The Power of Persistence: Education System ... - EQUIP123.net

The process of continuous improvement of the institutional and technical
innovations is captured in some of the particular reform stories. While these
stories can be presented as a linear, sequential development process, they are
better understood as a series of intersecting and mutually reinforcing reforms.
Each reform built and depended upon its immediate precursors, as well as upon
the dynamics created in other reforms (e.g., information systems enabled policy
dialogue, which encouraged demand for student achievement information, which
in turn led to the development of school-based assessment systems).
The EDUCO reforms led to institutionalization of school management by ACEs
in 1992, which was expanded to include all schools in 1998 through CDEs and
Consejos Educativos Católicos Escolar (CECEE). The focus on school management
and excellence was promoted in the Escuela 10 program in the early 2000s
to establish performance standards. While this program was not continued,
the central idea of school strategies and work plans was expanded with the
institutionalization of the PEI and PEA (school project plans) from 2001 on. By
2007, a new tool for school quality assessment was developed in the “Ruta que
Tomamos” toolkit.
The focus on school management also led to reforms in the supervision
system needed to support school leadership. In 2000, a system of “pedagogical
advisors” was developed to complement the administrative supervisors. Rather
than repurposing the existing supervisors, the MINED sought to create a new
organizational culture of demand-driven technical and management support
to schools. Subsequent reforms to the teacher training system undermined the
original purpose, but the system structure remained.
The measurement of learning outcomes was promoted in the SABE project with
the development of achievement tests, leading to the development in 1996 of
the PAES end of cycle exams for Grade 12. After several years of working with
and refining the PAES exam, both the demand for learning measures and the
capacity to develop them led to the introduction in 2002 of the SINEA national
learning evaluation system for system-wide testing in Grades 3, 6, and 9. By
the mid-2000s, El Salvador was also participating in international comparative
assessments such as TIMMS and SERCE.
The existence of a strong management information system has been a critical
factor enabling informed reviews and tracking of progress. From the initial EMIS
system development and strengthening in the 1990s with the assistance of the
SABE project, the MINED has aggressively incorporated data and information
into the communication and promotion strategies for the national plans. In
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SECTION 2: lESSONS fROM COUNTRY CASE STUdIES