Retention

The indicator measures the proportion of children who were enrolled in formal or non-formal education at the beginning of an action/school year/NFE cycle and remained enrolled [optional: and attending regularly] at the end of the action/school year/NFE cycle. This indicator is an overall measure of retention rather than transition.

1) Determine the point in time at which data will be collected for the baseline/endline of the project (i.e. the start/end of the project, the start/end of the school year/NFE cycle, after the first 3 months of the school year (when numbers are more stabilised, etc). that works best for the project). Where the action/activity being measured continues or builds on a previous project or intervention, consider utilising the previous data as a baseline or to measure ongoing change and impact over a longer time period.

2) Determine the baseline value of the number of children enrolled in a school or learning space at that point in time (see ‘Enrolment’ indicator for how to collect this data).

3) At the endline stage, gather enrolment data from school or learning spaces records to measure the number of children who continue to be enrolled in the school or learning space. If the data isn’t available from the schools or learning spaces, collect data from parents/caregivers by conducting individual interviews, household surveys or sample-based enrolment verification surveys (telephone or in person) with a representative sample of the target group members.

RECOMMENDED SURVEY QUESTIONS (Q) AND POSSIBLE ANSWERS (A)

Q1: Was/were your child/children enrolled in school/NFE learning space at the start of the school year/NFE cycle?

A1:  Yes – enrolled in formal education / Yes- enrolled in NFE / No – was not enrolled in education / Don’t know / Refuse to answer

Q2: At [specify the time period] was/were your child/children still enrolled in school/the NFE learning space?

A2: Yes – enrolled in formal education / Yes- enrolled in NFE / No – was not enrolled in education / Don’t know / Refuse to answer

4) Divide the number of children who continue to be enrolled in education at endline by the number of children who were enrolled at baseline. Multiply the resulting number by 100 to get the percentage of children who are retained in education at the end of the action/school years/non-formal education (NFE) cycle.

For example: At the start of the year, 100 children were registered in Grade 7. At the end of the year, 95 children are registered. This means that 95 children were retained in education. Divide this number by the 100 children who were registered in Grade 7 at the start of the year (95/100 = 0.95) and multiply it by 100 which equals a 95% retention rate (0.95 * 100 = 95%).

Disaggregation of the data can be done by location, age group, gender, level of education, type of learning space, ethnicity, mother tongue, wealth quintile, disability, displacement status and or other specific vulnerable groups, as relevant.

Disaggregation of data by disability type should use the Washington Group Short Set on Functioning (or for actions with specialised responses to disabilities use the complete WG/UNICEF Child Functioning Module) or equivalent.

1) This is an ECHO KOI Indicator.

2) Data should be collected at the same points in time in each school year/NFE cycle or project period and should be the same across each grade or level so it is comparable (for example, at the start and end of a school year/NFE cycle or project period or at the start of each school year/NFE cycle if the project period includes multiple school years/NFE cycles).

3) Retention can also be measured across multiple school years/NFE cycles. To do this, measure retention at the start of the subsequent school year/NFE cycle to determine the number of children who have been retained in education between the years/cycles as well as during the school year/cycle/project period. Note that there may be children who are repeating the same grade as the previous year/cycle and these children should be considered when calculating the number of children who have been retained in education.

For example: Last year, 90 children were registered in Grade 7. This year, 86 children are registered in Grade 8 but 5 of them are repeating Grade 8 because last year they failed to complete it. This means 86 - 5 = 81 children who were retained in education. Divide this number (81) by the 90 children who were registered in Grade 7 and multiply the result (0.9) by 90 which equals the 90% retention rate ((81/90)*100 = 90%).

4) Retention maybe be measured at critical grades or levels with the highest numbers of potential dropouts.  Which grades or levels are the most common for high dropout rates will vary depending on the country context.

5) Common errors in data collection: Over-reporting enrolment/ children repeating grades or levels (particularly in grade one); incorrect distinction between new entrants and children repeating grades or levels; transfers of children between grades or levels and schools or learning space.

6) Retention is closely linked to other related indicators, including Transition to Formal/Further Non-Formal Education and Drop out.

7) Related indicators: 

     INEE

        - 2.1 Net attendance rate

     ECHO

        - KOI: % targeted girls and boys for non-formal education (NFE) who successfully transition (1) into formal education from non-formal education (NFE), or (2) advance into the next level of NFE or (3) into the next academic year of formal education (see ‘Transition to Formal/Further Non-formal Education’ indicator)

     Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)

        - 4.1.2 Completion rate (primary education, lower secondary education, upper secondary education)

     UNRWA

        - % of students enrolled in a given year who return to UNRWA schools the next year following an emergency

     IndiKit

        - % of children who enrolled but did not complete grade or level [X] in the given school year/non-formal education (NFE) cycle/project period (See ‘Drop Out Rate’ indicator)