National test data from Bangladesh, Brazil, Ghana, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Zambia all show a majority of primary school leavers to be achieving well-below their countries’ minimum performance standards, with results in many low-income, rural areas being “only marginally better than for children who have not completed school.” ( Oxfam Education Report, 2001)

Countries often set their own criteria or levels of test performance that demonstrate subject matter mastery and then measure the proportion of students reaching those levels. In Ghana, where average test scores increased over 15 years, fewer than 10% of students have reached the mastery level in maths, fewer than 5% in English. In India, in 16 of 42 districts grade 3 and 4 students were not performing at the minimum level (40% correct) in language, and a recent independent assessment of literacy levels revealed that almost 50% of 7-10 year olds could not read fluently at the first grade level. Even in Uruguay, where scores on international standard tests are above regional norms, fewer than half of grade 6 students reached mastery levels in mathematics. In countries without trend data, absolute learning levels are also very low. Mastery in French and maths among grade 6 students in 1999 in Niger was 13 and 11%, respectively; in Yemen, grade 6 students’ mastery of Arabic and maths were 19 and 9%, and in Peru they were 8% for Spanish and 7% for maths. In Vietnam, only 51% of grade 5 students were found to perform as “independent readers.” (IEG, From Schooling Access to Learning Outcomes: An Unfinished Agenda, 2006).

A study by the Southern African Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (1995-1990) measured primary school students’ reading literacy against standards established by national reading experts and sixth-grade teachers. In four out of seven countries, fewer than half of sixth graders achieved minimum competence in reading. Low achievement is also evident in the PASEC study (1996-2001), conducted in six French speaking African countries: 14% to 43% of grade 5 pupils had “low” achievement in either French or mathematics. In Senegal, for example, over 40% of students had difficulty putting in order several numbers with two decimal points. (EFA Global Monitoring Report 2005)

Africa is undergoing a teacher shortage of critical proportions. Ghana has just a quarter of the teachers it needs and Lesotho only a fifth. Large sums must be invested in teacher training, staff retention and professional development. Teacher/child ratios should be brought to under 1:40 in basic education. Donor countries and international financial institutions must change their policies to allow recurrent expenditure – including teachers’ salaries – to be paid for from aid.’ (Report of the Commission for Africa, 2005)

In French-speaking Africa, teachers' salaries are less than one-third of what they were in 1975. ( UNESCO. 2004. EFA Global Monitoring Report 2005: Education for All-The Quality Imperative (p.165). Paris: UNESCO.)

The average primary school class in low income countries has a 60-to-1 student-teacher ratio, as opposed to the 40-to-1 suggested ratio upheld by the World Bank and other international organizations. ( Herz, Barbara and Gene B. Sperling. 2004. What Works in Girls' Education: Evidence and Policies from the Developing World (p.69). New York: Council on Foreign Relations.)

Worldwide at least 15 million more teachers are required between now and 2015 in order to meet the Education For All goals. (Global Campaign for Education)

Sub-Saharan Africa alone is estimated to be in need of at least 4 million additional teachers to enable governments to provide universal access to primary education. ( UNESCO EFA Global Monitoring Report 2006).

Despite longstanding commitments to increase education spending to 6% of GDP, countries in Africa and South and West Asia countries still devote an average of less than 3.5% of GDP to spending on all levels of education . ( UNESCO, EFA Global Monitoring Report 2005)

The World Bank is the largest external (non-government) funder of education. It has transferred about US$36.5 billion for education since it started lending in the sector in 1963. At this time, the lending portfolio consists of about 143 operations in 88 countries, amounting to US$8.4 billion. (World Bank, 10 Things You Never Knew About the World Bank, 2006)

Although education aid is insufficient and its distribution less than optimal for the achievement of EFA, ODA donors do provide at least US$5.5 billion each year for education, about 30% of which supports basic education. How these resources are used and whether they are effective in helping individual countries meet the EFA goals is a matter of considerable international interest, in part because the likelihood of additional funds being made available is influenced by the extent to which good use is made of education aid today. (EFA Global Monitoring Report)

Existing flows to basic education total some US$1.5 billion per year, and an estimated US$ 5.6 billion of additional resources is needed annually over the period to 2015 to achieve universal participation in primary education, gender parity and enhanced quality, making US$7 billion in all. (EFA Global Monitoring Report)

Recent estimates of the additional resources likely to be forthcoming in the follow-up to

Monterrey, together with those that may arise from the proposed International Finance Facility and through the US Millennium Challenge Account, suggest that total aid to basic education might be expected roughly to double by 2006, to between about US$3 billion and US$3.5 billion. Though the increase is substantial, this remains well short of the roughly US$7 billion per year in external aid to basic education that is likely to be required through to 2015 if the EFA goals for universal participation in primary education of a reasonable quality are to be achieved, let alone the other EFA goals. The likely shortage of resources places a particular premium on ensuring that aid is used as effectively as possible and that it is directed towards the countries that most need it. (EFA Global Monitoring Report)