Since 2008, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has undertaken an ambitious reform of the kindergarten through grade 12 (K–12) education system of the Kurdistan Region—Iraq (KRI). The KRG introduced a more rigorous curriculum, especially in the sciences and mathematics. It required teaching English from grade 1, made education compulsory to grade 9 rather than grade 6, instituted two national exams at grades 9 and 12, and required that all new teachers hold a bachelor’s degree. It transferred preservice teacher education from teacher institutes under the Ministry of Education (MoE) to newly established teacher colleges under the Ministry of...

The reforms of and improvements to the Kurdistan Region—Iraq education system have raised questions on how to best organize the Ministry of Education to support the implementation of these efforts. The Minister of Education asked RAND to review the current organizational structure of the MoE, develop goals for a new structure, and propose alternatives that meet the needs of the MoE’s current initiatives and long-term plans.

To conduct this analysis, we use multiple approaches. First, we reviewed the relevant organization design literature. Second, we studied the organizational structure and characteristics of the ministries of education in six countries. Third,...

The KRG’s Ministry of Education does not currently have a coherent system for monitoring school performance and ensuring its improvement. It has undertaken several efforts to collect partial data on student performance, school characteristics, and principal and teacher performance. Although the ministry could use some of these data for monitoring schools, the data are not coordinated and do not address all critical school aspects.

To help implement an effective school quality assurance system in the KRI, the Ministry of Education asked RAND to provide a monitoring framework and outline the steps to implement it. This chapter describes our efforts to...

The KRI private school sector is small yet growing quickly in size and importance. In response, in 2012, the KRG passed a new private school law to manage and support this growth. A large private school sector could serve various purposes in the KRI. It could alleviate some of the pressure on public schools by reducing the school space shortage. Private schools may provide models for high-quality education, as well as education for returning members of the Kurdish diaspora whose children have started their education in other systems. They may also offer education for international expatriates, whose presence is necessary...

In 2007, the KRG Ministry of Education implemented a new curriculum in math, science, and English. This curriculum was benchmarked to international standards, and teachers were expected to learn and teach it using new textbooks and curriculum materials. Our earlier analysis of that initiative suggested that teachers, both new and experienced, did not receive adequate preparation to teach the new curriculum and reported significant challenges to its implementation (Vernez, Culbertson, and Constant, 2014). One of our key recommendations was to make in-service training more robust by establishing centers with full-time staff devoted to training in both content and pedagogy, with...

The KRG MoE has steadily and consistently been designing and implementing efforts to improve quality and expand access to K–12 education. In 2007, it introduced changes to the foundations of its education system and policies, including a new, more rigorous curriculum; expanded compulsory education through grade 9; policies to reduce the rate at which students repeat grades; a requirement that all new teachers have a bachelor’s degree; and two new regional exams.

The management of improvements has continued steadily since then. In recent years, the MoE has expanded construction of new schools to meet its goal of universal basic...