St. Vincent Education Statistical Digest 2017-2018 | Page 26

Dropout rate by grade (DR)

Proportion of pupils from a cohort enrolled in a given grade at a given school year who are no longer enrolled in the following school year. Premature exiting measures the phenomenon of pupils from a cohort leaving school without completion, and its effect on the internal efficiency of educational systems. In addition, it is one of the key indicators for analyzing and projecting pupil flows from grade to grade within the educational cycle.

Transition rate (TR)

The number of students admitted to the first grade of a higher level of education in a given year, expressed as a percentage of the number of students enrolled in the final grade of the lower level of education in the previous year. Transitioning to a higher cycle conveys information on the degree of access or transition from one cycle or level of education to a higher one. Viewed from the lower cycle or level of education, it is considered as an output indicator, viewed from the higher educational cycle or level, it constitutes an indicator of access. It can also help in assessing the relative selectivity of an education system, which can be due to pedagogical or financial requirements.

Pupil-teacher ratio (PTR)

This is the average number of pupils per teacher at a specific level of education in a given school year. To measure the level of human resources input in terms of the number of teachers in relation to the size of the pupil population. The results can be compared with established national norms on the number of pupils per teacher for each level or type of education.

Percentage of trained teachers

Number of teachers who have received the minimum organized teacher training (pre-service or in-service) required for teaching at the specified level of education in the given country, expressed as a percentage of the total number of teachers at the same level of education. This measures the proportion of teachers trained in pedagogical skills, according to national standards, to effectively teach and use the available instructional materials. It reveals also a country's commitment to invest in the development of its human capital involved in teaching activities.