A/HRC/26/27 Free and Compulsory Education 2009, the annual examination system at the end of each year of schooling has been abolished and no student can be held back from progressing during the entire duration of the eight years of elementary education. The comprehensive and continuous evaluation mandated by the Act is still being devised.17 35. A positive example on how to address this can be found in Spain. A new Education Law has made it mandatory to assess educational attainment by a general examination at the end of (i) primary school, (ii) secondary compulsory education and (iii) the baccalaureate. According to article 21 of the Law, students finishing primary school are required to undergo a test to examine their knowledge and the skills and competences acquired. 36. Another example is furnished by France, where national programmes of education fixed by the State are mandatory for both public and private schools. Students are evaluated twice a year during the elementary education cycle to assess whether a pedagogic programme with a common base has been implemented and to mobilize additional support for students in need. Those evaluations help to identify any follow-up needed for student learning in accordance with a common curricular base. B. Regional and international assessment mechanisms 37. An analysis of prevalent international and regional assessment systems shows their narrow scope and that they generally do not adequately incorporate a human rights-based approach. The Programme for International Student Assessment of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is a well-known triennial survey, testing the performance of 15 year-old students in reading and mathematical and scientific literacy, benchmarking a country’s performance against that of other participating countries. The objective of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study is an even narrower method for assessing skills in mathematics. Similarly, the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study is limited to literacy assessment. The Latin American Laboratory for Assessment of the Quality of Education, a network of national education quality assessment directors, produces studies that reflect the state of quality education and also contributes to the development of education assessment capacities in the region. However, the third regional comparative and explanatory study, conducted in 2013 on the learning achievement in the region, is narrowly aimed at assessing learning performance in the third and sixth grades in mathematics, reading and writing, including natural sciences for the sixth grade. 38. Some international evaluation systems do go beyond mere performance evaluation in mathematical literacy and language skills. The Programme d’analyse des systèmes éducatifs des pays de la Conférence des Ministres de l’Education des États et gouvernements de la Francophonie conducts a comparative evaluation of the international assessment of students and has a broader conceptual approach. This comprises a wide range of quality parameters agreed upon by public authorities. Similarly, the national reports resulting from the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for the Measurement of Education Quality also relate to the monitoring and evaluation of conditions of schooling and the quality of education, as described in national Consortium reports. States should make a greater effort to look to these examples when developing national evaluation mechanisms. 17 Government of India, Twelfth Five Year Plan 2012–2017, vol. III, Social Sectors (Sage Publications, 2013), p. 55. 9