Changing indicators to change the world: evidence from the ground.

Why the way we measure progress on education matters.

The building of a school next to an IDP camp in the Teso sub-region. Research participants said they have the physical walls but not the teachers and teaching materials needed to provide their children with quality education.

A widely acknowledged success of the current MDG framework is the creation of strong incentives for the governments of developing countries to achieve progress on the agreed goals. Governments want to receive international praise and increased AID flows associated with the implementation of good pro-poor policies. Government performance is assessed on the achievement of the MDGs targets associated to the goals. If we take the example of the second goal “Achieve universal primary education”, the target is to “Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling”. The key indicator used is the Net enrolment rate in primary education, complemented by the number of pupils enrolled in grade 1 who reaches grade 5, and literacy rates. This post examines the implications of the incentives generated by the current MDGs indicators. It does so by considering the critical views of those living in poverty collected through the COMPASS 2015 research.