Improving early-grade performance for 2030: measurement and estimation options for innovative policy dialogue

The ‘custodial agency’ responsible for monitoring progress towards SDG4 is UNESCO’s Institute of Statistics (UIS). A ‘global alliance to monitor learning’ (GAML) has been formed to plan and advise UIS. It comprises stakeholders from donor agencies, governments, assessment agencies, universities, nonprofit organizations, and others. Given the importance of effective monitoring, measurement and early intervention to the achievement of 2030 SDG 4.1., this monograph aims to: - Disseminate information about innovative measurements that could assess skills easily in the early grades and promote results‐based policy interventions to accelerate the achievement of SDG4.1; - Generate interest, funding and academic collaboration across a range of countries supported by UNESCO, the World Bank and/or other donor and evaluation agencies, to engage researchers in measuring early‐grade outcomes in innovative ways, informed by cognitive neuroscience; and - Use the data from multiple tests to predict likely performance of students in various countries by 2030 and engage countries in a dialogue about closing their performance gaps.