How well are we measuring access to early childhood education?

Abstract

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Indicator 4.2 calls for all girls and boys
to have access to high-quality early childhood education by 2030. This global
mandate establishes a new framework of accountability to increase access to
preprimary education in low- and middle-income countries through measurement
and reporting. As with other global indicators, however, the measurement
of preprimary education access is more complex and nuanced than may be
supposed. This data-oriented chapter delves deeply into the measurement of
SDG 4.2 and explores the accuracy of the indicator being used: the adjusted
net enrollment ratio, one year before the official age of primary entry. The
chapter analyzes data from both education management information systems
(EMIS) and household surveys to triangulate information about children’s
access to preprimary education before they begin primary school. The analysis
concludes that the indicator used to measure SDG 4.2 is overestimating access
to preprimary education, because it includes large numbers of children who
enroll in primary school before the official age of entry. This suggests that
parents “vote for preschool” by sending their under-age children to primary
school when access to affordable preprimary is limited. Implications for SDG
measurement and preprimary policy are discussed.