New regional study on learning achievement into the final stretch: regional specialists participate in training

[ITEN]

On 21 and 22 March, Managua (Nicaragua) is to host a regional training workshop for technical specialists from all of the countries participating in the Third Regional Comparative and Explanatory Study (TERCE), coordinated by the Regional Bureau of Education for Latin America and the Caribbean (OREALC/UNESCO Santiago).

The implementation of the TERCE is scheduled to begin by the end of May in the Dominican Republic; other countries will start in June.

Plans call for the implementation of the TERCE study to be launched first in the Dominican Republic in late May, and in all other countries in June. The Managua workshop will feature two complementary training activities: one on using the software for TERCE, and another on the final full application of the study. The event was organised to prepare representatives from member countries of the Latin American Laboratory for Assessment of the Quality of Education (LLECE) to organise and coordinate the implementation of the TERCE study in their countries. These representatives will return home to train the personnel tasked with applying the tests and questionnaires as well as data entry personnel, who will be working with software provided by UNESCO.

“Capacity building has always been a priority for LLECE and for UNESCO in general. This workshop will be used for skill development among national specialists, so that TERCE can be implemented with necessary levels of rigor” said Atilio Pizarro, head of planning, management, assessment, and monitoring at OREALC/UNESCO Santiago. “This is the moment of truth for TERCE,” added Moritz Bilagher, LLECE technical coordinator and programme specialist: “After this training session, we will begin the definitive application of the region’s leading comparative study into learning achievement.”

What is TERCE?
This is the region’s most ambitious large-scale education assessment study, with participation from fifteen countries and the Mexican State of Nuevo León. It assesses learning performance in the third and sixth grades in mathematics, reading, and writing, with natural sciences also being included for the sixth grade. Its principal objective is to provide information on education quality in the region, and to guide decision making in public education policy. In order to meet this second goal, the study features not only tests to measure learning achievement but also context questionnaires, so as to gain an understanding of the circumstances in which learning takes place.

The results of the previous study, SERCE, have allowed discussion of education in the region to focus on quality without exclusion, generating information that facilitates deeper understanding of the magnitude and nature of the challenges facing education in Latin America and the Caribbean. These analyses serve to identify possible action to be taken through education policymaking, improving quality and equity in education, including teacher policies, , information, technology and communication, school feeding programmes , and other areas.

More information

Quality of Education Assessment

Newsletter N°10 November 2012-February 2013
Latin American Laboratory for Assessment of the Quality of Education (LLECE)