Results & Indicators

The highest level of education an individual has successfully completed, i.e. by obtaining a certificate or qualification upon graduation. Breaking down labour market outcomes by the highest level of education attained can reveal the relevance of the education level (primary, lower secondary, etc.), and also show changes in the relevance of education for the labour market over time.

Calculated as the product (multiplication) of the survival rate to the last grade and the percentage of graduates in the last grade. The percentage of graduates is calculated as follows: the total number of graduates in primary education is divided by the difference between those who enrol that year and those who repeat the following year. Another proxy measure for actual completion since this is based on graduation rates, but these data are not always reported in each country. Please include additional disaggregation by maternal education level, disability status, migration status and minority groups - incl. language minorities - if data collection capacity allows it.

The percentage of all children enrolled in the first grade of primary school who enrol in the last grade of primary education. Also known as ‘Persistence to last grade of primary’. Calculation is based on the “reconstructed” cohort method, which assumes that drop-outs never return to school, and that promotion, repetition and drop-out rates observed over the past two consecutive years remain constant over the period during which the cohort is enrolled in school. Proxy measure for completion. The reconstructed cohort method requires many data points, including the number of enrolments and repeaters in each grade of primary education for a consecutive two-year period. This computation does not account for grade skipping, migration, school transfers and deaths. Re-entering and repeating students are considered to have the same probability of promotion than those who have never dropped out or repeated. Please include additional disaggregation by maternal education level, disability status, migration status and minority groups - incl. language minorities - if data collection capacity allows it.

Also known as completion rates. For lower secondary: The total number of graduates of lower secondary education, regardless of age, as a percentage of the total population at the theoretical graduation age for that sub-level of education. For upper secondary: Same variant, and in additional includes all programme types (e.g., TVET). For upper secondary, there might be some adjustment at the country level depending on how the sub-level is structured (e.g. based on certificates, programmes providing access to tertiary). Usually data can be disaggregated by sub-levels within the ISCED definition (3A, 3B, 3C). Graduation requirements can include passing an exam or accumulating the number of class hours needed for graduation. Not all countries report graduation rates. Higher student-teacher ratios have been associated with lower rates of lower secondary completion (UIS, 2011).

(disaggregated by sex, administrative sub-regions, location - urban/peri-urban/rural, access to ECE, wealth quintile, maternal education level, disability status, migration status and minority groups - incl. language minorities - if relevant)

The percentage of students from a cohort  enrolled in a given grade and who study in the same grade in the following school year. The repetition rate is one of the key indicators used for projecting student flows. Repetitions rates help describe the internal efficiency of the education system by describing the flow of students from one grade to another. The data are based on two consecutive years.

(disaggregated by sex, administrative sub-regions, location - urban/peri-urban/rural, access to ECE, wealth quintile, maternal education level, and disability status, migration status and minority groups - incl. language minorities - if relevant)

Total number of years a child of school entrance age is expected to spend in school, including higher education institution. Takes into account years spent repeating a grade. Usually disaggregated by sex and level of education. The SLE will be lower as the number of out-of-school children increases. SLE should be examined with grade-specific repetition rates.

Percentage of children ages 3 and 4 (up to 59 months) who are attending an early childhood programme, whether or not such activities are considered part of the school system. Does not refer to programmes offering only babysitting or child-minding. This indicator is collected in countries which have conducted the MICS household survey (by UNICEF). Mothers usually answer the survey. UNICEF data are disaggregated by sex, wealth, mother’s education level, and location. A variant of this indicator will be used for SDG4 where it is indicator 4.2.2 (Participation rate in organized learning one year before the official primary entry age).  This indicator also serves as an alternative to the UIS indicator or pre-primary gross enrolment mentioned below. Rates will differ if both indicators are available in a country, as this one is based on a household survey, while the UIS data are compiled from a variety of sources (mostly administrative, i.e. from government census). Could be used as a baseline results/output indicator (per the EU guidance on indicators). Please include additional disaggregation by maternal education level, disability status, migration status and minority groups - including language minorities - if data collection capacity allows it.

Total number of children enrolled in a certain education level, regardless of age, as a percentage of the total population in the relevant official school age group. Programmes can be public or private. GER can be over 100% when there is a large enrolment of children younger or older than the official school age.
Usually disaggregated by sex, geographical location (region, urban/rural) and by level of education. Please include additional disaggregation by maternal education level, disability status, migration status and minority groups - including language minorities - if data collection capacity allows it.

Number of children in the official school age range who are not enrolled in either primary or secondary education. Also known as out-of-school children in school age. The age for this group usually ranges from from 6 to 15 years, but it is defined by country policy for the duration of lower secondary education (from 2 to 6 years). So check for your own country.
Cross-country comparisons need to consider length of lower secondary programme. Defining out-of-school children for upper secondary may require data which are not reliable or available. So check for your country.
Children of primary school age who are enrolled in pre-primary education are considered out of school. Please include additional disaggregation by maternal education level, disability status, migration status and minority groups - included language minorities - if data collection capacity allows it.

SDG indicator 8.6.1, currently a tier I indicator. Please include additional disaggregation by maternal education level, disability status, migration status and minority groups - included language minorities - if data collection capacity allows it.

The indicator is calculated as follows: NEET rate = (Youth – Youth in employment – Youth not in employment but in education or training) / Youth *100. It is important to note here that youth both in employment and education or training simultaneously should not be double counted when subtracted from the total number of youth. The formula can also be expressed as: NEET rate = ((Unemployed youth + Youth outside the labour force) – (Unemployed youth in education or training + Youth outside the labour force in education or training)) / Youth *100.

Usually measured by total years of education or highest education level completed. Teachers can achieve qualified status through a pre-service training course or an in-service course which leads to a certificate or qualification. Some in-service courses do not lead to qualifications but support continuing professional development. This indicator informs on teacher quality, especially when compared with the minimum qualifications (e.g. number of years of pre-service and/or in-service education) required for acquiring teacher certification.

PTR: total number of pupils (full-time) divided by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers at a specific grade or level of education.
PTTR: Similar to PTR but divides the total number of pupils by the total number of trained teachers at a specific grade or level of education. While the PTR indicates a concern about reducing the number of children per teacher, it can hide problems such as hiring untrained teachers to fill teacher shortages. The PTTR thus shows a greater commitment to maintaining education quality. These ratios are used mostly for analysing quality in primary education. Low official PTRs in secondary education mask a number of other issues and may not necessarily relate to similar class sizes. At the secondary level, data on PTTR are less frequent.

Number of leavers is estimated by subtracting the number of teachers in year t from those in year t-1 and adding the number of new entrants to the teaching workforce in year t. The attrition rate is the number of leavers expressed as a percentage of the total number of teachers in year t-1.
A high value indicates high levels of teacher turnover which can be disruptive for the learning of students. Where teachers teach for 30-40 years, the attrition rate will be well below 5%. Attrition rates above 10% indicate that the average teaching career lasts only 10 years.
In calculating this indicator, care should be exercised to avoid double counting regarding teachers that teach more than one level of education. Also, the existence of part-time teaching, school-shifts, multi-grade classes and other practices that may affect the precision of the number of teachers and the new entrants to the teaching profession should be taken into account.

Total number of hours spent in class with a teacher (see the indicator above) as a proportion of the total time in school. Total time in school is usually calculated as official length of the school year (measured in days or hours).

The percentage of all teachers in an education level who have become qualified by completing the minimum organised/certified teacher training (whether in-service or pre-service) that is required for teaching at that specific education level in that country. There are no international norms or standards, and few regional ones on qualifications. The quality of training is also variable across and within countries. Certification levels vary by country, so cross-country comparisons do not take into account the differences in qualifications. The percentage of teachers who are trained indicates the country’s commitment to training and hiring for improving education quality. Trained teachers are generally associated with higher pupil learning outcomes. Difficult measure to use over time within a country, as needs to include information on whether minimum qualification rules have changed. That is, a sudden increase in trained teachers could reflect the lowering of qualifications required.

Status of of a nationally representative learning assessment may also serve initially as a proxy for improved learning outcomes during an interim period as baselines are developed and tests are validated. Standards have not yet been agreed for all assessments, national, regional and international, including early grades, end of primary and end of lower secondary. This is crucial for improving the quality of assessments and the measurement of learning outcomes.

The proportion of total public (current) expenditure per level of education. Not all countries will include pre-primary education or TVET in this calculation, if these levels are not part of the ministry of education’s budget. Indicates a government’s interest in one level of education compared with the other levels. Analysis could be improved if the size of the student population for each level would be taken into account. Public expenditure can be for both public and private institutions.

Total expenditure on public education divided by the total number of students enrolled as a percentage of GDP per capita (GDP divided by total population). This can be calculated for all education levels or for each level independently. Not all countries will include pre-primary education or TVET in this calculation, if these levels are not part of the ministry of education’s budget. Indicator can exceed 100% in the case where the GDP per capita is lower than the expenditure per pupil. Interpretation of this indicator is difficult as it needs to be compared with enrolment ratios. A high value could indicate a high investment on each student, as well as low enrolment.

Indicator to be adapted on national context

The GPI is the ratio of female to male values for a given indicator. The GPI measures progress towards gender parity in education, whether in participation, completion, learning assessments, etc. GPI of the GER is used for measuring gender parity in primary and secondary education. This is one sub-dimension of the parity indices (see above the indicator on ST Outcome: Increased access to inclusive and equitable ECE, Primary, Secondary and Higher Education

This indicator could also be turned into a quantitative indicator (% of educational institutions…)

Changes in girls’ aspirations about education, employment, and gender equality, and the reasons for changes (e.g., measured in perception surveys or focus group discussion)

Sub-national disparities are important to consider for this data, as rural, remote or poor areas tend to have different rates of access to textbooks.

Physical infrastructure is a commonly-collected monitoring indicator on quality of education.
Sub-national disparities are important to consider for this data, as rural, remote or poor areas tend to have lower rates of access to basic services. Another important consideration is the reliability of the electricity supply during the school time. If possible measure this aspect too, or at least consider it.

Physical infrastructure is a commonly-collected monitoring indicator on quality of education.
Sub-national disparities are important to consider for this data, as rural, remote or poor areas tend to have lower rates of access to basic services.

Please specify in the indicator how "young people" are defined in the given country (or what definition will be followed).

INEE Access and Learning Environment Standard 3: school facilities and services. This includes: location; structure, design and construction (included disaster resistance); design and maintenance of learning space, sanitation facilities, safe water and hygiene promotion, school-based health and nutrition services, referral systems
Source: INEE Guidance Notes on Safer School Construction, available in the INEE Toolkit: www.ineesite.org/ toolkit;

(disaggregated by sex, type of contract - teacher or administrator, geographical location - region, urban/rural, and by level of education)
Test or evaluation surveys are needed to demonstrate increased knowledge in the topic.

If the EU-funded Action will help to develop a framework and standards for education staff assessment, then this is an appropriate output-level indicator. Please adjust as needed - specify other regulations/tools that the Action may help design.

disaggregated by sex, location, level of education

Please include more specific training topics if possible, this is just a general example.

Please specify the availability of curricula in minority languages if relevant. To be adapted to the specific context: if already available, the indicator may refer to its revision.

This indicator is relevant at output level if the Action will directly help develop the national EMIS. Otherwise it can be used at outcome (Specific Objective) level.

BS induced output indicator

Management can include financial management, resources and activity planning and other relevant topics. Please specify if you choose to use this indicator.

The Action can design and make available school uniforms which can enable girls to participate in sport and active play

This should include all types of disasters (natural, environmental, war, epidemics, conflicts, civil war).

This should include all types of disasters (natural, environmental, war, epidemics, conflicts, civil war).