Article,
The role of education quality for economic growth
World Bank Policy Research Working Paper, (2007)
Abstract
Access to education is one of the highest priorities on the development agenda. High-profi le
international commitment to progress—such as the second Millennium Development Goal
of achieving universal primary education—has helped galvanize policy-makers into action.
Signifi cant results have already been achieved in school enrollment. Yet care must be taken
that the need for simple, measurable goals does not lead to ignoring the fact that it ultimately
is the degree to which schooling fosters cognitive skills and facilitates the acquisition
of professional skills that matters for development.
As shown in this report, differences in learning achievements matter more in explaining
cross-country differences in productivity growth than differences in the average number of
years of schooling or in enrollment rates. A development-effective educational strategy should
thus focus not only on sending more children to school, as the second Millennium Development
Goal is often interpreted, but also on maintaining or enhancing the quality of schooling.
The task at hand is imposing. As shown by the PISA survey, disparities in secondary education
between developing countries and OECD countries are even larger when one considers not
only access but also learning achievements. Things are not much better at the primary level. In
recent surveys in Ghana and Zambia, it turned out that fewer than 60 percent of young women
who complete six years of primary school could read a sentence in their own language.
Reducing disparities in access to, and in the quality of, education are two goals that must
be pursued simultaneously for any education reform to be successful. Considerable progress
has indeed been made recently in increasing enrollment, but a reversal could occur if parents
were to realize that the quality of schooling is not guaranteeing a solid economic return
for their children.
There are many reasons why school quality may be defi cient. Countries should investigate
what the precise causes are in their own context and should be encouraged to experiment
in fi nding the best way to correct weaknesses. Tools such as effective teacher certifi cation,
public disclosure of the educational achievements of schools and teachers, local school control
by parents associations, and, more generally, all measures contributing to the accountability
of teachers and head teachers, can be useful starting points for refl ection. Education
reforms take time to mature and bear fruit. Engaging in such refl ection and experimentation
is therefore urgent for development.
The Bank will do its part in making learning outcomes part of the overall educational
goal. It will contribute to ensuring that the measurement of learning achievements is undertaken
in a more systematic way and is properly taken into account in the Bank’s dialogue
with partner countries. It will also invest in developing the appropriate evaluation tools to
monitor this crucial part of educational development.
It is our hope that this report will be a fi rst contribution to this agenda.
