## PICTURE THIS

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [PICTURE THIS](https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2018/march/picture.pdf)

## Other formats

- [Markdown version](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2018/march/picture.pdf.md)
- [Structured JSON version](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2018/march/picture.pdf.json)

---

### The problem: schooling does not equal learning
- Hundreds of millions of children in the developing world reach young adulthood without basic life skills.
- At the current rate of improvement, it would take 75 years for teenagers in Brazil to reach the rich-country average score in math and more than 260 years to reach the rich-country average in reading.
- 260 million children worldwide are not enrolled in primary or secondary school.
- Of the 121 countries studied, half lack the data required to report on levels of reading and mathematics proficiency of children at the end of lower secondary school.
- Examples of early shortfalls:
  - In rural India, nearly 75 percent of students in grade 3 could not solve a basic math problem: two-digit subtraction, such as 46 minus 17. By grade 5, 50% of these students still could not do so.
  - Shortfalls in grade 2 reading and math proficiency are highlighted for selected countries (Malawi, India, Ghana, Uganda, Zambia, Yemen, Nepal, Iraq, Morocco, Liberia, Tanzania, Jordan and others), showing high percentages of students unable to read a single word of a short text or perform two-digit subtraction.

### Causes and dynamics
- Four main factors at play:
  - Malnutrition, high fees, and gender barriers that limit access and learning.
  - Absent, ill-prepared, and poorly supported teachers.
  - School attendance monitoring that overstates educational progress because attendance does not equate to learning.
  - Political systems that do not prioritize learning.
- Teacher attendance:
  - The report documents teacher absence from school and from class on the day of an unannounced visit in participating African countries (Uganda 2013; Mozambique 2014; Tanzania 2010 and 2014; Kenya 2012; Togo 2013; Senegal 2011; Nigeria 2013). (Chart indicates separate measures for absence from school and absence from the classroom.)

### Consequences
- The learning crisis widens inequality because poor students suffer the worst learning outcomes.
- Education delivered well creates human capital that promotes employment, earnings, health, long-term economic growth, poverty reduction, innovation, stronger institutions, and social cohesion.

### The solution: three-tiered approach (World Bank, World Development Report 2018)
- 1) Use learning assessments to shine a light on low learning.
- 2) Leverage research on effective educational interventions.
- 3) Prioritize learning, data collection, and reform at the national level.
- Countries have made enormous progress on enrollment; the next priority is improving learning outcomes rather than focusing solely on schooling inputs.

_Prepared by MARIE BOURSIQUOT. Text and charts are based on the World Bank’s World Development Report 2018._

---


_Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2018/march/picture.pdf_