Academy for Educational Development Summary

In many countries, education decision makers, mainly the Ministers of Education, lack detailed and updated information as to the status of the education system. Th is lack of information limits their abilities to make appropriate decisions on how to proceed, particularly when the achievement of educational goals is largely subject to the availability of fi nancial resources to ensure their sustainability and continuity. With the aim to empower and support informed decision making, international researchers and donors have recommended several tools to facilitate the formulation of public policies generated as a product of research studies. One of these tools is the National Education Accounts (NEA), which determine overall investments in the education sector of a country. With the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), El Salvador has begun building the NEA. Th e following document analyzes the preliminary outcomes of the NEA in terms of its ability to infl uence the decision making process at the Ministry of Education (MINED) and investigates the elements necessary for continued success