Early Human Capability Index: Mapping the Learning Gap Within and Between Countries

The PISA 2015 survey showed that more than one in five 15-year-old students is below baseline proficiency. Other assessments and data from many countries also show that schoolchildren are failing to acquire the most basic... [ view full abstract ]

The PISA 2015 survey showed that more than one in five 15-year-old students is below baseline proficiency. Other assessments and data from many countries also show that schoolchildren are failing to acquire the most basic skills.  This is a major challenge as countries strive to achieve SDG Goal 4 by 2030 (“Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”) and indicator 4.1.1 (“percentage of children and young people in grades 2/3…achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in reading and mathematics, by sex”). 

Education involves cognitive and non-cognitive skills, and strategies to assess learning must measure both.  Children begin to develop these skills early in life, before primary school, and performance in school relates to early child development (ECD) outcomes (i.e., being ready to learn). 

The early Human Capability Index (eHCI) is a population-based tool for measuring ECD outcomes—the PISA of early childhood.  It measures cognitive and non-cognitive skills holistically and over time among children ages 3‒5 years.  The eHCI was adapted and validated in China and applied in two rural poverty counties and Shanghai in 2016.  The results showed a large gap in ECD outcomes between rural and urban children.  Shanghai first participated in PISA in 2009 and had the highest scores among OECD countries.  Students who had attended pre-primary school for more than one year scored more than 60 points higher on the PISA than students who had not.  Shanghai educators are using eHCI to explore children’s development before primary school and to map gaps in learning to identify at-risk groups.  Policymakers intend to collect eHCI data annually to follow children’s developmental trajectories and learning readiness. 

This session will address population-based measurement of ECD outcomes in China and elsewhere (e.g., Laos, Tonga) as the cornerstone for strategies assessing children’s learning.