The Need for More Comprehensive Policy Evaluations in Mexico to Assess Government Effectiveness and Enhance Informed Decision-Making

• In Event: Highlighted Session: Reimagining Monitoring and Evaluation in Dynamic Educational Settings

Proposal

Mexico's education system grapples with significant challenges, most notably educational inequality. Unequal access to quality education, particularly for marginalized communities, poses a major hindrance to the country's overall development (INEE, 2019). Although in recent years, considerable efforts have been made to gauge the impact of educational policies implemented in the nation and the evaluations of the educational system have yielding valuable data, more of these evaluations have often been partial and fragmented, limiting their ability to provide a holistic view of government effectiveness (Martínez-Bordón, 2018).

Moreover, with the launching of the current administration that cancelled the education reform of 2013, the National Institute for Educational Evaluation disappear, and in turn most of the educational evaluations that this organization took years to develop and conduct, including the National Plan for Educational Assessment (Planea) and policy evaluations. Indeed, the set of evaluations conducted by INEE, developed in nearly 17 years, helped to have an integral view of the educational problems, in regard to the low school achievements, deficient infrastructure, lack of actualization courses for teachers, and, very important, the lack of coherence among policies (Martínez-Bordón and Villarroel, 2023).

The research reviewed educational policy evaluations conducted from 2007 to date, by two governmental bodies, the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (Coneval) and the National Institute for the Evaluation of Education -in the last case, between 2014 and 2019-. Based on an analysis of over 200 evaluation reports available in the web sites of Coneval and INEE, and on interviews with key stakeholders involved in the design and implementation of the evaluation processes in both institutions, it can be concluded that to move towards more comprehensive evaluations is essential, integrating program theory, theory of change, and policy coherence analysis.

Since program theory and theory of change enable clear establishment of objectives and strategies to assess the impact of educational policies, evaluation methodologies based on these offer a systematic view of expected outcomes and necessary actions to achieve them.

Furthermore, the research also concludes that policy coherence analysis is crucial in ensuring that various government policies work together towards common objectives, avoiding contradictions and maximizing the impact of interventions (Cejudo and Michel, 2016). As far as public issues, such as educational inequality, are complex and multifaceted, evaluations must go beyond measuring isolated outcomes and consider interactions between policies and stakeholders involved. Hence, comprehensive evaluation will facilitate a deeper understanding of challenges and enable the identification of sustainable and effective solutions.

As pointed out by many of the recommendations included in the evaluations revised and the different actors interviewed, most of the evaluations conducted have been focused in isolated programs, thus there is not an evaluation of the policies as integrated entities -for teacher professional development, reducing the educational gaps between population groups, etc.-.
Thus the research highlights the urgent need to move towards more comprehensive policy evaluations in Mexico, by incorporating program theory, theory of change, and policy coherence analysis. In doing so, a more complete and accurate view of the results of educational policies can be achieved.
The aim of this paper is to contribute to the discussion surrounding the challenges faced in not only prioritizing evaluation as a key aspect of educational policy but also advancing towards evaluations that enhance our understanding of the complexity of public issues being addressed.

Finally, it is not only important to emphasize the significance of comprehensive evaluations that consider multiple dimensions and approaches, but also that since over the past five years, under President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's administration, setbacks in prioritizing educational evaluation have been observed, underscoring its importance as a fundamental tool in addressing educational challenges effectively.

In this regard, the research aims to contribute to the discussion surrounding the challenges faced by Mexico in the realm of policy evaluation. In doing so, it does not only advocate for evaluations that address the complexity of public issues being resolved, but, in first instance, it emphasizes the need to re-establish evaluation as a priority in educational policy.

By conducting rigorous and holistic evaluations, Mexico can make well-informed and effective decisions, leading to significant improvements in the education system and a reduction in educational inequality. To achieve this, the allocation of sufficient governmental funds is crucial. Therefore, academics and civil society must persist in emphasizing that evaluation is not only vital for enhancing decision-making but also for ensuring governmental accountability.

Author

• Arcelia Martínez-Bordón, Universidad Iberoamericana CDMX