News
New report: Institutional Capacity Assessment of Latvia’s Education System
As part of ongoing efforts of the SDG4 High-Level Steering Committee (HLSC) to strengthen the institutional capacities of education systems to use data and evidence for policy, planning and implementation, a new report, “,” has been published by OECD.
The report offers a comprehensive institutional capacity assessment of Latvia’s education system that focused on the Ministry of Education and Science (MoES), four national-level agencies and Latvia’s municipal departments of education. The objective of the assessment was to identify strengths and challenges and propose concrete recommendations for enhancing the capacity of these organizations for education quality monitoring and for providing improvement support – aimed at improving teaching and student learning in all of Latvia’s schools. The assessment was further tailored to Latvia’s needs by focusing on five assessment dimensions:
Clarity and relevance of roles and responsibilities within the system.
Fit-for-purpose institutional and organizational structures.
Effective use of data and research to inform policy decisions.
A comprehensive school improvement support system.
A thriving learning culture that fosters continuous improvement.
These dimensions were assessed using a mixed-methods approach, including a desk study, the use of tailored surveys, interviews and an international peer learning event. The results of this effort were captured in an “institutional capacity assessment (ICA) snapshot” (see Figure 1). Importantly, the assessment findings and recommendations, including the initial ICA snapshot were validated through a strong stakeholder engagement process.
Note: The five dimensions were assessed using a mixed-methods approach. The assessment findings were summarized using a four-point scale: "Latent," "Emerging," "Established," and "Advanced," indicating the progress made and the remaining work to be done.
This report illustrates an example of how HLSC’s evidence and policy technical committee supports education systems in bridging the gap between research evidence and policy to improve educational outcomes.
