Data Must Speak

To address challenges that keep children from going to school and learning, decision makers need data. Information on who's missing out on education and why is critical for building stronger and more equitable education systems. With reliable data, policymakers, school managers, teachers and communities can identify problems, pose solutions and direct resources where they are most needed.

In recent years, data access and quality have greatly improved. Education systems around the world are already collecting large amounts of data from their schools and districts. Too often, though, the data are used to produce long reports, and not much else.

When data are more effectively shared in user-friendly formats, education practitioners can learn from past experiences to drive future success – allocating financial and human resources more fairly to benefit students in need.

Information also enables communities to take action and drive change. In 2014, UNICEF launched the Data Must Speak Initiative, which helps countries unlock existing data to expand access to education and improve learning for all. Data Must Speak strives to ensure that:

Data drive policy decisions

Government officials at all levels must analyze and use data to inform resource allocation and manage education systems fairly.

Communities are empowered

Evidence shows that when communities are provided with information on the local education situation, access, enrolment and learning outcomes improve. We create easy-to-use profile cards, accessible to low-literacy audiences, to help parents, teachers and students stay informed and hold school managers to account.

Research improves knowledge

Rigorous evaluations expose what works and what doesn’t in education systems. We conduct randomized control trials on school profile cards and produce case studies on the association between communal participation and school performance in multiple countries around the world.