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As part of the World Bank’s analytical support program in Russia, the team has been working with their Russian counterparts on collecting and analyzing data in order to gather evidence to inform coherent policies and strategies for creating modern schools and for promoting 21st-century teaching and learning in Russia. Both goals are being pursued through a series of national projects aimed at: (i) modernizing teaching and learning; (ii) putting Russia in the top 10 countries in terms of scores on international assessments; and (iii) expanding school infrastructure to ensure full-day schooling throughout the country. This new report presents a rigorous analysis of the data collected as part of the Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in 2019 complemented by data on Russia from the OECD’s School User Survey (SUS), which was also fielded in 2019. The team added the SUS to the study as part of its collaboration with its Russian counterparts. The total sample represents all general education systems in the Russian Federation. This report also includes data from Information and Communication (IC) Literacy Test7 conducted in 2020 combined with the SUS. The two datasets are not related but both cover 21st-century skills and Russian students. This report analyzes the various 21st-century skills that it was possible to analyze using data from the TIMSS and IC Literacy Test. The analysis provides descriptive statistics related to the learning environments and teaching practices in Russia and draws some correlations between learning environment variables and learning outcomes. Furthermore, the study shows how different teaching styles affect student learning in the mathematics, science, and cognitive (reasoning and applying) domains of TIMSS. The team also analyzed the wellbeing construct included in TIMSS 2019. They found that the cognitive domains of reasoning and applying were well aligned with the 21st-century skills that can be measured directly by TIMSS. This study also attempts to use self-reported data from TIMSS student and teacher questionnaires and construct measures to stimulate teaching and learning activities related to 21st-century skills development. The study also assesses the impact of such measures on student performance across subject and cognitive domains. In exploring IC literacy and ICT technology in schools, the report analyzes key characteristics of the school environment, the use of ICT in schools, the use of technology by teachers with different mindsets towards modern education, and students' performance on the IC Literacy Test with an analysis of the context of the questions.

This paper presents new estimates of the returns to education in the Russian Federation using data from 1994 to 2018. Although the returns to schooling increased for a time, they are now much lower than the global average. Private returns to education are three times greater for higher education compared with vocational education, and the returns to education for females are higher than for males. Returns for females show an inverse U-shaped curve over the past two decades. Female education is a policy priority and there is a need to investigate the labor market relevance of vocational education. Higher education may have reached an expansion limit, and it may be necessary to investigate options for increasing the productivity of schooling.

This paper presents new estimates of the returns to education in the Russian Federation. Private returns to education are three times greater for higher education compared to vocational education, and the returns to education for females are higher than for males. Returns for females show an inverse U-shaped curve over the past two decades. Female education is a policy priority and there is a need to investigate the labor market relevance of vocational education. Higher education may have reached an expansion limit and it may be necessary to investigate options for increasing the productivity of schooling.

This paper used institution level information about graduate earnings and estimates of fiscal and private costs to obtain fiscal and private returns to education using an internal rate of return calculation. As data has been collected so far only on earnings trajectories for three years following graduation, these are not lifetime returns, but they are adequate to provide relative estimates. Samara Energy College with private returns of 35 percent and fiscal returns of 13 percent leads the list of colleges. V.R. Fillipova Buryat State Agricultural Academy in Ulan Ude leads the universities list with private returns of 9 percent and fiscal return of 7 percent. Even though only preliminary results are presented here, the data length and model sophistication can only grow in the future. The resulting information on returns to investment will serve government stakeholders as well as individual students.

This paper uses regionally representative household survey data to determine the rates of return to education in different regions. Returns show a wide dispersion together with the labor market context. The paper’s policy recommendations will be particularly helpful to support human capital development of federally targeted economically and socially depressed regions.

This paper explores the topic of depreciation of human capital as a possible explanation for observed trends in the returns to education in the Russian Federation. Estimates of depreciation are presented for various sample groups. Depreciation first decreased and then increased in the period 1994-2018. University educated workers add human capital even after they stop full-time studies; this happens less with vocational graduates.