GPE Policy Brief:  An estimated 274 million primary school children in low and middle income countries are not learning the basic foundational skills necessary to lead productive and healthy lives. The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) is committed to improved and more equitable student outcomes, and has framed this as goal 1 of its strategic plan for 2016–2020.

Through the GPE results framework, the partnership gives strategic attention to teaching and learning. Indicators include the improvement of learning outcomes, the quality of learning assessment systems, and the availability and distribution of trained teachers.

With support from GPE implementation grants, partner developing countries are making significant investments to improve the quality of teaching and learning. Of the 54 active grants in July 2016, 93 percent invested in teacher development, 76 percent in learning materials, 67 percent in learning assessment systems, 52 percent in teacher management, 50 percent in teaching in the early grades, and 28 percent in the increase of instructional time.

The lack of data and analyses on teaching and learning impedes the understanding of factors driving low learning levels, presenting a significant challenge for GPE partner developing countries to design effective learning strategies in their sector plans. The Assessment for Learning initiative seeks to increase the availability of quality learning data and support its use to improve learning.