Confronting the Learning Crisis: In nine figures
Lessons from the Independent Evaluation Group’s assessment of World Bank Group support for improving basic education in partner countries, from 2012 and 2022.
Lessons from the Independent Evaluation Group’s assessment of World Bank Group support for improving basic education in partner countries, from 2012 and 2022.
By:The lower the income level of countries, the worse the learning outcomes in basic education.
Investment, system capacity, and political commitment are necessary to achieve learning outcomes.
The World Bank is the single largest source of external financing (lending and grants) for the education sector.
Almost half of all operations were approved in FY19–22, with a spike in FY21 in response to the COVID-19 crisis.
South Asia region has the largest share of basic education projects by level of commitment and average project size, while Africa region has the highest share of projects by number.
Education sector projects are among the best performing of all World Bank projects, but the achievement of their objectives is typically defined and measured in terms of outputs (e.g., number of teachers trained) and not by learning outcomes.
Key challenges remain in the basic education portfolio.
Challenges | 2012–17 | 2018–22 | ||
Rank | Incidence (%) | Rank | Incidence (%) | |
Weak learning outcomes |
1 |
81 | 2 |
78 |
Learning inequity |
2 |
78 | 1 |
81 |
Inadequate teaching quality |
3 |
74 | 3 |
62 |
Weak education system: governance, accountability, and institutional oversight |
4 |
69 | 3 |
62 |
Across most country types, World Bank operations tend to support similar inputs, regardless of context - a more tailored approach is needed.
A third of portfolio operations specify learning outcomes in their project development outcomes, while two-thirds support learning assessment. Most projects have indicators covering gender, but coverage of broader equity is less well developed - suggesting a need for stronger monitoring and evaluation.
Develop country-specific education engagement plans that include systems-based improvements to the teaching framework to enhance learning outcomes.
Collaborate with global and country partners to close data gaps on learning outcomes and track progress in ending learning poverty with particular focus on countries lacking such data.
Susan Caceres is a Senior Education Specialist for IEG's Human Development & Corporate Programs Unit.
Tony Tyrrell is an independent consultant who has worked on a range of assignments over recent years with IEG, ADB, 3ie, governments, and private sector consultancies on evaluations that addressed education, knowledge management, influence and other matters. Tony holds a M.A. and MSc (Trinity College Dublin). He has recently co-edited two books - Changing Bureaucracies (Routledge, 2020) and, Theories of Change in Reality (Routledge, 2024) - as part of the Comparative Evaluation Series.