Confronting the Learning Crisis

Investment Rating - The report does not explicitly provide an investment rating for the industry Core Insights - The World Bank has played a significant role in raising awareness and sharing knowledge about the learning crisis, particularly through its data and analytics, which have defined learning poverty and encouraged stakeholder engagement [17][30] - The World Bank is well-positioned to address the learning crisis due to its relationships with governments and its status as the largest external education funder, although its support could be more strategically focused [18][50] - The evaluation highlights the need for better monitoring and evaluation of learning outcomes, as many projects focus on outputs rather than the actual changes in teaching and learning [19][40] Summary by Sections Overview - The World Bank has helped build awareness and convene global stakeholders around quality basic education, emphasizing the importance of addressing the learning crisis [17] - The report identifies that the World Bank's financing for basic education typically tracks inputs and outputs, with limited assessment of changes in systems and learning outcomes [19][34] Learning Crisis Context - Learning poverty was reported at 91% in low-income countries before the COVID-19 pandemic, worsening since then [21] - The report emphasizes that improving learning for all is more complex and costly than merely increasing access to education [23][25] Evaluation Findings - The evaluation assesses the World Bank's contribution to improving learning outcomes in basic education from 2012 to 2022, focusing on the adoption of a systems approach [26][50] - The World Bank's portfolio for basic education operations during this period totaled $25 billion, with a concentration in the Africa Region [34] Recommendations - The report recommends developing country-specific education engagement plans that include systems-based enhancements to the teaching framework [58] - It also suggests collaborating with global and country partners to close data gaps on learning outcomes and track progress in ending learning poverty [60][71]