Proportion of children/young people prepared for the future, by sex

Definition

SDG Indicator 4.1.0: Proportion of children (a) reaching grade 3, (b) completing primary and (c) completing lower secondary and achieving minimum proficiency in (i) mathematics and (ii) reading, at the respective levels,by sex.

Data source

Refer to metadata of indicators 4.1.1 and 4.1.2.

Source definition

http://tcg.uis.unesco.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2021/02/Metadata-4....

Calculation method

The indicator is the product of two factors: learning and completion. The Prepared for the future (PFF) indicator is expresed as the proportion of children, in year t, reaching/completing an education level n and achieving minimum proficiency in subject s:

PFF t, n, s = CR t,n * MPL t, n, s

Where:
CR t,n = completion rate of education level n in year t
MPL t,n,s = percentage of the total number of children and/or young people at stage of education n, in year t, who are proficient in subject s.

Data required

Data on learning (Indicator 4.1.1) and completion (Indicator 4.1.2).

Interpretation

Combining completion rates with learning outcomes improves our understanding of progress towards Target 4.1. The greatest differences between the SDG 4.1.1 and the "Prepared for the Future" indicator are found in regions or countries with lower completion and enrollment rates because the adjusted (or children completing and learning) indicator is based on a quality-adjusted completion rate. This also explains why the largest differences occur at the lower secondary level. Globally, 47% of lower secondary students achieve minimum proficiency in reading according to the original SDG 4.1.1 indicator, but the value for the adjusted indicator would fall to 35% of adolescents completing lower secondary and achieving minimum proficiency in reading.

Limitations

The same ones underlying indicators 4.1.1 and 4.1.2

Purpose

The indicator combines the two SDG target 4.1 global indicators on completion and learning, in order to provide a more accurate view of the education situation facing children and adolescents, especially in regions where many do not reach the grade at which the assessment is administered. The indicator draws the attention of policy makers, public opinion and the international community to the percentage of an entire relevant age cohort in the population reaching an education level (early grades of primary, end of primary or end of lower secondary) and being proficient in a given subject (reading or mathematics), according to agreed global minimum proficiency levels. The children learning indicator would be equal to 100% if all children complete a given education level and learn.

Quality standards

The same one that the underlying indicators 4.1.1 and 4.1.2

Types of disaggregation

By sex.