Global Education Digest 2012 - International Reading Association

CONTENTS
Foreword 3
Acknowledgements 4
OPPORTUNITIES LOST / THE IMPACT OF GRADE REPETITION AND EARLY SCHOOL LEAVING
Section 1 / Policy design and implementation of compulsory education systems 9
1.1 Most out-of-school children have had some exposure to primary schooling 9
1.2 When are children meant to enter school? How long are they supposed to stay in school? 11
1.3 Do countries reach children of the intended age for compulsory education? 12
1.4 Do education systems reach children of the intended ages? 14
1.5 What are the major barriers or bottlenecks that hinder progression through the education system? 16
Section 2 / Learning achievement: Differing policies and practices regarding grade repetition 17
2.1 How is repetition defined, measured and evaluated? 17
School life expectancy and repetition 19
2.2 Global trends in pupils repeating grades in primary and lower secondary education 19
Repetition trends in primary education show slight improvement depending on the region 19
Repetition trends in lower secondary education show signs of improvement despite big enrolment
increases 20
2.3 Regional trends in pupils repeating grades in primary and lower secondary education 21
Sub-Saharan Africa: Steady progress 21
South and West Asia: Small signs of progress, especially in Nepal and Bhutan 24
Latin America and the Caribbean: Repetition rates still high but some policy interventions
show promise 24
In other selected regions 25
2.4 Which grades do children repeat the most? Country clusters show three patterns of repetition 27
2.5 Which children are most likely to repeat? Usually children from poor families and rural locations
are most at risk 28
2.6 Inequity tends to decline as children make the transition to secondary education 30
Section 3 / Early school leaving: Lost opportunities, lower potential 32
3.1 Reached but then lost by the education system 32
3.2 Global numbers and trends in early school leaving: Rates stagnating or dropping everywhere
except sub-Saharan Africa 33
3.3 Early school leaving by region 34
Early leavers from primary education on the rise in sub-Saharan Africa, partly due to
population increases 35
Dropout rates stay high in South and West Asia despite demographic dividend 36
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