Publication: Prova Brasil : Building a Framework to Promote Measurable Progress in Learning Outcomes
Loading...
Date
2008-03
ISSN
Published
2008-03
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Building on two decades of education reform, Brazil's Ministry of Education (MEC) implemented a key instrument for measuring education quality in 2005, when it first administered Prova Brasil, a nationwide test of proficiency in math and Portuguese for students in grades 4 and 8. Prova Brasil, which will be administered to primary students every three years, is the country's first census-level assessment of student learning, and forms the cornerstone of a drive to improve basic education quality and establish a results framework for measuring learning outcomes. The aim of this study has been to promote discussion rather than to provide definitive solutions. Beyond the limited set of specific practices observed and reported upon in the course of this small study, a wide variety of good practices are being implemented in Brazilian school districts, day after day, as teachers, principals, education officials, and parents each make their indispensable contributions to student learning. The reason one municipality achieves better test scores than another is almost certainly due to a occurrence of good practices and the interaction among them, or to a particular confluence of local characteristics and events whose effects continue to accumulate over time. Therefore, the description of good practices in this brief policy note can not be taken as the single best recipe for achieving good test results. Quite to the contrary, it is the aim of this study to demonstrate that there are many possible routes to success.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Parandekar, Suhas; Amorim, Érica; Welsh, Andrea. 2008. Prova Brasil : Building a Framework to Promote Measurable Progress in Learning Outcomes. en breve; No. 121. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/10283 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Benchmarking Public Policy : Methodological Insights from Measurement of School Based Management(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-06)This working paper presents a benchmarking analysis of School Based Management (SBM) using empirical data from the Philippines. School based management is widely used as a policy tool in many countries that seek to improve the quality of service delivery through decentralization. School based management typically takes many years to have an impact on educational outcomes, but policy makers need to know sooner how well the policy is being implemented. The paper extends the well-known Rasch methodology from the literature on student achievement, including the Programme for International Student Assessment, to the measurement of the implementation of school based management by computing a Rasch measure of the implementation of school based management. To test whether the resulting benchmarked measure is plausible and has practical policy value, the measure is tested for correlations with standardized measures of personality and political skills of school principals, developed in the psychology and political science literatures. The paper will be useful for readers interested in studying school based management as well as those interested more generally in the methodology of benchmarking implementation of public policy where the ultimate results are subject to long implementation periods. The methodology presented in this paper can be applied to enhance the rigor of the ongoing Systems Approach for Better Education Results (SABER) exercise to benchmark educational policies in various domains. That exercise is set to become one of the flagship policy analytical tools being developed by the World Bank and partner agencies.Publication Decentralized Service Delivery for the Poor : Volume 2, Background Papers(Washington, DC, 2006-08)This report on the decentralized service delivery for the poor is structured in two volumes. Volume one is a cross-sectoral report, the core report. The first part includes the program and performance overview which describes the programs (including their poverty goals) and their process of decentralization, the overview of expenditures, the access of the poor to these services, and the evidence on the quality of services. The second part of the core report is on the institutional dimensions of decentralized service delivery which includes the World Development Report (WDR) 2004-type framework of accountability, adapted to the situation in Mexico. Volume two contains the sectoral pieces. For this report-the third phase of a programmatic series of studies on poverty in Mexico-Mexico's social cabinet requested that the Bank analyze service delivery of a specific list of programs that are essential to the government's development strategy in the context of decentralization. The elements of the government's strategy considered here-basic education, health care for the population without social security coverage, local social infrastructure, and local rural development-all aim directly or indirectly to reduce poverty. Both social and economic services shape the opportunities of poor people. Social services contribute to human capital formation and risk management, while economic services shape access to markets. The analysis presented in this report does not pretend to be exhaustive of decentralized service delivery for the poor. Important areas for future research include the following: (i) analysis of the compliance of the law or of the detail regulations in programs; (ii) systematic comparisons of state interventions in the sectors analyzed in this report; (iii) analysis of the implications and requirements to implement per capita funding in health and education, and freedom to choose providers; and (iv) systematic compilation of information at the state and municipal level on the performance of the programs.Publication Efficient Learning for the Poor : Insights from the Frontier of Cognitive Neuroscience(Washington, DC : World Bank, 2006)This book integrates research into applications that extend from preschool brain development to the memory of adult educators. In layman's terms, it provides explanations and answers to questions such as: Why do children have to read fast before they can understand what they read? How do health, nutrition, and stimulation influence brain development? Why should students learn basic skills in their maternal language? Is there such a thing as an untrained teacher? What signs in a classroom show whether students are getting a quality education? How must information be presented in class so that students can retain it and use it? What training techniques are most likely to help staff put their learning into use? This book is intended for use by policymakers, donor agency staff, teacher trainers, supervisors, and inspectors, as well as university professors and students.Publication The Growing Accountability Agenda in Tertiary Education : Progress or Mixed Blessing?(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009-01)The purpose of this paper is to examine the accountability agenda in the tertiary education. Author proposes three principles of good accountability. First, accountability should not focus on the way institutions operate, but on the results that they actually achieve. Second, accountability works better when it is experienced in a constructive way, rather than being imposed in an inquisition-like mode. Tertiary education institutions are more likely to appreciate the value of reporting obligations if their relationship with stakeholders, especially government authorities, is based on positive incentives rather than punitive measures. Third, the most effective accountability mechanisms are those that are mutually agreed or are voluntarily embraced by tertiary education institutions. The paper concludes that the successful evolution of tertiary education hinges on finding an appropriate balance between credible accountability practices and favorable autonomy conditions.Publication West Bank and Gaza : Teachers(Washington, DC, 2010-01)The West Bank and Gaza is focusing on strengthening its education system: provision of schooling is relatively equitable and increased decentralization is planned. West Bank & Gaza (WB&G) spent 1.3 percent on public education as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This year, the Palestinian Authority (PA) published a report entitled Homestretch to Freedom, which outlines the objectives for the coming year, along with the Education Development Strategic Plan, 2008-2012 (EDSP). Most notably, it will proceed with plans to modernize the education system. The importance of government spending in the economy is evidenced by the changing composition of GDP: the share of the mostly government-funded sectors (health and social work, water and electricity, education, and public administration and defense) rose from less than 21 percent in 1999 to almost 30 percent in 2009.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Remarks at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-10-12)World Bank Group President David Malpass discussed biodiversity and climate change being closely interlinked, with terrestrial and marine ecosystems serving as critically important carbon sinks. At the same time climate change acts as a direct driver of biodiversity and ecosystem services loss. The World Bank has financed biodiversity conservation around the world, including over 116 million hectares of Marine and Coastal Protected Areas, 10 million hectares of Terrestrial Protected Areas, and over 300 protected habitats, biological buffer zones and reserves. The COVID pandemic, biodiversity loss, climate change are all reminders of how connected we are. The recovery from this pandemic is an opportunity to put in place more effective policies, institutions, and resources to address biodiversity loss.Publication Economic Recovery(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-04-06)World Bank Group President David Malpass spoke about the world facing major challenges, including COVID, climate change, rising poverty and inequality and growing fragility and violence in many countries. He highlighted vaccines, working closely with Gavi, WHO, and UNICEF, the World Bank has conducted over one hundred capacity assessments, many even more before vaccines were available. The World Bank Group worked to achieve a debt service suspension initiative and increased transparency in debt contracts at developing countries. The World Bank Group is finalizing a new climate change action plan, which includes a big step up in financing, building on their record climate financing over the past two years. He noted big challenges to bring all together to achieve GRID: green, resilient, and inclusive development. Janet Yellen, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, mentioned focusing on vulnerable people during the pandemic. Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, focused on giving everyone a fair shot during a sustainable recovery. All three commented on the importance of tackling climate change.Publication Media and Messages for Nutrition and Health(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-06)The Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) has experienced rapid and significant economic growth over the past decade. However, poor nutritional outcomes remain a concern. Rates of childhood undernutrition are particularly high in remote, rural, and upland areas. Media have the potential to play an important role in shaping health and nutrition–related behaviors and practices as well as in promoting sociocultural and economic development that might contribute to improved nutritional outcomes. This report presents the results of a media audit (MA) that was conducted to inform the development and production of mass media advocacy and communication strategies and materials with a focus on maternal and child health and nutrition that would reach the most people from the poorest communities in northern Lao PDR. Making more people aware of useful information, essential services and products and influencing them to use these effectively is the ultimate goal of mass media campaigns, and the MA measures the potential effectiveness of media efforts to reach this goal. The effectiveness of communication channels to deliver health and nutrition messages to target beneficiaries to ensure maximum reach and uptake can be viewed in terms of preferences, satisfaction, and trust. Overall, the four most accessed media channels for receiving information among communities in the study areas were village announcements, mobile phones, television, and out-of-home (OOH) media. Of the accessed media channels, the top three most preferred channels were village announcements (40 percent), television (26 percent), and mobile phones (19 percent). In terms of trust, village announcements were the most trusted source of information (64 percent), followed by mobile phones (14 percent) and television (11 percent). Hence of all the media channels, village announcements are the most preferred, have the most satisfied users, and are the most trusted source of information in study communities from four provinces in Lao PDR with some of the highest burden of childhood undernutrition.Publication Making Procurement Work Better – An Evaluation of the World Bank’s Procurement System(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-12-06)This evaluation assesses the results, successes, and challenges of the World Bank 2016 procurement reform. Procurements acquire the works, goods, and services necessary to achieve the World Bank’s project development outcomes. The World Bank’s procurement processes must ensure that clients get the best value for every development dollar. In 2016, the World Bank reformed its procurement system for Investment Project Financing and launched a new procurement framework aimed at enhancing the Bank’s development effectiveness through better procurement. The reform sought to reduce procurement bottlenecks impeding project performance and modernize procurement systems. It emphasized cutting edge international good practice principles and was intended to be accompanied by procurement capacity strengthening to help client countries. This evaluation offers three recommendations to scale up reform implementation and enhance portfolio and project performance: (i) Improve change management support for the reform’s implementation. (ii) Strategically strengthen country-level procurement capacity. (iii) Consistently manage the full spectrum of procurement risks to maximize project success.Publication South Asia Development Update, April 2024: Jobs for Resilience(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-04-02)South Asia is expected to continue to be the fastest-growing emerging market and developing economy (EMDE) region over the next two years. This is largely thanks to robust growth in India, but growth is also expected to pick up in most other South Asian economies. However, growth in the near-term is more reliant on the public sector than elsewhere, whereas private investment, in particular, continues to be weak. Efforts to rein in elevated debt, borrowing costs, and fiscal deficits may eventually weigh on growth and limit governments' ability to respond to increasingly frequent climate shocks. Yet, the provision of public goods is among the most effective strategies for climate adaptation. This is especially the case for households and farms, which tend to rely on shifting their efforts to non-agricultural jobs. These strategies are less effective forms of climate adaptation, in part because opportunities to move out of agriculture are limited by the region’s below-average employment ratios in the non-agricultural sector and for women. Because employment growth is falling short of working-age population growth, the region fails to fully capitalize on its demographic dividend. Vibrant, competitive firms are key to unlocking the demographic dividend, robust private investment, and workers’ ability to move out of agriculture. A range of policies could spur firm growth, including improved business climates and institutions, the removal of financial sector restrictions, and greater openness to trade and capital flows.