how to improve education quality essay

Essay on How to Improve Our Education System

Students are often asked to write an essay on How to Improve Our Education System in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on How to Improve Our Education System

Identifying the issues.

Our education system has some flaws. It’s often focused on rote learning, not creativity. Also, it doesn’t cater to different learning styles.

Adopting a Holistic Approach

We should focus on holistic development, not just academics. This includes sports, arts, and social skills.

Personalized Learning

Every student learns differently. So, we should use technology to personalize education.

Teacher Training

Teachers need continuous training to stay updated. More resources should be allocated for this.

Parental Involvement

Parents should be more involved in their child’s education. This can improve learning outcomes.

By addressing these issues, we can enhance our education system.

250 Words Essay on How to Improve Our Education System

Introduction.

Education is the cornerstone of societal progress. However, in the face of rapidly evolving global challenges, our education system must adapt and innovate. To improve our education system, we need to focus on three key areas: curriculum development, teaching methodologies, and assessment strategies.

Curriculum Development

Building a relevant curriculum is vital. It should not just be limited to textbook knowledge but also include real-world issues, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills. Incorporating technology and digital literacy into the curriculum is essential to prepare students for the digital age.

Teaching Methodologies

Traditional lecture-based teaching methods need to evolve. Active learning strategies such as project-based learning, flipped classrooms, and collaborative group work should be encouraged. These methods stimulate student engagement and foster a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

Assessment Strategies

Assessment should be more than just testing memory. Evaluations should measure a student’s understanding, creativity, and ability to apply knowledge. Formative assessments, which provide ongoing feedback, can help students identify their strengths and areas for improvement.

In conclusion, to improve our education system, we must revamp our curriculum, adopt innovative teaching methods, and revise our assessment strategies. These changes will equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary to thrive in the 21st century.

500 Words Essay on How to Improve Our Education System

Education is the cornerstone of society, providing the foundation for personal growth, social development, and economic prosperity. However, the current education system, predominantly based on rote learning and standardized tests, has been criticized for not adequately preparing students for the challenges of the 21st century. This essay explores how we can improve our education system to foster creativity, critical thinking, and lifelong learning.

Embracing Technology

Technology has revolutionized every sector, and education should be no exception. Integrating technology into the classroom can enhance learning by making it more interactive and engaging. For instance, digital platforms can offer personalized learning experiences tailored to each student’s pace and level of understanding. Moreover, virtual reality and augmented reality can provide immersive learning experiences, making abstract concepts more tangible.

Student-Centered Learning

The traditional teacher-centered model should be replaced by a student-centered approach, where students take active roles in their learning process. This approach encourages students to question, explore, and discover, fostering critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Additionally, project-based learning, where students work on real-world problems, can make learning more relevant and meaningful.

Curriculum Reform

The current curriculum heavily emphasizes theoretical knowledge, often at the expense of practical skills. A reformed curriculum should strike a balance between the two, incorporating subjects like financial literacy, digital literacy, and soft skills. Furthermore, the curriculum should be flexible enough to accommodate the fast-paced changes in the job market, equipping students with the skills needed for jobs that do not yet exist.

Assessment Reform

Assessment methods need to evolve beyond standardized tests, which often measure rote memorization rather than understanding. Alternative assessment methods like portfolios, presentations, and peer assessments can provide a more comprehensive picture of a student’s abilities. These methods not only assess knowledge but also skills like communication, collaboration, and creativity.

Teacher Training and Support

Teachers play a pivotal role in the education system. Therefore, their training and support should be a priority. Regular professional development programs can equip teachers with the latest pedagogical strategies and technological tools. Moreover, teachers should be given adequate resources and autonomy to innovate and adapt their teaching methods to the needs of their students.

Improving our education system is a complex task that requires the collaboration of educators, policymakers, parents, and students. While the steps outlined above are not exhaustive, they provide a starting point for transforming our education system into one that nurtures creativity, critical thinking, and lifelong learning. By doing so, we can ensure that our education system prepares students not just for exams, but for life.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

• Essay on Education Is the Key to Success
• Essay on Purpose of Education
• Essay on Right to Education

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

Happy studying!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Advertisement

How can education systems improve? A systematic literature review

• Published: 07 April 2022
• Volume 24 , pages 479–499, ( 2023 )

Cite this article

• Ignacio Barrenechea   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-4673-3862 1 ,
• Jason Beech 2 &
• Axel Rivas 1  

1819 Accesses

8 Citations

10 Altmetric

Explore all metrics

Understanding what contributes to improving a system will help us tackle the problems in education systems that usually fail disproportionately in providing quality education for all, especially for the most disadvantage sectors of the population. This paper presents the results of a qualitative systematic literature review aimed at providing a comprehensive overview of what education research can say about the factors that promote education systems’ improvement. This literature is emerging as a topic of empirical research that merges comparative education and school effectiveness studies as standardized assessments make it possible to compare results across systems and time. To examine and synthesize the papers included in this review we followed a thematic analysis approach. We identify, analyze, and report patterns in the papers included in this systematic review. From the coding process, four drivers for system improvement emerged: (1) system-wide approaches; (2) human capital; (3) governance and macro–micro level bridges; and (4) availability of resources.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price includes VAT (Russian Federation)

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Rent this article via DeepDyve

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Background, Aims, and Theories of the Comparative Large-Scale Studies in Education

Background, Aims and Theories of the Comparative Large-Scale Studies in Education

Comparing Systems

For example, Improving schools https://journals.sagepub.com/aims-scope/IMP .

School effectiveness and school improvement https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=nses20 .

For example, International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement https://www.icsei.net/about-icsei/ .

Our search countries were Albania, Qatar, Estonia, Portugal, Poland, Peru, Ireland, Russia, Israel, and Slovenia.

Addey, C., Sellar, S., Steiner-Khamsi, G., Lingard, B., & Verger, A. (2017). The rise of international large-scale assessments and rationales for participation.  Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education ,  47 (3), 434–452.

Alves, F. (2008). Educational policies and school performance in the Brazilian capitals of states. Cadernos De Pesquisa, 38 (34), 413–440.

Article   Google Scholar  

Arnove, R. F. (2015). Comparative education: Dimensions and trends: A contribution to the 50th anniversary celebration of the Japan comparative education society. Comparative Education, 2015 (50), 168–177.

Auld, E., & Morris, P. (2016). PISA, policy and persuasion: Translating complex conditions into education' best practice'. Comparative Education , 52 (2), 202–229. https://doi.org/10.1080/03050068.2016.1143278 .

Barber, M., Kihn, P., & Moffit, A. (2011). Deliverology 101: A field guide for educational leaders . Corwin Press.

Barber, M., & Mourshed, M. (2007). How the world’s best-performing school systems come out on top . McKinsey & Company.

Becker, G. S. (1976). The economic approach to human behavior . University of Chicago Press.

Beech, J., & Lista, E. (2012). Flowing Discourses and Border Crossing: The Slogan of ‘Respect for Diversity’in Latin America. In World Yearbook of Education 2012 (pp. 391–410). Routledge.

Beech, J., & Rizvi, F. (2017). Revisiting Jullien in an era of globalisation. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education , 47 (3), 374–387.

Betts, J. R., Zau, A., & King, K. (2005). From blueprint to reality: San Diego’s education reforms . Public Policy Institute of California.

Bin Mahfooz, S., & Hovde, K. (2010). Successful education reform: lessons from Poland.  ECA Knowledge Brief ,  34 (11).

Boman, B. (2020). What makes Estonia and Singapore so good? Globalisation, Societies and Education, 18 (2), 181–193.

Booth, A., Papaioannou, D., & Sutton, A. (2012). Systematic approaches to a successful literature review . Sage Publications.

Campbell, C. (2020). Educational equity in Canada: The case of Ontario’s strategies and actions to advance excellence and equity for students. School Leadership & Management , 1–20.

Carvalho, L. M., Costa, E., & Gonçalves, C. (2017). Fifteen years looking at the mirror: On the presence of PISA in education policy processes (Portugal, 2000–2016). European Journal of Education, 52 (2), 154–166.

Coffield, F. (2012). Why the McKinsey reports will not improve school systems. Journal of Education Policy, 27 (1), 131–149.

Coffield, F., & Williamson, B. (2011). From Exam Factories to Communities of Discovery. Adults Learning, 23 (2), 24–25.

Cogan, L. S., Schmidt, W. H., & Wiley, D. E. (2001). Who takes what math and in which track? Using TIMSS to characterize US students’ eighth-grade mathematics learning opportunities. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 23 (4), 323–341.

Cohen, D. K., & Spillane, J. P. (1992). Chapter 1: Policy and practice: The relations between governance and instruction. Review of research in education , 18 (1), 3–49. American Educational Research Association.

Cox, C. (2004). Innovation and reform to improve the quality of primary education: Chile. Unpublished manuscript, Ministry of Education, Santiago .

Crato, N. (2021). Setting up the Scene: Lessons Learned from PISA 2018 Statistics and Other International Student Assessments. In  Improving a Country’s Education  (pp. 1–24). Springer, Cham.

Cueto, S., Miranda, A., León, J., & Vásquez, M. C. (2016b). Education trajectories: From early childhood to early adulthood in Peru.

Cueto, S., León, J., & Muñoz, I. G. (2016a). Conductas, estrategias y rendimiento en lectura en PISA: análisis para el Perú. REICE: Revista Iberoamericana sobre Calidad, Eficacia y Cambio en Educación , 14 (3), 5–31.

David, J. L., & Talbert, J. E. (2012). Turning around a high-poverty school district: Learning from Sanger Unified’s success. SH Cowell Foundation .

Deaton, A. (2020). Randomization in the tropics revisited: A theme and eleven variations . Working Paper No. 27600. National Bureau Of Economic Research.

Dhaliwal, I., Duflo, E., Glennerster, R., & Tulloch, C. (2013). Comparative costeffectiveness analysis to inform policy in developing countries: a general framework with applications for education. Education policy in developing countries, 17 , 285–338.

Dinham, S., Crowther, F., Robinson, V. M., McNaughton, S., & Timperley, H. (2011). Building capacity in a self‐managing schooling system: The New Zealand experience. Journal of Educational Administration .

Dykstra, T. (2006). High performance and success in education in Flemish Belgium and the Netherlands . National Center on Education and the Economy.

Edwards, D. B., Jr. (2018). Global education policy, impact evaluations, and alternatives: The political economy of knowledge production . Springer.

Elmore, R. (2007). Educational improvement in Victoria. Unpublished internal communication.

Elmore, R. F., & Burney, D. (1998). Continuous improvement in community district# 2 . University of Pittsburgh, HPLC Project, Learning Research, and Development Center.

Fazlagić, J., & Erkol, A. (2015). Knowledge mobilisation in the Polish education system. Journal of Education for Teaching, 41 (5), 541–554.

Feniger, Y., & Lefstein, A. (2014). How not to reason with PISA data: An ironic investigation. Journal of Education Policy, 29 (6), 845–855.

Fernandez Cano, A. (2016). A methodological critique of the PISA evaluations. Relieve, 22 (1), 1–16. Disponible en: https://www.uv.es/RELIEVE/v22n1/RELIEVEv22n1_M15eng.pdf .

Fleisch, B. (2016). System-wide improvement at the instructional core: Changing reading teaching in South Africa. Journal of Educational Change, 17 (4), 437–451.

Fuhrman, S. (1993). Designing coherent education policy: Improving the system . Jossey-Bass.

Fullan, M., & Rincon-Gallardo, S. (2016). Developing high-quality public education in Canada: The case of Ontario. In Global Education Reform (pp. 169–193). Routledge.

Fullan, M. (2016). The elusive nature of whole system improvement in education. Journal of Educational Change, 17 (4), 539–544.

Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory . Aldine.

Gómez, R. L., & Suárez, A. M. (2020). Do inquiry-based teaching and school climate influence science achievement and critical thinking? Evidence from PISA 2015. International Journal of STEM Education, 7 (1), 1–11.

Graczewski, C., Knudson, J., & Holtzman, D. J. (2009). Instructional leadership in practice: What does it look like, and what influence does it have? Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 14 (1), 72–96.

Hallinger, P., & Heck, R. H. (2011). Collaborative leadership and school improvement: Understanding the impact on school capacity and student learning. In International handbook of leadership for learning (pp. 469–485). Springer.

Hanushek, E. A. & Woessmann, L. (2007). Calidad de la educación y crecimiento económico . En Documento N° 39. PREAL.

Harris, A. (2010). Leading system transformation. School Leadership and Management, 30 (3), 197–207.

Harris, A., & Jones, M. S. (2017). Professional learning communities: A strategy for school and system improvement? Wales Journal of Education, 19 (1), 16–38.

Hood, C. (1991). A public management for all seasons? Public Administration, 69 (1), 3–19.

Hopfenbeck, T. N., Lenkeit, J., El Masri, Y., Cantrell, K., Ryan, J., & Baird, J. A. (2018). Lessons learned from PISA: A systematic review of peer-reviewed articles on the programme for international student assessment. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 62 (3), 333–353.

Hopkins, D. (2007). Every school a great school: Realizing the potential of system leadership . McGraw-Hill Education.

Hopkins, D., Ahtaridou, E., Matthews, P., Posner, C., & Toledo, F. D. (2007). An analysis of the Mexican school system in light of PISA 2006 . London Centre for Leadership in Learning, University of London.

Hussen, T. (1994). Problems of Educational Reforms in a Changing Society. En A. Yogev y V. Rust (Eds.), International perspectives on education and society . Jai Press.

Jakubowski, M. (2015). Opening up opportunities: Education reforms in Poland. IBS Policy Paper, 1 , 2015.

Google Scholar  

Jessop, B. (1998). The narrative of enterprise and the enterprise of narrative: Place marketing and the entrepreneurial city. En The entrepreneurial city: Geographies of politics, regime and representation . John Wiley.

Lapping, M. B. (2004). Education in a restoration democracy: The case of Estonia. Citizenship, Social and Economics Education, 6 (2), 101–115.

Levin, B. (2012). System-wide improvement in education. Education Policy Series, 13 , 1–38.

Lindblad, S., Pettersson, D., & Popkewitz, T. S. (2015). International comparisons of school results: A systematic review of research on large-scale assessments in education . Swedish Research Council.

LLECE-UNESCO. (2013). Análisis del clima escolar: ¿Poderoso factor que explica el aprendizaje en América Latina y el Caribe? OREALC-UNESCO Santiago.

Masino, S., & Niño-Zarazúa, M. (2016). What works to improve the quality of student learning in developing countries? International Journal of Educational Development, 48 , 53–65.

McAleavy, T., & Elwick, A. (2016). School improvement in London: A global perspective . Education Development Trust. Highbridge House, 16–18 Duke Street, Reading Berkshire, England RG1 4RU, United Kingdom.

McEwan, P. J. (2015). Improving learning in primary schools of developing countries: A meta-analysis of randomized experiments. Review of Educational Research, 85 (3), 353–394.

Mikk, J. (2015). Explaining the difference between PISA 2009 reading scores in Finland and Estonia. Educational Research and Evaluation, 21 (4), 324–342.

Morris, P. (2015). Comparative education, PISA, politics and educational reform: A cautionary note. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education , 45 (3), 470–474.

Morris, P. (1996). Asia’s four little tigers: A comparison of the role of education in their development. Comparative Education, 32 (1), 95–110.

Mourshed, M., Chijioke, C., & Barber, M. (2010). How the world’s most improved school systems keep getting better. McKinsey & Company (En español: Mourshed, M., Chijioke, C. y Barber, M. (2012). Cómo continúan mejorando los sistemas educativos de mayor progreso en el mundo. Documento N° 61. PREAL).

Murnane, R. J., & Ganimian, A. (2014). Improving educational outcomes in developing countries: Lessons from rigorous impact evaluations . Working Paper No. 20284. NBER.

Murphy, J., & Hallinger, P. (1988). Characteristics of instructionally effective school districts. The Journal of Educational Research, 81 (3), 175–181.

Nguyen, X. T., Roemmele, D., & Peel, D. (2013). Education reform in Vietnam: A critical analysis of inclusion and management discourses. Journal of Asian Critical Education , 2 .

Noah, H. J., & Eckstein, M. A. (1969). Toward a science of comparative education . Macmillan.

Nóvoa, A., & Yariv-Mashal, T. (2014). Comparative research in education: A model of governance or a historical journey. En T. Fenwick, E. Mangez y J. Ozga (Eds.), World yearbook of education 2014: Governing knowledge comparison, knowledge-based technologies and expertise in the regulation of education. Routledge.

O’Day, J. A., & Smith, M. S. (2016). Quality and equality in American education: Systemic problems, systemic solutions. In The dynamics of opportunity in America (pp. 297–358). Springer.

O’Day, J., & Quick, H. E. (2009). Assessing instructional reform in San Diego: A theory-based approach. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 14 (1), 1–16.

OECD. (2019).  PISA 2018 assessment and analytical framework . PISA, OECD Publishing.  https://doi.org/10.1787/b25efab8-en .

Osborne, D., & Gaebler, T. (1992). Reinventing government . Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Osmond-Johnson, P., & Campbell, C. (2018). Transforming an education system through professional learning: Developing educational change at scale in Ontario. Educational Research for Policy and Practice, 17 (3), 241–256.

Pang, N. S. K., & Miao, Z. (2017). The roles of teacher leadership in Shanghai education success. Bulgarian Comparative Education Society .

Paterson, G. D. (2019). Improving student learning through professional learning communities: Employing a system-wide approach. Canadian Journal for New Scholars in Education/Revue canadienne des jeunes chercheures et chercheurs en éducation , 10 (1).

Porter, C. (2002). Measuring the content of instruction: Uses in research and practice. In 2002 Presidential address . University of Wisconsin.

Quick, H. E., Holtzman, D. J., & Chaney, K. R. (2009). Professional development and instructional practice: Conceptions and evidence of effectiveness. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 14 (1), 45–71.

Rindermann, H., & Ceci, S. J. (2009). Educational policy and country outcomes in international cognitive competence studies. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 4 (6), 551–568.

Rivas, A. (2015). América Latina después de PISA: Lecciones aprendidas sobre la educación en siete países . CIPPEC, Natura e Instituto Natura.

Rivas, A. et al. (2020): Las llaves de la educación. Estudio comparado sobre la mejora de los sistemas educativos subnacionales en América Latina, Fundación Santillana, Madrid.

Rivas, A., & Scasso, M. G. (2021). Low stakes, high risks: The problem of intertemporal validity of PISA in Latin America. Journal of Education Policy, 36 (2), 279–302.

Rizvi, F., & Beech, J. (2017). Global mobilities and the possibilities of a cosmopolitan curriculum. Curriculum Inquiry, 47 (1), 125–134.

Sahlberg, P. (2011). The fourth way of Finland. Journal of Educational Change, 12 (2), 173–185.

Sam, C., & Riggan, M. (2013). Building district capacity for system-wide instructional improvement in Cincinnati public schools. Working Paper. GE Foundation" Developing Futures "™ in Education Evaluation Series. Consortium for Policy Research in Education .

Schleicher, A. (2012). Preparing teachers and developing school leaders for the 21st century: Lessons from around the world . OECD Publishing. 2, rue Andre Pascal, F-75775 Paris Cedex 16, France.

Schleicher, A. (2018). How to build a 21st-century school system . OECD Publishing.

Schmidt, W. H., & Prawat, R. S. (2006). Curriculum coherence and national control of education: Issue or non-issue? Journal of Curriculum Studies, 38 (6), 641–658.

Schmidt, W. H., Wang, H. C., & McKnight, C. C. (2005). Curriculum coherence: An examination of US mathematics and science content standards from an international perspective. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 37 , 525–559.

Schneider, B. R., Estarellas, P. C., & Bruns, B. (2019). The politics of transforming education in Ecuador: Confrontation and continuity, 2006–2017. Comparative Education Review, 63 (2), 259–280.

Sellar, S., & Lingard, B. (2013). The OECD and the expansion of PISA: New global modes of governance in education. British Educational Research Journal, 40 (6), 917–936.

Snilstveit, B., Stevenson, J., Menon, R., Phillips, D., Gallagher, E., Geleen, M., et al. (2016). The impact of education programmes on learning and school participation in low-and middle-income countries.

Snipes, J., Doolittle, F., & Herlihy, C. (2002). Foundations for success: Case studies of how urban school systems improve student achievement. Council of the Great City Schools.

Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104 , 333–339.

Steiner-Khamsi, G. (2019a). Randomized controlled trials: League leader in the hierarchy of evidence?. En R. Gorur y S. Sellar (Eds.), World yearbook of education 2019a: Comparative methodology in the era of big data and global networks . Routledge.

Steiner-Khamsi, G. (2019b). Conclusions: What policy-makers do with PISA. Understanding PISA’s attractiveness: Critical analyses in comparative policy studies , 233.

Steiner-Khamsi, G. (2016). New directions in policy borrowing research. Asia Pacific Education Review, 17 (3), 381–390.

Tan, C. (2019). Parental responses to education reform in Singapore, Shanghai and Hong Kong. Asia Pacific Education Review, 20 (1), 91–99.

Trace, A. (1961) What Ivan knows that Johnny doesn’t: A comparison of Soviet and American school programs. Harper.

Tucker, M. (Ed.). (2011). Surpassing Shanghai. An agenda for American education built on the world’s leading systems . Harvard Education Press.

Tyack, D. B. and Cuban, L. (1995). Tinkering toward utopia . Harvard University Press.

Valverde, G. A. (2014). Educational quality: global politics, comparative inquiry, and opportunities to learn. Comparative Education Review, 58 (4), 575–589.

Verger, A., Novelli, M., & Altinyelken, H. K. (2012). Global education policy and international development: An introductory framework.  Global education policy and international development: New agendas, issues and policies , 3–32.

Wenger, E., McDermott, R. A., & Snyder, W. (2002). Cultivating communities of practice: A guide to managing knowledge . Harvard Business Press.

Zavadsky, H. (2016). Bringing effective instructional practice to scale in American schools: Lessons from the Long Beach Unified School District. Journal of Educational Change, 17 (4), 505–527.

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Universidad de San Andrés, Victoria, Argentina

Ignacio Barrenechea & Axel Rivas

Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia

Jason Beech

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ignacio Barrenechea .

Additional information

Publisher's note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Barrenechea, I., Beech, J. & Rivas, A. How can education systems improve? A systematic literature review. J Educ Change 24 , 479–499 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-022-09453-7

Download citation

Accepted : 03 March 2022

Published : 07 April 2022

Issue Date : September 2023

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-022-09453-7

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Educational change
• System-wide improvement
• Comparative education
• International education
• Find a journal
• Publish with us
• Track your research

The turning point: Why we must transform education now

Global warming. Accelerated digital revolution. Growing inequalities. Democratic backsliding. Loss of biodiversity. Devastating pandemics. And the list goes on. These are just some of the most pressing challenges that we are facing today in our interconnected world.

The diagnosis is clear: Our current global education system is failing to address these alarming challenges and provide quality learning for everyone throughout life. We know that education today is not fulfilling its promise to help us shape peaceful, just, and sustainable societies. These findings were detailed in UNESCO’s Futures of Education Report in November 2021 which called for a new social contract for education.

That is why it has never been more crucial to reimagine the way we learn, what we learn and how we learn. The turning point is now. It’s time to transform education. How do we make that happen?

Here’s what you need to know. 

Why do we need to transform education?

The current state of the world calls for a major transformation in education to repair past injustices and enhance our capacity to act together for a more sustainable and just future. We must ensure the right to lifelong learning by providing all learners - of all ages in all contexts - the knowledge and skills they need to realize their full potential and live with dignity. Education can no longer be limited to a single period of one’s lifetime. Everyone, starting with the most marginalized and disadvantaged in our societies, must be entitled to learning opportunities throughout life both for employment and personal agency. A new social contract for education must unite us around collective endeavours and provide the knowledge and innovation needed to shape a better world anchored in social, economic, and environmental justice.  

What are the key areas that need to be transformed?

• Inclusive, equitable, safe and healthy schools

Education is in crisis. High rates of poverty, exclusion and gender inequality continue to hold millions back from learning. Moreover, COVID-19 further exposed the inequities in education access and quality, and violence, armed conflict, disasters and reversal of women’s rights have increased insecurity. Inclusive, transformative education must ensure that all learners have unhindered access to and participation in education, that they are safe and healthy, free from violence and discrimination, and are supported with comprehensive care services within school settings. Transforming education requires a significant increase in investment in quality education, a strong foundation in comprehensive early childhood development and education, and must be underpinned by strong political commitment, sound planning, and a robust evidence base.

• Learning and skills for life, work and sustainable development

There is a crisis in foundational learning, of literacy and numeracy skills among young learners. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, learning poverty has increased by a third in low- and middle-income countries, with an estimated 70% of 10-year-olds unable to understand a simple written text. Children with disabilities are 42% less likely to have foundational reading and numeracy skills compared to their peers. More than 771 million people still lack basic literacy skills, two-thirds of whom are women. Transforming education means empowering learners with knowledge, skills, values and attitudes to be resilient, adaptable and prepared for the uncertain future while contributing to human and planetary well-being and sustainable development. To do so, there must be emphasis on foundational learning for basic literacy and numeracy; education for sustainable development, which encompasses environmental and climate change education; and skills for employment and entrepreneurship.

• Teachers, teaching and the teaching profession

Teachers are essential for achieving learning outcomes, and for achieving SDG 4 and the transformation of education. But teachers and education personnel are confronted by four major challenges: Teacher shortages; lack of professional development opportunities; low status and working conditions; and lack of capacity to develop teacher leadership, autonomy and innovation. Accelerating progress toward SDG 4 and transforming education require that there is an adequate number of teachers to meet learners’ needs, and all education personnel are trained, motivated, and supported. This can only be possible when education is adequately funded, and policies recognize and support the teaching profession, to improve their status and working conditions.

• Digital learning and transformation

The COVID-19 crisis drove unprecedented innovations in remote learning through harnessing digital technologies. At the same time, the digital divide excluded many from learning, with nearly one-third of school-age children (463 million) without access to distance learning. These inequities in access meant some groups, such as young women and girls, were left out of learning opportunities. Digital transformation requires harnessing technology as part of larger systemic efforts to transform education, making it more inclusive, equitable, effective, relevant, and sustainable. Investments and action in digital learning should be guided by the three core principles: Center the most marginalized; Free, high-quality digital education content; and Pedagogical innovation and change.

• Financing of education

While global education spending has grown overall, it has been thwarted by high population growth, the surmounting costs of managing education during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the diversion of aid to other emergencies, leaving a massive global education financial gap amounting to US$ 148 billion annually. In this context, the first step toward transformation is to urge funders to redirect resources back to education to close the funding gap. Following that, countries must have significantly increased and sustainable financing for achieving SDG 4 and that these resources must be equitably and effectively allocated and monitored. Addressing the gaps in education financing requires policy actions in three key areas: Mobilizing more resources, especially domestic; increasing efficiency and equity of allocations and expenditures; and improving education financing data. Finally, determining which areas needs to be financed, and how, will be informed by recommendations from each of the other four action tracks .

What is the Transforming Education Summit?

UNESCO is hosting the Transforming Education Pre-Summit on 28-30 June 2022, a meeting of  over 140 Ministers of Education, as well as  policy and business leaders and youth activists, who are coming together to build a roadmap to transform education globally. This meeting is a precursor to the Transforming Education Summit to be held on 19 September 2022 at the UN General Assembly in New York. This high-level summit is convened by the UN Secretary General to radically change our approach to education systems. Focusing on 5 key areas of transformation, the meeting seeks to mobilize political ambition, action, solutions and solidarity to transform education: to take stock of efforts to recover pandemic-related learning losses; to reimagine education systems for the world of today and tomorrow; and to revitalize national and global efforts to achieve SDG-4.

• More on the Transforming Education Summit
• More on the Pre-Summit

Related items

• Future of education
• SDG: SDG 4 - Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

This article is related to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals .

More on this subject

Other recent news

Transforming education systems: Why, what, and how

• Download the full policy brief
• Download the executive summary
• Baixe o resumo executivo
• Baixar o resumo da política

تنزيل موجز السياسة

تنزيل الملخص التنفيذي

• Descargar el PDF en Español
• Descargar el resumen de políticas

Subscribe to the Center for Universal Education Bulletin

Rebecca winthrop and rebecca winthrop director - center for universal education , senior fellow - global economy and development @rebeccawinthrop the hon. minister david sengeh the hon. minister david sengeh minister of education and chief innovation officer - government of sierra leone, chief innovation officer - directorate of science, technology and innovation in sierra leone @dsengeh.

June 23, 2022

Today, the topic of education system transformation is front of mind for many leaders. Ministers of education around the world are seeking to build back better as they emerge from COVID-19-school closures to a new normal of living with a pandemic. The U.N. secretary general is convening the Transforming Education Summit (TES) at this year’s general assembly meeting (United Nations, n.d.). Students around the world continue to demand transformation on climate and not finding voice to do this through their schools are regularly leaving class to test out their civic action skills.      

It is with this moment in mind that we have developed this shared vision of education system transformation. Collectively we offer insights on transformation from the perspective of a global think tank and a national government: the Center for Universal Education (CUE) at Brookings brings years of global research on education change and transformation, and the Ministry of Education of Sierra Leone brings on-the-ground lessons from designing and implementing system-wide educational rebuilding.   

This brief is for any education leader or stakeholder who is interested in charting a transformation journey in their country or education jurisdiction such as a state or district. It is also for civil society organizations, funders, researchers, and anyone interested in the topic of national development through education. In it, we answer the following three questions and argue for a participatory approach to transformation:  

• Why is education system transformation urgent now? We argue that the world is at an inflection point. Climate change, the changing nature of work, increasing conflict and authoritarianism together with the urgency of COVID recovery has made the transformation agenda more critical than ever. 
• What is education system transformation? We argue that education system transformation must entail a fresh review of the goals of your system – are they meeting the moment that we are in, are they tackling inequality and building resilience for a changing world, are they fully context aware, are they owned broadly across society – and then fundamentally positioning all components of your education system to coherently contribute to this shared purpose.  
• How can education system transformation advance in your country or jurisdiction? We argue that three steps are crucial: Purpose (developing a broadly shared vision and purpose), Pedagogy (redesigning the pedagogical core), and Position (positioning and aligning all components of the system to support the pedagogical core and purpose). Deep engagement of educators, families, communities, students, ministry staff, and partners is essential across each of these “3 P” steps.    

Related Content

Rebecca Winthrop, Adam Barton, Mahsa Ershadi, Lauren Ziegler

September 30, 2021

Jenny Perlman Robinson, Molly Curtiss Wyss, Patrick Hannahan

July 7, 2021

Emiliana Vegas, Rebecca Winthrop

September 8, 2020

Our aim is not to provide “the answer” — we are also on a journey and continually learning about what it takes to transform systems — but to help others interested in pursuing system transformation benefit from our collective reflections to date. The goal is to complement and put in perspective — not replace — detailed guidance from other actors on education sector on system strengthening, reform, and redesign. In essence, we want to broaden the conversation and debate.

Download the full policy brief»

Download the executive summary»

Baixe o resumo executivo»

Baixar o resumo da política»

Descargar el PDF en Español»

Descargar el resumen de políticas»

Global Education

Global Economy and Development

Center for Universal Education

Darcy Hutchins, Emily Markovich Morris, Laura Nora, Carolina Campos, Adelaida Gómez Vergara, Nancy G. Gordon, Esmeralda Macana, Karen Robertson

March 28, 2024

Larry Cooley, Jenny Perlman Robinson

March 8, 2024

The Brookings Institution, Washington DC

9:00 am - 5:00 pm EDT

Strengthening learning assessment systems is a priority area for GPE’s Knowledge and Innovation Exchange. In order to improve learning outcomes, a range of interventions is necessary to support developing countries in ensuring strong systems to monitor what their students are learning.

This blog is the third in a six-part series on the KIX discussion papers commissioned by the GPE Secretariat to inform the design and implementation of the GPE Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (KIX). The post highlights relevant thematic outcomes in the 2019 Results Report and from GPE’s ongoing country-level evaluations .

Without data on whether and how students are learning, it is impossible to ensure quality education. With the drive for education of quality front and center of the Education 2030 agenda, the issue of learning assessment is an increasing priority for developing countries and the partners that support them.

Despite a proliferation of assessments in many countries, including national examinations, sample-based assessments and the everyday classroom assessment practices deployed by teachers, developing countries face challenges in ensuring that assessment data effectively informs policy and practice.

This is why strengthening learning assessment systems is a priority area for GPE’s Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (KIX).

GPE grants incentivize better assessments

Partner countries applying for an implementation grant must have a system or mechanism to monitor learning outcomes, a time-bound plan to develop one, or else use the GPE grant to build one.

As a result, 88% of the 34 implementation grants active at the end of fiscal year 2018 invested in learning assessment activities. For example:

• Bhutan is supporting the development of a national assessment framework.
• Chad is participating in the regional PASEC assessment.
• The Democratic Republic of Congo is establishing an independent agency in charge of national assessments.

In addition, GPE’s Assessment for Learning (A4L) initiative works to reinforce these efforts through interventions at global and regional levels.

GPE’s results framework tracks learning assessments

GPE also monitors the quality of learning assessment systems through Indicator 15 of its Results Framework , which examines the proportion of partner countries with learning assessment systems meeting quality standards within the basic education cycle.

While 48% of countries met the threshold in 2018, challenges persist in most of the countries that GPE supports.

These challenges include the variable quality of assessment tools and lack of assessment expertise within the systems, the lack of alignment across various types of assessments and their coherence with the broader education system.

In addition, assessments often omit the most marginalized children, such as those with disabilities or who are not in school. There is also a general culture of underuse of learning assessment data.

These challenges are echoed in the synthesis of GPE’s ongoing country-level evaluations , which notes that while the countries examined are working to establish quality learning assessment systems, these efforts are often sporadic, resulting in an absence of comparable data over time and shifting levels of capacity within their respective Ministries.

Available public goods to improve learning assessment and gaps

A range of global public goods exist to support countries to build and reinforce their learning assessment systems. They include large-scale assessments and the tools and studies, data, networks and knowledge sharing opportunities they generate.

Capacity development initiatives are also available, with tools and publications, system capacity frameworks, networks and knowledge sharing platforms.

Innovation has been the focus of some global goods, including tools to promote international comparability and research on topics such as how data from large-scale assessments are used and how countries can assess a broad range of skills and competencies.

Supported by these initiatives, GPE partner countries are increasingly applying different learning assessments in their contexts. They participate in regional or international assessments and conduct national large-scale assessments with increasing frequency and institutional anchoring. Nonetheless, gaps remain for which additional support is needed.

In consultations undertaken to inform the KIX discussion paper, partner country officials noted that they need support in building a culture of evaluation and guidance in supporting teachers to conduct classroom-based assessments and in reforming examination systems.

Building strong institutions to oversee the portfolio of national assessment was also noted, while international actors weighed in strongly on the need for globally comparable data on learning outcomes.

KIX focuses on strengthening learning assessment systems

The KIX discussion paper maps challenges and existing global public goods, and highlights gaps and opportunities. It details four main opportunities that KIX can address:

• national learning assessment institutions
• building of expertise in learning assessment throughout the education system, from teachers to senior government officials
• learning assessment systems for the most marginalized
• systemic use of learning assessment data

Support to national learning assessment institutions

Though countries have different institutional arrangements for learning assessments, capacity building and peer learning opportunities to support the development of national assessment frameworks are needed.

Supporting national learning assessment institutions may also include the development or expansion of diagnostic tools or review of public examinations reform or initiatives around competency-based assessment.

From an innovation angle, this support may explore the development of assessments that can capture a range of skills and competencies, beyond literacy and numeracy.

Building expertise in learning assessment throughout the education system

Recognizing that the learning assessment ecosystem involves actors from school to central level, capacity building is needed for all these actors, including for teachers to effectively conduct classroom-based assessment.

Further evidence is also needed on good practices in classroom-based assessment, as well as an understanding of how to build expertise in learning assessment in a cost-efficient and sustainable manner.

Supporting learning assessment systems for the most marginalized

Learning assessment systems are often absent or nascent in marginalized settings, such as those found in countries affected by fragility and conflict, while they are also inadequate in regard to marginalized learners, such as those with disabilities or out of school.

As such, KIX could support research on what works in such contexts or the participation of these countries in cross-national assessments. Innovation could also be harnessed to produce solutions to the challenge of collecting learning data for marginalized populations or in crisis settings.

Supporting the systemic use of learning assessment data

Given that one of the biggest challenges is ensuring that learning assessment data are used, we need more knowledge and exchange around this issue, emphasizing learning from good practices.

There may also be scope to think about new ways to support the dissemination, communication and visualization of assessment data or to consider pilots that can support a test-intervene-retest model.

Proposals for the KIX global call must be received by October 1st, followed by regional grant proposals in April/May 2020.

GPE hopes to support a diverse portfolio of activities, encompassing development of national capacity, building evidence and evaluation and innovation. Together, these interventions will accompany developing countries in being able to better monitor and improve their students’ learning.

Additionally, the KIX Regional Hubs will provide a valuable opportunity for countries to learn from each other on innovative approaches and strengthen their learning assessment systems.

This blog draws from the KIX SLAS paper, written by Kate Anderson.

---------------------------

Read the other blogs in this series:

• What GPE does to strengthen early childhood care and education
• Strengthening data systems through investing in knowledge and innovation

Related blogs

November 16, 2023 by F. J. Cava Ghana: Learning online even without internet access Read how ASANKA, a low-cost, low-powered, durable learning management system that connects offline learners to local content for free, is helping to improve education outcomes in Ghana.

August 31, 2023 by Maïmouna Sissoko Touré , KIX Africa 21 regional hub , Cheikh Mbow , and Modeste Nebié | 2 comments Synergy between innovation and civil society action: examples from Burkina Faso and Senegal Woubibox in Burkina Faso and the local observatory of education quality in Senegal are two initiatives from civil society organizations. Read how they work and how GPE’s Education Out Loud and KIX...

August 09, 2023 by Mike Kipkorir Bill | 1 comment Transforming learning assessment with the CBC app in Kenya The CBC app is a digital tool developed to simplify assessments and support both reporting processes and record-keeping in Kenyan schools, to make it easier for teachers and school administrators to offer...

Please bear in mind a very simple issue: many learners are learning through a second language which they do not speak well enough to use as a medium of instruction. This can radically depress what they are able to learn. Thus assessment systems cannot measure what they would be capable of learning if they were working through a language in which they are fluent. Secondly, assessment in a second language is very unreliable. Learners possess good curricular knowledge which they are unable to express in the second language, the language of assessment. This means that assessment is not only unfair to learners in that it prevents them from demonstrating knowledge which they possess; it is also unreliable as a measure of the achievement of the whole cohort: classroom assessment as well as public examinations fail to show what learners can achieve. This issue of medium of instruction and epecially medium of assessment is a first order issue: whatever technical means are used - as described in this paper - to assess learning, they will be straightforwardly inaccurate if the language of assessment produces skewed results. It is a hugely significant matter. But it is constantly, as in this paper, overlooked. Can we please start taking it seriously.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. All fields are required.

• Global and entity tokens are replaced with their values. Browse available tokens.
• No HTML tags allowed.
• Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
• Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.