Education systems need to withstand shocks that routinely close schools. Researchers discuss results from randomized trials evaluating the provision of education in emergency settings across 5 countries.

In Botswana, when school closures were announced at the onset of the pandemic, Youth Impact quickly responded to the new conditions by developing and scaling an adapted version of TaRL delivered through simple technologies with its ConnectEd program.

We conducted a randomized control trial (RCT) at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Botswana and found that phone tutorials had positive impacts on learning.

The police arriving too late is a familiar trope in fiction. Does research have the same problem? Many well-intentioned programs provide laptops in schools to improve learning among poor students.

J-PAL showcases 3 key findings from our work on phone tutoring during school disruptions, as part of its 20 for 20: Partner Voices blog series.

Since 2017, we have been partnering with the government of Botswana to implement a remedial education program, TaRL, with the aim of scaling to all public schools in the country. Five strategies played an important role in helping to identify, cultivate, and maintain relationships with champions who invested time and resources into the program.

Successful scaling of education initiatives requires the effective coordination and collaboration of many individuals.

Looking ahead, how can the development community renew momentum and broaden bases of support for impact evaluation and the wider evidence agenda?

The COVID-19 pandemic placed enormous pressure on education systems worldwide. At the peak of the crisis, school closures forced over 1.6 billion learners out of classrooms. This exacerbated a learning crisis that existed before the pandemic, with many children in school but learning very little.

We’ve been thrilled at the overwhelmingly positive response to our publication in the June issue of Nature Human Behaviour, one of the world’s leading peer-reviewed scientific journals.