Policy making at the system level needs to be informed by high-quality data and evidence, but not driven by the availability of such information. Using these data, governments can analyse performance and identify priority areas for planning, intervention and policy. This typically entails the development of a system performance-measurement framework. In addition data should be based on accepted definitions for all levels of education, the quality of data should be improved, research should be conducted on those 'gaps' where systematic collection is loo cosily or not feasible, and a long-term strategy to improve measurement tools for future information needs should be developed. One option is to establish a protocol to share data system evaluation among key stakeholders.