More than four out of ten third- and sixth-grade students in Latin America and the Caribbean are at the lowest level of learning in Reading and Mathematics, according to the results of the Regional Comparative and Explanatory Study (ERCE 2019). In response to this challenge, UNESCO presented the publication Aportes para la enseñanza de la Lectura, las Matemáticas y las Ciencias, a pedagogical tool designed to help teachers transform regional evidence into concrete classroom action.
Prepared by the Latin American Laboratory for the Assessment of the Quality of Education (LLECE) of the UNESCO Regional Office in Santiago, the document seeks to respond to a central concern for education systems in the region: student learning outcomes pose a direct challenge to the fulfilment of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), aimed at ensuring inclusive, equitable and quality education.
“This publication seeks to bring regional evidence closer to the everyday work of classrooms. The ERCE 2019 data show us significant challenges, but they also provide valuable information for action. With these resources, we want to support teachers with concrete guidance that helps strengthen teaching, improve foundational learning and expand educational opportunities for all in Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Esther Kuisch Laroche, Director of the UNESCO Regional Office in Santiago.
This new publication turns the findings of ERCE 2019 into didactic guidance, interactive resources, infographics and audiovisual capsules to support teaching in three key areas of primary education: Reading, Mathematics and Science. Its purpose is to provide teachers with tools so that more students can move from the lowest levels of performance towards the achievement of foundational learning.
In Reading, the results show that 44.3% of third-grade students were at the lowest level of performance, while in sixth grade only 31.2% reached or exceeded the minimum expected level. Based on this evidence, the publication offers resources to diagnose learning, strengthen reading comprehension, develop phonological awareness, improve fluency and promote motivation to read.
In Mathematics, the challenge is particularly critical in sixth grade: only 17.4% of students in the region reach the minimum expected level. To support improvement, the document proposes mathematical tasks focused on problem-solving, strategies to promote productive classroom discussions, and sequences of work that enable progression across performance levels, with a focus on domains such as quantities, measurement and geometry.
The publication also addresses Science, where 37.7% of sixth-grade students are at the lowest level of performance and only 20.7% reach or exceed the reference level used to report results. In this area, the materials promote the development of scientific practices in the classroom, the formulation of investigable questions, the analysis of evidence and the understanding of natural phenomena through active and meaningful learning experiences.
One of the document’s central contributions is that it does not merely describe gaps, but proposes ways to reduce them. In each area, the publication includes specific guidance for addressing gender inequalities, helping teachers review practices, expectations, materials, interactions and opportunities for participation in the classroom.
The publication was developed within the framework of ERCE 2019, a study coordinated by UNESCO Santiago’s LLECE Laboratory, with the participation of 16 countries in Latin America. The study provides comparable evidence on the learning outcomes of primary school students in the region and constitutes a key input for monitoring SDG 4 and for educational policy decision-making.
With this new tool, UNESCO strengthens its contribution to the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean by making evidence-based resources available to teachers to improve teaching, strengthen foundational learning and move towards more equitable, inclusive education systems focused on the right to learn.
read more: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/evidence-classroom-new-unesco-publication-provides-tools-teaching-reading-mathematics-and-science?hub=701
