Building on the literature review, LINEup conducted a comprehensive desk research to identify existing national and regional longitudinal datasets on student learning outcomes at the primary and secondary education levels (ISCED 1, 2, 3).
The mapping covers 32 countries: the 27 EU Member States, three European Economic Area (EEA) associated countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway), Switzerland and the United Kingdom. To enrich the comparative perspective, selected practices from the United States – where some of the most advanced examples exist – were also reviewed.
The mapping followed a funnel strategy, based on a shared theoretical and methodological framework:
- An expert questionnaire sent to over 300 stakeholders across 28 countries;
- Structured web searches to collect specific information on existing longitudinal data;
- Analysis of the retrieved datasets against predefined inclusion criteria, with documentation through a standardised online form capturing metadata on structure, coverage, outcomes, background variables, and accessibility.
Overall, the mapping highlights wide disparities in availability, structure, and quality of longitudinal data
in Europe.
Key findings:
- Out of 229 datasets identified, 104 met the inclusion criteria, spanning 24 of the 32 countries.
- Most countries in Western and Northern Europe have at least one eligible dataset, often stemming
from well-established administrative systems or long-standing student assessments. In contrast,
several countries in Central and Eastern Europe have no eligible datasets, reflecting more limited investments in longitudinal data infrastructure and/or lower levels of data accessibility. - Datasets vary in design: survey-based (47%), administrative (19%), or hybrid (34%). Surveys and hybrids provide richer contextual information, while administrative data often offer broader coverage and longer time spans.
- Data access is limited: only 11% of datasets are open, while nearly half require formal
authorisation. Linkability across data sources is uneven and concentrated in countries with strong
administrative systems. - Longitudinal coverage ranges from 2 to 14+ years, with many datasets focusing on key transition points (grades 8–10). About 30% start in pre-primary, but full tracking across compulsory schooling is rare.
- Most datasets include literacy and numeracy outcomes, while non-cognitive skills, science, languages, and teacher/school-level variables are often missing or inconsistently reported.
The results underpin the development of the LINEup Education Data Explorer, an online platform to support dataset discovery and use by researchers and educational stakeholders. They also provide the empirical basis for the upcoming Feasibility Study on data harmonisation (January 2026), which will assess the potential for cross-country comparison and explore whether approaches such as the Luxembourg.
Income Study can be adapted to education data.
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