Syntheses & reports

Global progress in girls’ education is accelerating, yet it hides deep inequities. Millions of girls and young women - especially those affected by poverty, rurality, displacement, or disability - still do not complete secondary school. This evidence synthesis from 68 countries shows that when systems plan and deliver with girls’ realities in mind, their trajectories can shift significantly. When education leaders work in concert with families, communities, and other sectors that shape girls’ daily lives, education can contribute to transformative outcomes.

Whether children are out of school, at risk of dropping out, or struggling to stay engaged in formal classrooms, the challenge of keeping every learner in education is widespread. For the millions of children and youth who are not in school, accelerated education programmes (AEPs) have proven to be an effective approach to catch learners up on foundational skills and integrate them into formal education. Education.org’s (2022) AEP synthesis identified nine characteristics of effective AEPs, centring on government ownership and the need to embed AEP policies and guidelines into the formal school architecture. This (2025) Transitions synthesis completes the story, adding a tenth characteristic that is a crucial lever of success for all AEP models and transition pathways, especially those to formal schooling: close collaboration between AEPs, formal schools, and communities. It presents the STEP Framework, for Supporting Learners Through Evidence-based Planning (STEP), which follows the AEP learner on their transition journey, not just until they enter formal school, but ensuring they thrive within it (see image below).

Current definitions of 'good evidence' overly privilege academic research, often published in English-language journals and behind paywalls. This narrows access to insights as well as the scope of perspectives represented. This Guidance provides a new, coherent, and intellectually rigorous system for making a wider range of evidence easier to identify, access, and use in educational decision-making.

Efforts to improve education systems globally increasingly depend on evidence-informed policymaking. Yet much of the knowledge that could strengthen decision-making—particularly in low- and middle-income countries—remains underutilised. This includes grey literature, practitioner knowledge, and qualitative insights that are often excluded by traditional definitions of “good evidence.”

This report challenges prevailing hierarchies of evidence and explores how to expand what counts as credible and useful for education policy. Drawing on a global review of 26 initiatives, it highlights how governments, research organisations, and international partners are working to identify, appraise, and integrate diverse types of evidence into policy processes.

As decision-makers decide whether to embark on AEPs, strengthen existing AEPs, or exercise greater oversight over AEPs, this evidence synthesis offers six major insights to help guide policy actions and guidance as well as implementation.

The gap between what we know and what we do in education lies at the heart of a global learning crisis. This Education.org white paper argues that it is not the lack of new research that is the greatest obstacle to progress, but the failure to use what we already know.