SUMMARY G LO B A L E D U C AT I O N M O N I TO R I N G R E P O R T 2 0 1 6 Priorities for monitoring education in the Sustainable Development Goals T he review of the monitoring challenges of each SDG 4 target points to priorities for action at the national, regional and global levels. These are meant to ensure that there is sufficient comparable information to foster a global dialogue over progress toward SDG 4. Doing so does not undermine country monitoring of its own progress in education, which focuses on its national context and specific needs. The proposed monitoring framework provides a platform for international and national agencies to exchange information about progress and measurement challenges. The newly established Technical Cooperation Group, with strong country representation, will further develop and help implement this framework, thereby advancing the international dialogue on education monitoring. AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL: BUILD CAPACITY IN SIX KEY AREAS Six key steps are proposed for countries to make substantive progress in the next three to five years to strengthen national monitoring while also contributing to the global monitoring of education. Equity. Cooperation is necessary between education ministries and national statistical agencies to shed light on basic disparities and use a wider variety of data sources. Learning outcomes. Countries need to ensure that a robust sample-based national learning assessment is in place that can be used to monitor progress in learning over time. Quality. Countries need to monitor curricula, textbooks and teacher education programmes closely to ensure adequate commitment to the objectives of target 4.7. Lifelong learning. Countries need to monitor education needs, opportunities and accomplishments of their adult populations who will have to take critical decisions on sustainable development. Systems. Regional organizations offer countries appropriate forums for exchanging information on the characteristics of their education systems and learning from one another. Finance. Countries are encouraged to adopt the national education accounts approach to understand better how education expenditure is shared between governments, donors and households. AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL: SUPPORT PEER LEARNING Using regional networks as peer learning mechanisms, countries can exchange information, for example on the aims and policies they apply to tackle disadvantage in education, and on the extent to which they pursue education for sustainable development and global citizenship education. AT THE GLOBAL LEVEL: FOSTER CONSENSUS AND COORDINATION Three steps are proposed to coordinate measurement tools and research on global issues. An international household survey programme dedicated to education is needed to fill several major gaps. A consistent approach to monitoring learning outcomes is also required, including a code of conduct among donors to avoid overlap. The establishment of a research hub for global education measurement issues is strongly recommended, with a special focus on helping build consensus on key education outcomes. A data revolution in education has to involve agreement on basic concepts, investment in robust systems and coordination to ensure accessibility, openness and accountability of data. 60