World Bank Group2014-10-142014-10-142012https://hdl.handle.net/10986/20424Albanian students improved their performance on PIS A1 reading, math, and science assessments between 2000 and 2012, a period over which access to upper secondary education expanded dramatically. The improvements are equivalent to a quarter to half a year of schooling in math and science and more than one year of schooling in reading. The improvements were realized despite substantial increases in enrollment and the attendant changes in the PISA sample composition. The gross enrollment rate in upper secondary education was only about 40 percent in 2000, but increased markedly to 72 percent in 2009 and 83 percent in 2012. A spike in enrollment usually results in lower average student performance due to the inclusion of poorer and traditionally excluded students. In the context of a rapidly expanding education system, it is remarkable that Albania managed to improve its average PISA scores. It is even more notable that the improvement came from significant advancements made by low-achieving students. Albania s improved PIS A scores coincide with the launch of intensive reform efforts in its education sector. The Government of Albania initiated the education sector strategy formulation process in 2002, which resulted in the 2004 passage of the National Education Strategy (NES) and the first attempt to develop a long-term roadmap for the sector. The NES served as the catalyst for a range of reforms, including: improved teacher recruitment, compensation, and management; a revised curriculum for basic and general upper secondary education; enhanced transparency and accountability through reform of the Matura, the national student assessment; reduced price and improved textbook quality through a reformed procurement process; and provision of textbook subsidies to the poorest households. While it is beyond the scope of this report to determine a causal relationship between the range of policy reforms and improved PISA scores, this report shows that socioeconomic variables played an important role. Explanatory analyses show that the effect of education variables cannot be disentangled from the effect of socioeconomic variables. Furthermore, with economic growth averaging 4.9 percent per year from 2000-2012, a viable explanation is that the general improvement in economic conditions helped to raise the tide on all social indicators, including PISA performance.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOABILITY OF STUDENTSACCESS TO PRESCHOOLASSESSMENT SYSTEMAVERAGE SCOREBASIC EDUCATION FOR CHILDRENBASIC TEXTSBETTER LEARNINGBETTER SCHOOLSCHILD DEVELOPMENTCLASSROOMCLASSROOM MANAGEMENTCOGNITIVE DEVELOPMENTCOGNITIVE SKILLSCOMPETENCIESCOMPULSORY BASIC EDUCATIONCOMPULSORY EDUCATIONCOMPUTER SOFTWARECURRICULAR REFORMSCURRICULUMDEGREESDIASPORADISADVANTAGED STUDENTSDISCIPLINESDROPOUT RATESEARLY CHILDHOODEARLY EDUCATIONECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTECONOMIC GROWTHEDUCATION LEVELEDUCATION POLICYEDUCATION REFORMEDUCATION SECTOREDUCATION STRATEGYEDUCATION SYSTEMEDUCATION SYSTEMSEDUCATION VARIABLESEDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENTEDUCATIONAL PERFORMANCEEDUCATIONAL RESOURCESEDUCATIONAL SYSTEMSEFFECT ON STUDENT LEARNINGEFFECTIVE LEARNINGEFFECTIVE TEACHINGEND OF GRADEENROLLMENTENROLLMENT RATEENROLLMENT RATESENTRANCE AGEENTRANCE EXAMETHNIC GROUPSEXAMFORMAL BASIC EDUCATIONFORMAL SCHOOLINGFUNCTIONAL LITERACYFUNCTIONALLY ILLITERATEGENDER DISPARITIESGENDER GAPGIRLSGRADUATION RATEGROSS ENROLLMENTGROSS ENROLLMENT RATEHIGH SCHOOLHIGHER EDUCATIONINSTRUCTIONINSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALSINTERNATIONAL STUDENT ASSESSMENTLABOR FORCELABOR MARKET PARTICIPATIONLEARNINGLEARNING OUTCOMESLEARNING STRATEGIESLEVELS OF EDUCATIONLITERACYLITERACY ASPECTSLITERACY THRESHOLDLITERATURELIVING STANDARDSLOWER SECONDARYMATH SCORESMATH SKILLSMATHEMATICAL CONCEPTSMATHEMATICAL PROBLEMSMATHEMATICSMEASURING EDUCATION QUALITYMOBILITYNATIONAL EDUCATIONOLD STUDENTSOUT-OF-SCHOOL CHILDRENPARENTAL EDUCATIONPEER INTERACTIONPERFORMANCE OF STUDENTSPERSISTENT INEQUALITIESPRESCHOOL EDUCATIONPRIMARY EDUCATIONPRIMARY SCHOOLPRINCIPAL EFFECTIVENESSPRIVATE INSTITUTIONSPRIVATE SCHOOLSPROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTPROFICIENCYPUBLIC EXPENDITUREPUBLIC EXPENDITURE ON EDUCATIONPUBLIC EXPENDITURESPUBLIC EXPENDITURES ON EDUCATIONPUBLIC SCHOOLSQUALIFIED TEACHERSQUALITY EDUCATIONQUALITY OF EDUCATIONQUALITY OF LIFEQUALITY OF TEACHINGQUALITY PRESCHOOLQUALITY PRESCHOOL EDUCATIONQUALITY SCHOOLSREADERSREADINGREADING ACHIEVEMENTREADING SKILLSREASONINGRURAL AREASRURAL DISPARITIESRURAL SCHOOLSSCHOOL AUTONOMYSCHOOL LEVELSCHOOL MAPPINGSCHOOL NETWORKSCHOOL PRINCIPALSSCHOOL QUALITYSCHOOL READINESSSCHOOL STUDENTSSCHOOL-AGESCHOOL-AGE POPULATIONSCHOOLINGSCIENCE LABORATORY EQUIPMENTSCIENCE STUDYSECONDARY EDUCATIONSKILL ACQUISITIONSKILLS ACQUISITIONSKILLS DEVELOPMENTSMALL SCHOOLSSOCIAL COHESIONSOCIAL DEVELOPMENTSTUDENT ACHIEVEMENTSTUDENT ASSESSMENTSTUDENT DATASTUDENT ENGAGEMENTSTUDENT GROUPSSTUDENT LEARNINGSTUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMESSTUDENT PERFORMANCESTUDENT POPULATIONSTUDENT SCORESSTUDENT-TEACHER RATIOSUBJECTSTEACHERTEACHER EFFECTIVENESSTEACHER RECRUITMENTTEACHINGTEACHING PRACTICETECHNICAL ASSISTANCETERTIARY EDUCATIONTEST SCORESTEXTBOOKTEXTBOOK SUBSIDIESTEXTBOOKSUNIVERSITY STUDENTSUPPER SECONDARYUPPER SECONDARY EDUCATIONVISUAL RESOURCESVOCATIONAL EDUCATIONWORKERSYOUNG PEOPLE10.1596/20424