Primary Education in Latin America: The Unfinished Agenda. Sustainable Development Department Technical Papers Series.

Publications, Education Unit, Inter-American Development Bank, 1300 New York Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20577. Fax: 202-623-1558; e-mail: sds/[email protected]; Web site: http://www.iadb.org/sds/edu.

N

31

Academic Achievement; Academic Persistence; Access to Education; Educational Finance; Educational Improvement; Elementary Education; Expenditure per Student; Foreign Countries; Grade Repetition; School Entrance Age

Brazil; Chile; Costa Rica; Honduras

This paper assesses progress made in elementary education in Latin America from 1990-2000. Besides examining completion rates, it looks at four critical indicators: the extent to which repetition rates have declined over the decade; the extent of timely access and on-time ages of elementary school students; the level or elementary school students' learning achievement; and changes in expenditures and other inputs into elementary education. The paper focuses on four countries (Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, and Honduras), which represent a wide spectrum of education conditions in the region. It uses data collected from a variety of sources, with the main criterion being reliable observations from 1999-2000. Results indicate that overall, the region has made progress in elementary education. More children complete their elementary schooling. They are also more likely to begin their schooling at appropriate ages, and they are less likely to repeat a grade. Most countries have increased their investments in education. However, 18 percent of children in the region do not complete 6 years of elementary education, and 16 percent repeat a grade. Progress in terms of learning has been slow or nonexistent. (Contains 29 bibliographic references.) (SM)

2003

ED475275