UNESCO-LLECE: Five reasons to be part of the TERCE study

[ITEN]

Five reasons to be part of the TERCE study

Read more articles like this one at UNESCO-LLECE Newsletter here.

Marcela Paz school, Chile. Photo: UNESCO/Carolina Jerez

We are often asked why any given country should participate in LLECE’s Third Regional Comparative and Explanatory Study (TERCE) if that same country is already part of PISA and other international studies.

There are five reasons to explain why it continues to be important to be part of research endeavors such as TERCE, and why it is now more important than ever:

 

1. The Latin American Laboratory for the Assessment of Quality in Education (LLECE) bases its studies on the curricular analysis of participating countries. Many of the items that are included in the tests that are given as part of this study are constructed in aparticipatory process with involved countries. This ensures that the LLECE tests are culturally appropriate for each country and keeps them from imposing a foreign standard, as is the case with other international tests.
2. TERCE not only assesses learning achievements, but also develops an analysis of factors in the school and in society at large that are associated to these achievements. Given that it’s based on a literature review in the social, economic, and cultural context of Latin America and the Caribbean, recommendations arising from TERCE are guaranteed to be appropriate for the public policy context in which they will be applied.
3. TERCE also includes national modules of associated factors, which are based on hypotheses presented by countries and were developed in close collaboration with those nations. This allows countries to study associated factors that are specific to their realities and pertinent to their national policies.
4. TERCE is one of the few studies in the world that assess writing skills, and it is the only one to conduct such analysis in Latin American countries.
5. TERCE evaluates primary school students who are in third and sixth grades, both of which are key educational levels for a person’s future. It’s a stage of the educational process at which public policies that are based on accurate evidence can make a difference in the future of students coming from vulnerable backgrounds, thus improving system equity.

LLECE’s organizational structure is based on a participatory logic. Functioning as a network allows countries to benefit from technical and strategic discussions, and from their interaction with participants from nations that have different education realities. LLECE also offers on–going training for members, who can access these benefits as a result of annual contributions that are affordable for countries in the region.

Read more articles like this one at UNESCO-LLECE Newsletter here.