Great strides have been made in the past two decades in access to education

throughout Latin America, but the majority of children in the region are still not
receiving a high-quality and relevant education. As a result, too many Latin
American youth entering the labor force lack the skills necessary to find
dignified work and participate in an increasingly competitive, information-rich
and globalized economy. At the same time, employers cannot find enough
qualified people to fill open positions. This profound human resource
mismatch is suppressing economic growth and perpetuating a system of
haves and have-nots. Unequal societies are less efficient at converting growth
into poverty reduction. In Latin America, the education gap mirrors the income
gap between rich and poor.

Levels of inequality in Latin America are some of the highest in the world.
Countries in the region, in consideration of the Gini coefficient, are nearly 30%
more unequal than the global average (Lustig, IMF, 2015). Some 74 million
Latin Americans (about 12.4% of the region’s population) live on less than $2
per day. Over half of them are children. And, in Brazil, children in the bottom
income quintile complete an average of eight years of school versus over ten
years completed by children in the top income quintile.

Latin America must be supported in efforts towards greater

education quality

Latin America is falling behind other regions of the world with respect to years
of school and quality of schooling. In 2015, Latin America is, on average, 2.5
years of schooling behind the OECD average (IDB, 2015). Asian countries,
like South Korea, had similar, if not worse, educational levels than many Latin
American countries 50 years ago. Today, South Korea boasts more years of
schooling and significantly better educational outcomes than every single
Latin American country.

Latin American 15 year olds score especially poorly in math and science,
critical skills in today’s job market. Approximately 50% of Mexicans,
Colombians and Brazilians do not have the skills necessary to solve simple
math equations or to explain basic scientific phenomena. On average, in
Mexico, students score 81 points below on math than the OECD average (494
points). This is equivalent to a loss of two years of schooling. In the most
recent 2015 PISA exam, this gap widened even further to the equivalent of
three years loss in schooling.

Perhaps even more surprising, only a tiny sliver (well under 1%) of Latin
American students score at the top level of international exams; even Latin
America’s high-income students perform below their international peers, not
just Latin America’s poor. Less than 0.1% of students in Brazil performed at
the highest level in science and Brazil’s performance has remained uncGreat
strides have been made in the past two decades in access to education
throughout Latin America, but the majority of children in the region are still not
receiving a high-quality and relevant education. As a result, too many Latin
American youth entering the labor force lack the skills necessary to find
dignified work and participate in an increasingly competitive, information-rich
and globalized economy. At the same time, employers cannot find enough
qualified people to fill open positions. This profound human resource
mismatch is suppressing economic growth and perpetuating a system of
haves and have-nots. Unequal societies are less efficient at converting growth
into poverty reduction. In Latin America, the education gap mirrors the income
gap between rich and poor.
Levels of inequality in Latin America are some of the highest in the world.
Countries in the region, in consideration of the Gini coefficient, are nearly 30%
more unequal than the global average (Lustig, IMF, 2015). Some 74 million
Latin Americans (about 12.4% of the region’s population) live on less than $2
per day. Over half of them are children. And, in Brazil, children in the bottom
income quintile complete an average of eight years of school versus over ten
years completed by children in the top income quintile.

Latin America must be supported in efforts towards greater

education quality

Latin America is falling behind other regions of the world with respect to years
of school and quality of schooling. In 2015, Latin America is, on average, 2.5
years of schooling behind the OECD average (IDB, 2015). Asian countries,
like South Korea, had similar, if not worse, educational levels than many Latin
American countries 50 years ago. Today, South Korea boasts more years of
schooling and significantly better educational outcomes than every single
Latin American country.

Latin American 15 year olds score especially poorly in math and science,
critical skills in today’s job market. Approximately 50% of Mexicans,
Colombians and Brazilians do not have the skills necessary to solve simple
math equations or to explain basic scientific phenomena. On average, in
Mexico, students score 81 points below on math than the OECD average (494
points). This is equivalent to a loss of two years of schooling. In the most
recent 2015 PISA exam, this gap widened even further to the equivalent of
three years loss in schooling.
Perhaps even more surprising, only a tiny sliver (well under 1%) of Latin
American students score at the top level of international exams; even Latin
America’s high-income students perform below their international peers, not
just Latin America’s poor. Less than 0.1% of students in Brazil performed at
the highest level in science and Brazil’s performance has remained unchang