9.2 Improving education outcomes in Ceará, Brazil

BOX 9.2

Improving education outcomes in Ceará, Brazil

Each year, the state of Ceará in Brazil distributes a fixed sum of money to its municipalities, placing the municipalities in competition with one another for those resources. To receive more resources, municipalities need not have the highest test scores or the lowest dropout rates; they merely need to show improvement. Those that show improvement each year receive more funds, and those that rest on their laurels will likely lose funding.

The distribution of funds is based on a formula that includes two results indicators—test scores and dropout rates. The formula takes into account both the levels of the indicators (a municipality with high test scores and low dropout rates will receive more funding) and the changes in the indicators (a municipality that improves test scores and lowers dropout rates will receive more funding).

Importantly, the state does not rely solely on the results-based mechanism but also provides technical assistance to municipalities, particularly under its Program to Achieving Literacy at the Right Age. The program provides schools with learning materials that define a clear timetable for classes and prioritizes basic skills, especially literacy in the early grades. Teachers undergo regular training on how to use these materials, including classroom observation with feedback. municipalities with low-performing schools get additional support, while those with high-performing schools must ensure that these schools assist their low-performing counterparts to qualify for additional rewards from the state.

The state also works with municipalities to improve the management of their education systems. It provides training and materials to municipal education secretariats, with the goal of increasing classroom teaching time, reducing the number of multigrade classes, adopting meritocratic selection criteria for school principals, and offering financial and nonfinancial incentives to teachers whose students meet literacy targets.

Source: Loureiro, Cruz, and Lautharte 2020.

Develop reliable quality indicators and measurement instruments and set clear targets

To increase the system’s focus on learning outcomes, better data will be needed to quantify and track learning. Without better data, problems will continue to go unnoticed and unaddressed. As of 2018–19 school year, for example, national assessments were carried out in grades 4, 7, and 12. (The external assessment for students in grade 10 was pending.) The 2018 grade 7 assessment results for Bulgarian language showed that there are a large number of failing schools. The scores of these schools were so low that it is hard to determine whether any learning took place during those seven years.

Introducing early grade reading and numeracy assessments and setting clear and easy to understand targets for what all 2nd graders should be able to do would be an important step. Such early grade assessments were critically important in motivating mayors and communities to take action in Ceará, but they are also used by countries that are among the top education performers (such as Singapore) to identify and quantify challenges and take rapid action. These assessments help to quantify problem areas, allowing teachers and teacher training to identify topics or students that need more focus. more broadly, Bulgaria needs a credible and trusted assessment system and to use the data generated from that system to inform decision-making. Assessments

should place more emphasize on students’ mastery of desired skills and less emphasis on students’ ability to memorize and reproduce facts. Assessments should also be designed so that results can be compared across time. And actors need to use the data that have been generated to improve outcomes, such as by informing changes to curriculum and teaching practices. The government has taken the first steps to develop such a system, but these efforts need to be accelerated if actors in the system are to be rewarded in accordance with their achievements.

Empower municipalities to play a bigger role in reducing inequality and improving students’ results

For results-based financing to work, municipalities need to play a bigger role. Specifically, if they are to be incentivized to narrow the learning gaps between rich and poor students and improve the overall quality of education, they will need to participate in three areas in which they are not currently involved: (1) overseeing the quality of education provided by the schools under their jurisdiction; (2) holding school principals accountable for low achievement in their schools; and (3) intervening with targeted policy measures to address problem areas. municipalities will need to build increased capacity to match their strengthened management and decision-making authority. The government may also consider implementing a warning system that would identify underperforming municipalities on an ongoing basis and trigger the provision of additional targeted support.

Consolidate municipalities into larger entities that are more financially and administratively viable

A growing number of very small, financially unviable municipalities in Bulgaria manage only one school. Alarmingly, many of these municipalities spend more on administrative costs than on their school. The future looks even more challenging because Bulgaria is expected to experience one of the largest population declines in the world. In 2050, its population is expected to be 23 percent smaller than in 2019 (United Nations 2019).

The preconditions necessary for incentives to work are that municipalities be financially viable and have a certain necessary level of administrative capacity. Although these goals are beyond the purview of the education sector, it is closely related to its future development. A “whole of government” approach will be needed (1) to create a national dialogue about the need for fewer municipalities; (2) to create incentives for municipalities to merge; and (3) to establish a timetable for the voluntary amalgamation of municipalities or for the government to step in and force mergers.

Administrative-territorial reform is not on the current policy agenda; an intermediate step might be to foster partnerships between local governments to share services (including education), coordinate the management of educational infrastructure, and implement joint projects (such as those related to infrastructure). Combining the capacity and resources of different municipalities could increase the efficiency of delivered services. Some of these efforts might lead municipalities to create the preconditions for further consolidation.