What do we mean by school dropout? Early School Leaving and the shifting of paradigms in school dropout measurement

The audit, evaluation and regulation of education systems is becoming the rule in Europe, strongly increasing demand for data production and even considered by some as a major policy-development in itself. Data production and its use produce changes in the governing of the education and training systems throughout Europe, contributing to the Europeanization of the national educational systems and to the empowerment of some international organizations, like the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In the moment that European and global goals around quantified goals related to education are being drawn, there are some warnings regarding excessive focus on measurable results and thus the risk of losing sight of what is truly important in education and promotion of educational success. Early School Leaving (ESL) is the indicator used by Eurostat to measure school dropout and by the European Union to establish targets for education policies. It is an indicator that holds as reference the schooling-level certification and, as such, a measure of school achievement based on a comprehensive perspective of educational/training activities, including informal and non-formal learning.