How can countries use cross-national research results to address "the big policy issues" ? (Case studies from Francophone Africa)

The "Program on the Analysis of Education Systems" (PASEC) was launched in 1991 at the conference of francophone education ministers (CONFEMEN) in Djibouti and carried out its first country evaluation one year later in the same country. Since then, 13 individual country evaluations have been carried out in francophone sub-Saharan Africa, including panel studies following primary students from 2nd to 6th grade within a given country. The primary objective of PASEC evaluations is not the comparison of student achievement across countries, but the analysis of key factors relevant to foster educational quality. Created at the initiative of education ministers with the clear objective to inform educational decision making, the translation of PASEC results into actual education policy has yet not been automatic. This paper will discuss specific procedures and measures adopted in order to ensure that PASEC results are actually taken into account by policy makers and other target groups within the education sector. Moreover, this paper will illustrate to what extent PASEC has already contributed to concrete educational policy reform.