The World Bank has released the Harmonized Learning Outcomes database, which uses standardized test performances to measure the state of children’s education in 164 countries that represent 98 percent of the world’s population. The dataset uses standardized test scores between 2000 and 2017 to give a metric for the state of education in a country by schooling level, test subject, gender, global region, and income group. The dataset shows that even though enrollment rates for primary education in North Africa and the Middle East increased from 95 percent to 99 percent between 2000 and 2010, performance on standardized tests remained low.
Image credit: Nguyen Dang Hoang Nhu