During the last week of November 2023, UNESCO held a virtual educational meeting that brought together teachers and administrators from 20 educational centers in the province of La Rioja (Argentina). This occasion served as the closing of the 2023 implementation of the ERCE Schools project in the province, an initiative driven by the Latin American Laboratory for the Assessment of the Quality of Education (LLECE), belonging to the Regional Office of UNESCO in Santiago.

This event gathered teachers, management teams, supervisors, and representatives from the Directorate of Evaluation of Educational Quality of La Rioja and the Ministry of Education of Argentina to analyze the results obtained in 2023 by the students in the aforementioned project that evaluated learning in Reading and Mathematics.

During the session, the experiences and learnings of three teachers from the province were highlighted: Professor Gustavo Berejano from School 393, Orlando Andrada from School 405, and teacher Karen Molina from School 37. These educators shared their experiences and strategies implemented during the final stage of diagnostic evaluation and support of the ERCE Schools project, focusing on addressing the challenges of teaching Reading and Mathematics in classrooms.

ERCE 2019 Study: Bringing results closer to the local community

At the end of November 2023, part of the team from the LLECE Laboratory at UNESCO Santiago organized a second webinar directed at the educational community of the province of La Rioja to present the results obtained by Argentina in the Regional Comparative and Explanatory Study (ERCE 2019). This webinar was a way to bring the results closer to the community, delving into the conclusions of this research that for the first time measured three socio-emotional skills: empathy, openness to diversity, and school self-regulation. This analysis caught the attention of local teaching staff, given its relevance in the comprehensive education of students.

In this regard, Carlos Henríquez, General Coordinator of the Latin American Laboratory for the Assessment of the Quality of Education (LLECE), noted that "the inclusion of socio-emotional skills in the ERCE 2019 assessment is a contribution from UNESCO to education in the region and Argentina, as it emphasizes the need for a holistic approach that transcends traditional academic skills and addresses essential aspects of the personal and social development of students."

Paula Viotti, Director of Educational Evaluation of the Ministry of Education of Argentina, highlighted the importance of these findings. According to Viotti, the study provides valuable information that enlightens decision-making around learning and the comprehensive development of students.

The event also featured the participation of Silvia Romero, Director of Evaluation of La Rioja, and Claudia de la Vega, General Director of Primary Level of the province, who showed their commitment to continuous improvement and innovation in education.