The First Workshop on Impact Evaluation in Education in Mexico just took place these past 7th, 8th and 9th of May in Mexico City. This workshop was a response to the National Institute for the Evaluation of Education, INEE‘s interest to start a work agenda on impact evaluation. INEE is an independent institution of the Ministry of Education and created by presidential decree with the goal to evaluate education.
41 participants attended the workshop and included representatives from various government offices such as the Sub Secretariat of Basic Education, the General Directorate for Educational Management and Innovation, the Planning and Evaluation of Education Policies Unit (UPEPE), the National Council of Education Promotion and INEE.
The participants were chosen because they work in activities related with either evaluation and/or the implementation of federal programs that are trying to improve the quality of education.
The results were very encouraging.
The workshop was structured in 12 sessions that included theory, individual and team work.
On the first day the sessions covered impact evaluation and its applications.
The second and third day sessions covered methodological issues and the most often used evaluation strategies.
In the STATA sessions the participants had the opportunity to use and practice hands-on statistical analysis techniques.
The goal was to identify solutions based on empirical evidence for each program. The participants also developed causal chains in order to illustrate the expected changes as each program moves from inputs to impacts. The participants also discussed the implied challenges posed by the legal and operational frameworks and the time restrictions that they face.
At the end of the Workshop, the participants presented evaluation proposals for the following programs: Program for a Safe School (PES), Program for Full Time Schools (PTC), Program for Water, Sanitation and Hygiene on Basic Education (PASHEB), Equity Builders Program (PCE) and the Teacher Incentives Program .
The IADB expressed willingness to support these efforts to evaluate by providing technical assistance and other support in order to jump start these impact evaluation. We already have started working with INEE in the evaluation of the PNMLE program and with CONAFE with the evaluation of PCE.
Sounds very promising.
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