The World Bank names Escuela Nueva "One of the most innovative and effective educational programs in developing countries".

"Despite the guerrilla warfare, anarchy of the drug trade and endemic poverty in Colombia, there is something for youngsters to smile at thanks to a resourceful educational movement known as Escuela Nueva."
Time Magazine

"Boys and girls of the Escuelas Nuevas Unitarias give more positive feedback and less negative feedback among each other; they have higher frequencies taking turns and leading processes within the school than those of Escuelas Unitarias Tradicionales (Conventional Unitary Schools)."
Academy for Educational Development

"Colombia is the only country in the Latin America Region where rural schools obtain better results than urban schools, except in large mega cities. Additionally, it demonstrated that in rural education, only Cuba is above Colombia in math achievement results, mainly because of Escuela Nueva."
UNESCO

"Escuela Nueva demonstrates significant results in the formation of democratic behavior and peaceful social interaction of children, in comparison to conventional schools. The probability of parents perceiving an impact of the school on home practices grows as the level of implementation of Escuela Nueva increases."
University of El Rosario, Colombia

"Multigrade teaching that arises through necessity is often considered to be a second-class education. However, in some cases, necessity has been transformed into a positive pedagogy. The well-known Escuela Nueva model is an example of such a transformation, notable for its proactive strategy."
Angela Little in "Education for All and Multigrade Teaching: Challenges and Opportunities."

The Skoll Foundation selects Escuela Nueva as having the potential for a "large scale influence on the critical challenges of our time."

The United Nation's 2000 Human Development Report selected Escuela Nueva as "one of the country's three main achievements." UNDP

"Vicky Colbert was instrumental in developing a highly effective rural education program called Escuela Nueva, which has significantly raised student performance in rural areas in Colombia. Her program is based on insights about solving the isolation of rural teachers and meeting the need to develop a total educational experience for students in rural schools. She has also been the driving force behind spreading the Escuela Nueva concept to other Latin American countries. Her passion, dedication, and innovativeness can transform education in many regions."
Martin Carnoy, PhD. Vida Jacks Professor of Education, Stanford University