDA and Food for Peace would merge into a consolidated bureau for humanitarian assistance, which would, according to USAID, “enhance the provision of the full-spectrum of humanitarian-assistance activities to include prevention, mitigation, and disaster risk-reduction, to enable communities to recover from, and respond to, emergencies on their own, and over time reduce the need for expensive humanitarian assistance, particularly in areas of recurrent crises.” The idea of the merger is not new. Under the previous administration, USAID commissioned a study from the consulting firm McKinsey & Company to explore the idea and found that it could lead to reduced duplication and cost savings. Konyndyk, who led OFDA during the Obama administration, applauded Congress’ approval of the plan, noting that the competing structures made previous efforts at coordination difficult. “Historically this distinction led to weaker programming. During my time at AID, we tried to do integrated food/non-food grants during the Ethiopia drought of 2016, and found ourselves tied up in months of red tape due to different systems and grant requirements,” he wrote on Twitter.  

From the article: LONDON — Despite raising eyebrows last month for refusing to give a firm answer about the future of the U.K. Department for International Development, secretary of state Penny Mordaunt has again claimed that DFID is not an “independent” department in a letter obtained by Devex on Monday. In a letter to Preet Gill — the Labour Party’s shadow minister for international development, who was seeking clarification of Mordaunt’s earlier remarks — the U.K. aid chief wrote that her department “could not … be described as ‘independent,’” and that she hoped to “move the debate about DFID on from being one about where our desks are situated to being focused on delivering the global goals.” -- Ian Mitchell, a senior policy fellow at the Center for Global Development think tank, told Devex by email that he would “welcome DFID working more closely with other government departments — using all our policy levers ... on investment, environment, health, and migration to accelerate progress towards the global goals ... But ... it’s unusual for a Cabinet Minister to assert their department’s lack of independence — [the] Treasury and Cabinet Office work across Whitehall, and may have loaned staff [to other departments] to assist on Brexit — but you wouldn’t hear their ministers say those departments aren’t independent. That leaves the impression this is about signalling future direction.”