The State of Ceara in Brazil is a Role Model for Reducing Learning Poverty

This report presents the case of the state of Ceará in Brazil that overcame adverse socioeconomic conditions to substantially improve education outcomes with efficient use of resources. Despite having the 5th lowest GDP per capita among the 26 Brazilian states, the 9million-inhabitant state of Ceará has experienced the largest increase in the national education quality index in both primary and lower secondary education since 2005, with 10 municipalities of Ceará being among the top 20 national ranking, including Sobral which has the highest score. The state of Ceará pioneered the use of results-based financing as part of a comprehensive education reform program that among other elements included strong support to its municipalities to achieve universal literacy by the end of grade 2. The reforms allowed the state to considerably improve learning levels of students in primary and lower secondary education with a high level of efficiency in the use of resources. The main aspects of the reforms are presented and discussed. 1 This version of the report benefited from comments made during a workshop with Ceará state government and World Bank colleagues in Fortaleza in February 2020, including the Ceará state vice-governor Izolda Cela. We also would like to thank Lars Sondergaard, Halsey Rogers, Reema Nayar, Emanuela di Gropello, Jaime Saavedra, Omar Arias, Michael Crawford, Pablo Acosta, Marcelo Ponte Barbosa and several other World Bank colleagues for detailed comments. P ub lic D is cl os ur e A ut ho riz ed P ub lic D is cl os ur e A ut ho riz ed P ub lic D is cl os ur e A ut ho riz ed P ub lic D is cl os ur e A ut ho riz ed