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The objective of this report is to describe the process and summarize the results from the pilot implementation of statistical models for measuring the value-added of Bulgarian schools through analysis of the national student' assessments results. This report presents the technical aspects of the pilot and the key outcomes in terms of value-added measure for each of the schools included in the analysis. The report documents all data processing, adjustments, and procedures run as part of the school value added modeling and in this respect, it is also intended expert statisticians and researchers. The national student assessment results in Bulgaria are reported on a non-transformed raw point scale accompanied by a table that allows a transformation of the raw points to the six-grade rating scale, adopted for measuring students' performance. Based on this, each school receives an average score and some means of comparison with other schools in the country. Analyzing the test results through value-added analysis is a new approach for the country and the findings from this pilot are intended to inform policy makers in Bulgaria about the advantages and limitations of value-added measures (VAMs) in the context of the Bulgarian education system, its student assessment framework, and the data collected and used by the education management information system.

Assessments --- Curriculum --- Education --- Education For All --- Educational Outcomes --- Employment --- Gender --- Human Development --- Knowledge --- Lower Secondary Education --- Quality of Education --- School Attendance --- Schools --- Secondary Education --- Small Schools --- Standardized Tests --- Teachers --- Tertiary Education --- Textbooks --- Workers --- Youth

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This report seeks to inform the process of design and implementation of institutional reforms related to the development of a new education quality assurance system in Chile. The report is a synthesis report that draws on previous work by The World Bank in the context of a two-year program of technical collaboration with the Government of Chile. As part of this collaboration, the World Bank produced two related reports, including: (i) a comparative report that analyzes the K-12 education quality assurance systems of Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Scotland to understand how quality assurance functions are distributed across central government institutions; the characteristics of these institutions; and the relationships between them; and (ii) a comparative report that analyzes how these four OECD systems have evolved over time; what lessons emerge from their experience implementing institutional reforms in the past 15 years; and what lessons emerge regarding the exercise of education quality assurance functions. In addition, the report draws on two research papers by local experts analyzing the implementation of institutional reforms in Chile s health and criminal justice sectors, as well as on an analysis of the Chilean Ministry of Education s current organizational and human resources capabilities conducted by Ministry of Education staff.

Access & Equity in Basic Education --- Adult Education --- Curriculum --- Curriculum & Instruction --- Decentralization --- Education --- Education For All --- Educational Outcomes --- Ethics --- Higher Education --- Human Development --- Investment In Education --- Leadership --- Lifelong Learning --- Primary Education --- Quality Assurance --- Quality of Education --- Reading --- Schools --- Secondary Education --- Teachers

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Female education levels are very low in many developing countries. Does maternal education have a causal impact on children's educational outcomes even at these very low levels of education? By combining a nationwide census of schools in Pakistan with household data, the authors use the availability of girls' schools in the mother's birth village as an instrument for maternal schooling to address this issue. Since public schools in Pakistan are segregated by gender, the instrument affects only maternal education rather than the education levels of both mothers and fathers. The analysis finds that children of mothers with some education spend 75 minutes more on educational activities at home compared with children whose mothers report no education at all. Mothers with some education also spend more time helping their children with school work; the effect is stronger (an extra 40 minutes per day) in families where the mother is likely the primary care-giver. Finally, test scores for children whose mothers have some education are higher in English, Urdu (the vernacular), and mathematics by 0.24-0.35 standard deviations. There is no relationship between maternal education and mother's time spent on paid work or housework - a posited channel through which education affects bargaining power within the household. And there is no relationship between maternal education and the mother's role in educational decisions or in the provision of other child-specific goods, such as expenditures on pocket money, uniforms, and tuition. The data therefore suggest that at these very low levels of education, maternal education does not substantially affect a mother's bargaining power within the household. Instead, maternal education could directly increase the mother's productivity or affect her preferences toward children's education in a context where her bargaining power is low.

Access and Equity in Basic Education --- Benefits of education --- Early Childhood Development --- Educated mothers --- Education --- Education for All --- Educational activities --- Educational attainment --- Educational outcomes --- Female education --- Learning --- Learning environment --- Learning outcomes --- Low levels of education --- Maternal Education --- Older children --- Primary data --- Primary Education --- Primary schooling --- Public schools --- Reading --- School hours --- Schooling --- Schools --- Youth and Government

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This paper looks at the private schooling sector in Pakistan, a country that is seriously behind schedule in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Using new data, the authors document the phenomenal rise of the private sector in Pakistan and show that an increasing segment of children enrolled in private schools are from rural areas and from middle-class and poorer families. The key element in their rise is their low fees-the average fee of a rural private school in Pakistan is less than a dime a day (Rs.6). They hire predominantly local, female, and moderately educated teachers who have limited alternative opportunities outside the village. Hiring these teachers at low cost allows the savings to be passed on to parents through low fees. This mechanism-the need to hire teachers with a certain demographic profile so that salary costs are minimized-defines the possibility of private schools: where they arise, fees are low. It also defines their limits. Private schools are horizontally constrained in that they arise in villages where there is a pool of secondary educated women. They are also vertically constrained in that they are unlikely to cater to the secondary levels in rural areas, at least until there is an increase in the supply of potential teachers with the required skills and educational levels.

Children --- Education --- Education for All --- Education Reform and Management --- Educational Outcomes --- Effective Schools and Teachers --- Enrollment --- Fees --- Gender --- Gender and Education --- Gender Disparities --- Investment --- Knowledge --- Participation --- Primary Education --- Primary Schools --- Private School --- Private Schooling --- Private Schools --- Rural Areas --- School Construction --- Secondary Education --- Skills --- Teacher Training --- Teachers --- Tertiary Education --- Training Programs --- Women

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Early childhood development programs are particularly beneficial to children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Effective investments in this area have the potential to reduce inequalities perpetuated by poverty, poor nutrition, and restricted learning opportunities. This report explores the gaps in early education and care experienced by Roma children between the ages of 3 and 6 in Eastern Europe, and looks at measures to close those gaps. Many Roma children lack a strong early learning and care support mechanism at home. The vast majority of Roma children grow up in poverty and many regularly go hungry. Their parents have minimal levels of education. This creates multiple disadvantages from malnutrition to limited early learning stimulation. The report points to four main policy measures to increase pre-school enrollment and improve early learning at home: (1) better inform parents on the benefits of preschool for children's later life outcomes; (2) promote inclusive pre-schools by reaching out to parents and by involving them more directly in pre-school with the help of Roma teaching assistants; (3) remove cost barriers possibly coupled with regular attendance subsidies. In addition: (4) support parenting at home. These conclusions follow from the finding that the vast majority of Roma parents wish their children to complete secondary education, but that many also stated a desire to raise children at home in their early years when asked why they did not enroll their children in preschool. The report also calls for systematic piloting with variations of different programs, and implementing randomized impact evaluations. Findings from impact evaluations can build public support for scale-up of proven programs. Finally, the report points out that ensuring that poor Roma and non-Roma children alike receive an equal start in life by investing in early childhood development is essential to break the cycle of intergenerational poverty and is also smart economics.

Academic Community --- Child Care --- Child Development --- Cognitive Development --- Early Childhood --- Early Childhood Development --- Early Childhood Education --- Education --- Education For All --- Educational Attainment --- Educational Outcomes --- Enrollment Rates --- Gender --- Infancy --- Literacy --- Malnutrition --- Mental Health --- Nutrition --- Primary Education --- Reading --- School Attendance --- Secondary Education --- Social Development --- Social Skills --- Teacher Training --- Unemployment --- Violence --- Vulnerable Groups --- Youth