Education Data and Statistics Commission

The Administrative data/EMIS working group focuses on maximizing the production and reporting of educational data derived from administrative data sources. It will explore innovative approaches in data collection and implement strategies to address data gaps, aiming to increase coverage of SDG 4 indicators while strengthening national Education Management Information Systems. The group will provide guidance and technical assistance to Member States, ensuring coordination among data producers and harmonization of different data sources. 

Key issues

• Quantity of data: Country does not report data
• Biases: Introduced by combining different types of data sources
• Quality of data: Data do not meet standards

Objectives

• Support innovative approaches in data collection such as the UIS dynamic templates
• Scale-up hybrid approach for use of population data
• Develop tools and guidelines for Member States as capacity building strategy
• Address issues related to groups affected by emergencies and crises: Task Force to develop protocols and standards
   

Terms of reference:  English - Arabic - French

The Education Expenditure Data working group focuses on education expenditure data. It works on setting harmonization methods for the two education expenditure benchmark indicators. It also works on developing and implementing guidelines to improve the collection of education expenditure data, with a particular focus on household expenditure data. Additionally, it looks into ways to simplify the guidelines and expand the National Education Accounts methodology.

Key issues

• Low coverage for some indicators (apart from total public expenditure)
• Conflicting data sources for public expenditure
• Measurement of private expenditure

Objectives

• Create a menu of harmonization methods of FFA and SDG 1.a.2 indicators
• Simplify data collection instruments including prioritization
• Develop and provide guidelines to national statistical offices on how to collect household expenditure on education
• Simplify guidelines and expand the National Education Accounts methodology

Education Expenditure TOR: English - French - Spanish - Arabic

The Household Surveys working group focuses on the development of SDG 4 indicators based on data derived from various types of surveys, including population censuses, national household surveys, cross-national household surveys (DHS, MICS), and labour force surveys. The group highlights the opportunities that surveys offer for generating education statistics and develops standards and guidelines for processing survey data.

Key issues

• Non-harmonized survey instruments
• Different reference periods
• Quality and comparability of background information
• Comparability issues with measuring literacy, knowledge and skills
• Difficulty in collecting accurate expenditure data (household education)
• Availability and accessibility of survey data

Objectives

• Develop standards and guidelines for data processing
• Develop:

1. Standardized survey items to measure education indicators
2. Standardized definitions and measures for factors such as household wealth, migration and disability

• Facilitate the integration of recently developed data collection tools aligned with a more comprehensive concept of disability into large-scale surveys

Household Surveys TOR: English - French - Spanish - Arabic

The Teachers working group focuses on finding solutions to the low coverage and comparability issues hampering the production and reporting of teachers’ data. It will concentrate on trained teachers through a dedicated task force to agree on a global definition and produce standards for teacher training programmes. It will also explore innovative approaches in data collection through the production of guidelines to strengthen the capacity of Member States to report on SDG 4.c indicators.

Key issues

• Conceptualization, especially for trained teachers

1. No agreement on empirical definition of trained teachers
2. Lack of standards for teacher training programs
3. No information collected on teacher policies

• Methodologies, especially on teacher salaries and attrition as countries do not collect the variables needed to report the indicators
• Lack of clarity in definitions and guidance to collect teacher data hampering capacity building efforts

Objectives

• Focus on trained teachers
• Consider policy indicators on attracting, preparing, and retaining teachers
• Support innovation in data collection reviewing feasibility and updating teacher data collection instruments
• Develop guidelines for data production on teachers to guide Member States

Teachers TOR: English - French - Spanish - Arabic

The Global Alliance to Monitor Learning (GAML) is the EDSC Working Group designed to improve learning outcomes by supporting national strategies for learning assessments and developing internationally-comparable indicators and methodological tools to measure progress towards key targets of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4): 4.1.1, 4.6.2, 4.7.4 and 4.7.5. Through a highly collaborative approach, GAML brings together a broad range of stakeholders, including experts and decision-makers involved in national and cross-national learning assessment initiatives, as well as donors and civil society organizations advocating for education. The UIS established the Alliance and hosts its Secretariat.

Key issues​

• Low coverage for learning indicators
• For 4.1.1 additionally,  comparability of grades and education levels, between countries and over time; heterogeneous procedural quality; and high financial costs

Focus of GAML work​

• SDG 4 global and thematic indicators related to learning and skills.​
• Methodological tools and standards needed to ensure global comparability.​
• Standards, guidelines and tools to help countries strengthen the implementation of their assessments and evaluate their quality.​
• Capacity development tools to support countries in collecting, analyzing and using learning assessment data.​

The methodological work of GAML informs the Education Data and Statistics Commission (EDSC), which makes recommendations to the SDG-Education 2030 High-Level Steering Committee (HLSC) and the Inter-Agency and Expert Group on SDG Indicators (IAEG-SDGs).

• GAML TOR:  English -  French -  Spanish -  Arabic
• GAML Concept Paper
• GAML Theory of Change
• GAML Result Framework
• GAML Governance Structure
• GAML Meetings

The objectives of the Task Force are to assess whether a workable global definition of “trained teachers” is feasible, propose a definition and propose a template for data collection. Members are expected to discuss how a common denominator between their countries’ “trained teachers” definitions could be achieved. The Task Force’s experts could also reach the conclusion that such a common denominator cannot be agreed upon in which case the proposal would be to abolish the indicator.

The Task Force consists of representatives of member countries of the Education Data and Statistics Commission with expertise in teacher issues, preferably with regional representation, and representatives from non-member states’ experts in the field. The Task Force reports to the chair of the Teacher Data Working Group and the EDS Commission co-chairs.

The Task Force will be dissolved upon completing the deliverables.

Teachers Task Force TOR: English

The objective of the Education in Emergencies Task Force is to provide expert advice and guidance on adjusting country- and global-level estimates on out-of-school population in crisis-affected contexts in a timely and reliable way.

In particular, the Task Force needs to:

• Propose a method for selecting a limited number of crises that should be analyzed based on specific criteria, of which the main one should be that their exclusion results in an underestimation of the global out-of-school population.
• Delineate the geographic extent, population size, and time period that are impacted.
• Outline a process on how to collect any related data that have been reported from these crises contexts and develop criteria of their usefulness for producing timely and reliable country-level estimates on out-of-school rates that are aligned with SDG 4 reporting.
• Carry out analyses for the selected crisis contexts according to an agreed protocol.
• Draw on insights from these analyses, develop technically sound, context-specific, and operationally practical solutions to leverage such existing data in crisis-affected context.
• Compare such evidence with out-of-school population estimates based on official data that might be ignoring the impact of crisis.
• Develop a protocol for reporting these adjustments as updates to the global estimate.

The Task Force consists of representatives of national education statistics departments; representatives of UN humanitarian actors at global/national level with understanding of education data collection (notably from the cluster mechanism); and representatives of international organizations active in collecting and analyzing data on education in crisis-affected contexts.

The Task Force reports to the chair of the Administrative Data Working Group and the Education Data and Statistics Commission co-chairs. The Task Force is dissolved upon completing the deliverables.

Download Task Force on Education in Emergencies TOR (English)

The TAG was convened in 2024 to support the development and operationalization of criteria for reporting on SDG Indicator 4.1.1a, which measures foundational learning in reading and mathematics in early grades. The TAG reviewed and refined the eligibility criteria for assessments used to report on 4.1.1a. It also reviewed the evidence from the analysis of existing databases and discussed benchmark-setting.

• Criteria for use of an assessment to report on SDG 4.1.1: English
• List of members of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on SDG 4.1.1a: English
• Terms of Reference of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on SDG 4.1.1a: English
• Technical Advisory Group Indicator 4.1.1a (Presentation): English
• Decision tree for how to mix data and expert knowledge: English
• “Filters” and requirements for database setting benchmarks and precursor skills weights: English

Blogs

• On the way forward for SDG indicator 4.1.1a: setting the record straight
• On the way forward for SDG indicator 4.1.1a: our proposal
• SDG 4.1.1a: Good progress, but collective action needed