Sustainable Development Goal 4 calls for new ways of collecting, analyzing and using data.

This new model, sometimes referred to as education management information systems (EMIS) 2.0, is inspired by private sector data management strategies, focusing on outputs rather than inputs and emphasizing a user- and service-oriented approach.

Despite global trends, many GPE partner countries face challenges in the adoption of an EMIS 2.0 model and in harnessing the full potential of dynamic data-driven systems.

Instead, they continue to rely on fragmented and often inaccessible data systems while also grappling with resource constraints, technical capacity issues and low data literacy.

As such, public policies to improve education systems are often ill-informed about the specifics and scale of the prevailing quality, gender inequality and inclusion issues in their country.

How GPE KIX is supporting data systems and data use

From 2020 to 2024, GPE KIX has supported several projects to scale the impact of promising or proven innovations on data in education:

• Common-Scale Assessment of Early and Foundational Math Learning Across the Global South
• Adapting Assessment into Policy and Learning (ADAPT): Adolescent 21^st Century Skills Data Must Speak About Positive Deviance Approaches to Learning
• Using Data for Improving Education Equity and Inclusion
• Data Use Innovations for Education Management Information Systems in The Gambia, Uganda and Togo

Our recent synthesis report identifies generalizable lessons as well as points of interest and covers 4 key themes:

• data integration and evidence-based decision making
• stakeholder engagement and capacity building to use data
• using data for improving education equity and inclusion
• scaling of data systems and data use.

In this blog, we unpack evidence emerging from GPE KIX research on data innovations aiming to improve education equity and inclusion.

Aggregating and using data to support the most marginalized

According to the literature, data systems often fail to capture the experiences and needs of marginalized groups such as children with disabilities or those from low socioeconomic backgrounds and are often underutilized to predict educational needs in terms of access and learning, and to allocate for those needs.

The need for such data has driven efforts to improve EMIS and data-sharing across government departments and among education stakeholders. For instance, education planning can be bolstered by data collected by ministries of health where birth records can be cross-referenced with school enrollment.

GPE KIX projects emphasized the need to draw on multiple sources of data. The Multi-Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) Education Analysis for Global Learning and Equity (EAGLE) project, for instance, highlights the importance of household survey data for policy makers to make more informed and effective decisions to address educational disparities.

MICS-EAGLE advanced educational data collection in 31 countries by highlighting the diverse learning environments of and challenges faced by specific groups based on geography, language, disability status and gender.

The extensive household data on gender, disability status, educational attainment, early marriage and child labor provided granular information that past systems did not capture but is nevertheless valuable for understanding critical issues tied to education access, skill development, inclusion and the quality of early education.

Extensive household data is particularly useful for examining the intersection of gender and inclusion – sometimes overlooked by other administrative data.

The Common-Scale Assessment project is another example of how data can support education inclusion and advocacy efforts on this issue as it collected simple, actionable data on children’s foundational learning that parents, caregivers and communities could easily understand.

The project scaled the PAL Network member Early Language & Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (PAL-ELANA) in 12 countries in Africa and Asia – a tool that also includes standardized disability measures to assess skills of learners with special educational needs.

The Data Must Speak initiative supported education ministries through a 5-stage model for using data to address education challenges, with the final stage focusing on integrating insights into national policy.

Data Must Speak research drew on existing data to identify high-performing schools and factors that make these schools achieve better results in terms of education quality within countries and called attention to the need to support and strengthen education stakeholders’ capacity to analyze, interpret and use data as these capacities are key to the adoption and sustainability of innovations.

Through the training model, ministries of education were empowered to develop a school typology identifying characteristics of effective schools and to assess those characteristics on site as causal or incidental factors.

Findings from Data Must Speak have influenced the global dialogue about gender equity in school leadership, particularly concerning the role of female principals, as schools led by women generally have lower dropout rates and better learning outcomes.

Implications for decision making and scaling

Key lessons from these projects highlight the importance of engaging ministries of education early in EMIS 2.0 initiatives, aligning projects with their needs, and strengthening in-house data and policy-making capabilities.

Overcoming setbacks, such as slow implementation and resistance to change, required patience and was addressed by achieving quick wins to sustain momentum and fostering a sense of shared ownership.

Building trust through equitable, collaborative design is also crucial for sustainable outcomes, alongside amplifying perspectives from lower-income countries in global data system discussions.

GPE KIX projects were successful in leveraging data systems for educational equity and inclusion into policy reform.

• Malawi, for instance has incorporated MICS-EAGLE into its national education system, with the Ministry of Education and National Statistical Office collaborating on a national implementation plan. The country has also allocated budget resources for MICS data collection and analysis, institutionalizing its commitment to leveraging data for educational improvements.
• Similarly, Nepal has embedded the Data Must Speak action plan into its sectoral monitoring and evaluation as well as its EMIS working group and developed an Educational Equity Index at district and sub-district levels.
  This integration enables the education ministry to identify districts in need of support and fosters equity-based strategies.
  Data Must Speak research findings also informed revisions to the national education plan and budget and have been used to develop a toolkit to support local governments in integrating School Education Sector Plan targets into their local plans and budgets.

Our synthesis report summarizes the engagement of national stakeholders, take-up of research findings and recommendations for scaling each of the 5 data innovations studied.

GPE KIX’s continued commitment to data systems and use

GPE KIX projects implemented between 2020 and 2024 provided policy makers with evidence on successful approaches for collecting, analyzing and using data to support the most marginalized learners.

Our recent scoping studies on Data Systems and Data Use Challenges in Africa and Data Systems and Data Use Challenges in Europe, Asia, and the Pacific shed light on ongoing challenges in GPE partner countries in: integrating data sets to better understand the experience and background of learners; using platforms and tools to enhance data use; and expanding the uses and users of data, including for public accountability.

Many countries are still seeking evidence to help them make their data systems user-friendly and service oriented to address the learning crisis and reach gender equality, equity and inclusion within their education systems.

Based on the findings from the first 5 GPE KIX data projects and our scoping study, a new cohort of 8 projects was added to generate and mobilize demand-driven evidence to scale the impact of new innovative approaches to strengthen data systems and data use for education.

Translating research into practice

To learn more:

• KIX research brief: to understand national priorities and research gaps regarding data systems and data use
• Policy brief: to inform meetings with policy makers and partners who are not researchers
• Infographic: to present the findings of the synthesis report in a graphic way.