Browse by sub-sector
Open all 337 in the libraryFormal Education Support
Support to formal schooling, including infrastructure, learning materials, school feeding, enrollment, attendance, and learning outcomes across primary and secondary levels.
Output
Outcome
Teacher Training & Support
Pre-service and in-service teacher training, coaching and mentoring, instructional practice, and continuing professional development.
Output
Immediate Outcome
Emergency & Accelerated Education
Education in emergencies, temporary learning spaces, accelerated and catch-up programming, and continuity of learning for crisis-affected and displaced children.
Output
Goal
Community Engagement & School Governance
Parent and community participation, school management committees, school improvement planning, and accountability and oversight at the school level.
Output
Goal
Inclusive & Special Education
Education for children with disabilities and other marginalized learners, accessible environments, assistive support, and inclusive teaching practice.
Output
Goal
Youth Engagement & Development
Out-of-school youth, second-chance and non-formal learning, life skills, and youth participation and leadership programming.
Output
Goal
Other Education sub-sectors
Smaller measurement areas in Education, with a sample indicator from each.
Methods by outcome type
Match the method to the outcome, not to what is easiest to collect.
| Outcome type | Primary method | Observation | Key instruments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & enrollment | Administrative records (EMIS) plus population-based household survey | Not required (records and reported attendance) | EMIS, MICS and DHS education modules, UIS administrative indicators |
| Foundational learning outcomes | Direct assessment of children, individually administered or group-based | Direct measurement required | EGRA, EGMA, ASER, Uwezo, MICS Foundational Learning Skills module |
| Retention, progression & completion | Administrative records with cohort tracking, triangulated with survey | Not required (records and recall) | EMIS flow rates, MICS and DHS attendance and completion modules, UIS completion-rate definitions |
| Teacher practice & instructional quality | Classroom observation and structured teacher assessment | Observation required for practice; recall common for training receipt | Structured classroom observation tools, Teach (World Bank), TIMSS/PIRLS context questionnaires |
| Learning environment & system quality | School survey or facility-style assessment plus routine system data | School inventory and observation required | EMIS, school surveys, INEE indicators, UIS school-level indicators |
| Inclusion & equity | Disability and equity disaggregation within surveys and assessments | Not required when standardized screening is used | Washington Group questions, Child Functioning Module, MICS equity disaggregation |
Common evaluation questions
The questions that anchor design and data-collection decisions, grouped by cluster.
Formal Education Support
Did the program change enrollment and attendance for the target population?
Evidence: EMIS administrative records triangulated with a household survey (MICS or DHS education module) at baseline and endline. Design: Outcome evaluation, before-and-after.
Did foundational learning outcomes change among supported children?
Evidence: Direct learning assessment (EGRA or EGMA) administered to a sample of children at baseline and endline. Design: Outcome evaluation.
Teacher Training & Support
Did training change observed instructional practice in the classroom?
Evidence: Structured classroom observation (such as Teach) before and after training, not training attendance alone. Design: Implementation evaluation, before-and-after.
Are trained teachers sustaining improved practice after coaching ends?
Evidence: Repeat classroom observation at program end and a follow-up point. Design: Sustainability / ex-post evaluation.
Emergency & Accelerated Education
Did accelerated or catch-up programming restore learning continuity for crisis-affected children?
Evidence: Learning assessment of enrolled children against grade-level expectations, with attendance tracking. Design: Outcome evaluation.
Were temporary learning spaces established and operating against minimum standards?
Evidence: School-level assessment against INEE Minimum Standards plus program monitoring data. Design: Implementation evaluation.
Community Engagement & School Governance
Did school management committees become more active and functional?
Evidence: Structured assessment of committee functioning and school improvement planning over time. Design: Implementation evaluation, before-and-after.
Is community participation associated with the intended school-level changes the program targeted?
Evidence: Participation records triangulated with school-level outcomes the program defined in its results framework. Design: Outcome evaluation.
Inclusive & Special Education
Did the program improve enrollment and participation for children with disabilities?
Evidence: Enrollment and attendance disaggregated using the Washington Group questions or the Child Functioning Module. Design: Outcome evaluation.
Are learning environments more accessible and inclusive after the intervention?
Evidence: School accessibility assessment plus classroom observation of inclusive practice. Design: Implementation evaluation.
Youth Engagement & Development
Did second-chance or non-formal programming reach out-of-school youth as intended?
Evidence: Enrollment and attendance records for the target group triangulated with a small population estimate. Design: Implementation evaluation.
Did participating youth gain the foundational or life-skills outcomes the program targeted?
Evidence: Pre- and post-assessment against the program-defined skills framework. Design: Outcome evaluation, before-and-after.
The standards that matter
Education has a layered standards ecosystem. Start with the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) and SDG 4 indicator definitions for access, completion, and equity, use a recognized learning assessment (EGRA, EGMA, ASER, Uwezo, or the MICS Foundational Learning Skills module) for learning outcomes, align household-survey wording to MICS and DHS, use the Washington Group questions for disability disaggregation, and apply INEE Minimum Standards in emergency settings so your numbers reconcile with national and global reporting.
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) ↗
Official source for internationally comparable education indicator definitions, including access, completion, and equity measures.
SDG 4 Indicators ↗
Global indicator framework for quality education, including the learning, completion, and participation indicators tracked by UIS.
EGRA (Early Grade Reading Assessment) ↗
Individually administered oral assessment of foundational reading skills in the early grades.
EGMA (Early Grade Mathematics Assessment) ↗
Individually administered assessment of foundational numeracy and early mathematics skills.
ASER (Annual Status of Education Report) ↗
Citizen-led, household-based assessment of basic reading and arithmetic, widely used in South Asia.
Uwezo ↗
Citizen-led, household-based assessment of basic literacy and numeracy used across East Africa, run under the PAL Network.
UNICEF MICS Foundational Learning Skills ↗
Household-survey module measuring foundational reading and numeracy with internationally comparable wording.
INEE Minimum Standards ↗
Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies standards for quality education in crisis and emergency contexts.
Washington Group Questions ↗
Standardized question sets, including the Child Functioning Module, for measuring disability and supporting equity disaggregation.
Global Partnership for Education (GPE) ↗
Results framework and indicator guidance used in GPE-supported education sector planning and reporting.
TIMSS & PIRLS ↗
International large-scale assessments of mathematics, science, and reading administered by the IEA, useful for benchmarking context.
Common mistakes to avoid
Reporting enrollment without naming the data source
Administrative enrollment (EMIS) and survey-based attendance answer different questions. UIS indicator definitions expect the numerator, denominator, and source to be specified.
Using non-standard indicator wording
Reworded access and completion indicators break comparability with UIS, SDG 4, MICS, and national datasets. Use the UIS and SDG 4 definitions or MICS and DHS wording verbatim.
Treating training attendance as improved instruction
Counting teachers trained departs from observation-based guidance. Instructional change requires classroom observation against a defined practice framework, not attendance alone.
Measuring learning without a recognized assessment
Ad hoc learning tests are not comparable across time or programs. Use a recognized instrument such as EGRA, EGMA, ASER, Uwezo, or the MICS Foundational Learning Skills module so results are interpretable.
Reporting completion or dropout without cohort definitions
Flow rates depend on how a cohort is defined. Follow UIS definitions for completion, dropout, and repetition so figures reconcile with national reporting.
Omitting disability and equity disaggregation
Aggregate figures hide exclusion. Use the Washington Group questions or the Child Functioning Module to disaggregate, consistent with SDG 4 equity expectations.
Frequently asked questions
What access or completion indicator should I use for a donor proposal?
Use the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) and SDG 4 indicator definitions, or MICS and DHS education-module wording where the program reports survey-based attendance, rather than custom phrasing. State the numerator, denominator, and data source so reviewers can reconcile your figures with national and global reporting.
How should I measure learning outcomes?
Use a recognized learning assessment rather than an ad hoc test. EGRA and EGMA are individually administered oral assessments of early reading and mathematics. ASER and Uwezo are citizen-led, household-based assessments of basic literacy and numeracy. The MICS Foundational Learning Skills module measures foundational reading and numeracy within a household survey. Choosing a recognized instrument keeps results comparable and interpretable.
Can I report teachers trained as evidence of better teaching?
No. Training attendance is an output. Changes in instruction require classroom observation against a defined practice framework, such as Teach, before and after training. A high count of teachers trained says nothing about whether practice in the classroom changed. Measure observed practice separately from training receipt.
How do I handle ethics when collecting data from children?
Treat consent, child safeguarding, and assessment fairness as design requirements. Obtain parental or guardian consent and the child assent, follow child safeguarding procedures during data collection, protect identifiers, and ensure assessments are administered fairly and in a language the child understands. In emergency settings, align data collection with INEE guidance and do no harm to vulnerable children.
Should I rely on administrative data (EMIS) or commission a survey?
Use both for what each does well. EMIS is continuous and good for enrollment, flow, and trends at supported schools, but it needs a data quality review for completeness and consistency before use, and it cannot measure children who never enroll. Household surveys (MICS, DHS) and direct learning assessments (EGRA, EGMA, ASER, Uwezo) measure participation and learning in the population at points in time. Many education M&E plans monitor routinely through EMIS and benchmark periodically against survey and assessment data.