Setting SDG 4 benchmarks is a novel process. It has involved countries specifying their contribution to the achievement of the global targets based on their national plans and policies. Overall, 79% of countries have submitted benchmarks, or national targets, to be achieved by 2025 and 2030 for at least one of eight SDG 4 indicators. This process, supported by the UIS and the GEM Report, responds to the Education 2030 Framework for Action which had called on countries to establish ‘appropriate intermediate benchmarks…for addressing the accountability deficit associated with longer-term targets’.

Three key messages come out of this report. First, more communication is needed in order to address issues related to indicator definitions, data sources, data gaps and sector plan targets. Second, a systematic mechanism needs to be introduced to the process for countries to seek clarifications and provide feedback. Third, more work is needed to explain what policies are linked to slow or fast progress towards the achievement of national benchmarks. These messages will be the focus of a dedicated session during the UNESCO Conference on Education Data and Statistics taking place in Paris in February 2024.