World Development Report 2018: Learning to Realize Education’s Promise

School is a key input to at-scale learning. Despite major gains in access, many children still don’t attend school. Even though school is not the only place that children learn (box 5.2), most parents want their chilschool supplies, learning materials, transportation— dren to go to school. Moreover, most children want to are in addition to formal fees. These costs of school-go. In a survey of Indian mothers with an average of ing widen the gaps in school participation separating less than three years of education, 94 percent hoped poorer children from their wealthier peers.

their children would complete at least grade 10. In

High aspirations for schooling among children

Kenya, among parents with no education at all, more and their parents explain why initiatives that ease than half wanted a university education for their constraints to schooling for households—so-called children.

demand-side interventions—have been so effective

Significant costs—both formal fees and a wide at getting children to school. In many countries, the array of other expenses—prevent children, especially elimination of school fees has raised enrollments, the most vulnerable, from learning. Nearly 90 percent suggesting that parents simply did not have the of the world’s low-income countries proclaim free resources to pay the fees (figure 5.4). The interprimary education. But for lower secondary educaventions, which have sought to reduce other costs tion, more than 40 percent of the countries charge associated with school, have consistently improved fees, along with 10 percent of middle-income counaccess in the form of enrollment as well as attentries. In Africa, almost half the expenditures that dance. Nonmerit scholarships—which reduce fees households incur to send their children to school—for on a smaller scale—have increased enrollment at the primary level in Kenya and at the secondary level in Ghana. The flip side of reducing school fees is increasing household income, which cash transfer programs do. These programs have increased both primary and secondary enrollments.

Information interventions are particularly promising because they cost little. In some cases, demand for education remains low because students and their families underestimate the returns to education. In the Dominican Republic and Madagascar, simply providing information on the returns to education led to improved educational outcomes, though a similar intervention in rural China had no impact. In India, providing job recruiting services for women in their 20s increased school enrollment for teenage girls. Gender leadership quotas in Indian villages eliminated the gender gap in educational attainment.

Though interventions that reduce the cost of schooling are highly effective at increasing school participation for most children, especially at young ages, some children do require additional incentives to attend school. In some countries, parents give priority to sending to school their children with the highest cognitive ability or higher perceived—not necessarily actual—returns to schooling (such as boys). In Burkina Faso, beginning in 2008, some families received unconditional cash transfers, while others received cash transfers conditional on children’s school enrollment. Boys and children who scored better on tests were equally likely to be enrolled in school under both schemes, but transfers with conditions were significantly more beneficial for girls and children who started out at lower levels of learning. This finding suggests that the most vulnerable children may need more than simple cost reductions to guarantee enrollment in school.

Remedial education can prepare learners for further education and training

relevant, quality education that reaches them at their when programs increase either capacity to learn or current level of learning. In Kenya, students who student effort. Targeted cash transfers have led to more drop out of school say their inability to perform well, learning when framed to induce more effort, as have rather than costs or parental pressures, caused them some information interventions. Even in low-quality to leave. Some systems seek to further motivate stueducation systems, students learn more in school dents with merit-based scholarships or prizes. Such than out of it: there is a learning crisis, but the positive incentives can improve effort as students strive to relationship between schooling and literacy persists qualify—whether for a direct financial prize, such as (figure 5.5). When individuals with similar literacy in Benin and Mexico, or a scholarship for girls, such and numeracy levels are compared, those with more as in Kenya. Direct financial incentives have been schooling have higher earnings, most likely because of less successful in high-income countries, though other benefits of schooling, including improved socioalternate designs that deliver incentives immediately emotional skills such as discipline. Getting learners after tests have raised test scores. Providing caregivinto school is beneficial in its own right.

ers with information about learner performance can

In addition to getting to school, learners must also have a large impact, helping caregivers to transbe motivated. One way to increase motivation is to late motivation into action (box 5.3). But in general, ensure that learners’ skills are rewarded, whether a positive overall educational experience is likely the by a labor market that offers high returns or by a backbone of student motivation.

higher education system that admits students based on merit rather than connections. Perhaps the most immediate way to motivate students is to provide

Many young people leave formal education with weak foundational skills, and thus they are unprepared for further education and training. Globally, of every 100 students entering primary education, 61 complete lower secondary education, and just 35 complete upper secondary (figure 5.6). About a third of youth leave school between lower and upper secondary. This problem is especially pronounced in several developing countries, where sizable shares of 15-to 24-year-olds score below the minimum level of literacy proficiency—23 percent in Chile, 29 percent in urban Bolivia, 34 percent in urban Ghana. Improving foundational skills early can alter workers’ labor market trajectories. Employed adults ages 15–64 who score at level 2 or above in literacy proficiency have significantly higher probabilities of holding high-skill, better-paid white-collar jobs (figure 5.7).

Youth vary greatly in skills and maturity, putting them on a range of different pathways. Some young school leavers enroll in second-chance programs seeking to obtain formal education equivalency diplomas so they can gain access to further education or training. Others pursue remedial coursework to fulfill admission requirements for postsecondary education or training institutions. Another group— usually those with the most serious skills gaps—goes into unstable, low-wage, low-productivity jobs, while some youth remain out of both school and the labor force. It is difficult to reach all these young people.

• Second-chance programs offer early school leavers, many of whom are low-skilled, an opportunity to reengage with education and training. • Remedial coursework at the onset of postsecondary education and training increases young people’s chances of completing their programs of study.

Remedial prevention programs can help at-risk youth who are in the formal education system to prepare for rigorous academic work in further education or training. Three remedial prevention approaches show promise. The first offers support to primary and secondary students willing to stay in school and master foundational skills. Programs in India and Mexico City that offer additional instruction for disadvantaged students have shown positive impacts on foundational skills (especially in India). The second approach offers students early assessments of their academic standing, along with extra instruction to improve performance. A statewide early assessment program in California that supports academically at-risk students shows declining needs for remediation at later stages of education and training. The third approach gives secondary school students the option of registering concurrently in postsecondary

Motivating them to join second-chance or remedial courses. Participants in such programs in the United programs is not easy, especially if they have been

States are less likely to require remediation and more out of the education system for some time. Many likely to persist in tertiary education and improve are uncertain about the benefits of remedial courses, academic outcomes.

and returning to school settings can stir up negative feelings. In Uganda, early school leavers said they suffered from diminished self-worth, limited life opportunities, and social exclusion associated with early

Second-chance programs give youth who have departure from formal education.

dropped out of school a path to reengage in nontraRemedial education interventions can work—if ditional learning environments, obtain secondary they reach the right people using the right approach.

education equivalency qualifications, and enter job

Effective remedial education interventions meet training. These programs offer a learning experience young people where they are, helping them transition that signals a level of achievement to participants, into careers. Remedial programs are more likely to their families, and employers. In Australia and the support students’ interests when they are short, releUnited States, early school leavers are encouraged vant to students’ lives, delivered by experienced teach- to enroll in programs that provide an equivalent to ers, and part of a long-term plan for career growth.

an upper secondary diploma. Though equivalency

Most evidence to date comes from programs in programs can improve employment, wages, and high-income countries, with three main types of other education indicators (relative to outcomes for interventions standing out as promising:

individuals with no credentials), such impacts are often smaller than those for individuals holding

• Remedial prevention programs support academtraditional educational credentials. Across second-ically weak students by strengthening their founchance interventions, socioemotional skills play an dational skills and encouraging them to complete a important role in student success—with skills formal education.

such as the ability to work toward long-term goals sometimes mattering more than the equivalency certificate itself.

The demand for second-chance programs is high and the evidence is promising, but keeping youth engaged in further education and training requires an integrated policy approach. In Sub-Saharan Africa, there is a demand for programs to reengage early school leavers, especially in low-income or conflict regions. But in practice, programs tend to be small, and few operate within a policy framework that integrates them into the formal education and training systems. For low-income students, who usually make up a disproportionate number of early school leavers around the world, second-chance programs like the Open Basic Programme in India can provide important pathways to educational opportunities. In India, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand, equivalency programs for early school leavers improve students’ self-development, especially when programs are aligned with the formal education system. Similarly, second-chance programs in Latin America and the Caribbean yield better results when they take into account the multidimensional needs of young people, connect students to pathways for further education and training opportunities, and provide support to help participants return to productive adulthood.

Many students enrolling in postsecondary education and training are not prepared for the rigor of their programs of study. In Chile and Mexico, several postsecondary institutions offer remedial support to academically underprepared students, but impact evaluations of such interventions are rare. In the United States, participation in postsecondary remedial education is widespread, often at great cost to individuals and institutions. About 42 percent of incoming students in two-year institutions and 20 percent in four-year institutions enroll in remedial courses at an annual cost of $1–$7 billion, depending on how the estimates are calculated. Due to this high cost, U.S. institutions have been experimenting with new approaches. There are three main types of remedial models that show promise: accelerated remediation, contextualized instruction, and intensive student support.

Accelerated remediation models reduce the time students spend on remedial coursework. Conventional remedial education programs are often designed as a series of sequential courses that can take multiple semesters to complete, which often leads students to drop out. New accelerated remedial models addressing this problem include fast-track courses, self-paced modularized courses, and efforts to mainstream students directly into postsecondary courses while providing additional instructional support. In the U.S. state of Indiana, a study of two fast-track programs found participants achieve better course pass rates and fewer course withdrawals than students in longer remedial programs. Similarly, evidence on self-paced modularized and mainstreaming programs indicates that participants have higher postsecondary pass rates in math, complete more rigorous course requirements, and attempt tertiary courses at higher rates than nonparticipants.

Contextualized instruction improves the effectiveness of remedial education interventions, because learners benefit most when they engage, interpret, and generate meaning from instructional content relevant to their background. These models are designed to reinforce foundational skills, while emphasizing learners’ career aspirations. New approaches include contextualized vocational learning. An example that blends foundational skills upgrading with occupational training is the I-BEST (Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training) program in the U.S. state of Washington. An evaluation of the program finds that participation has positive effects on student learning, including course credit accumulation, persistence in tertiary education, and earning of occupational certificates. Learning community approaches, which emphasize multisubject instruction, project-based work, and learner social interactions, also are showing promising results. In the United States, participation in these programs has a significantly positive relationship with a number of factors associated with student success, such as level of course engagement, student and faculty interactions, or continuation to advanced courses.

Intensive student support can provide an institutional safety net for at-risk youth. New approaches showing promising results include intensive tutoring with supplemental instruction, intensive advising, and student success courses. Intensive tutoring programs range from providing general academic counseling and tutoring to offering special skills training. Evaluations of programs offering sustained tutoring show improvements in course completion and academic standing. Intensive personalized advising services help students navigate course selection and develop career plans. These services can help students take advantage of other forms of support; beneficiaries are also more likely to complete their remedial coursework and stay on in school after program completion. Student success courses are usually stand-alone, credit-bearing courses for new students that emphasize the development of study skills. Experimental evidence from the United States shows promising results on participants’ number of credits earned, classes passed, and class standing.

Finally, recent developments in self-directed technology models are opening new opportunities for youth to work independently to meet their learning needs and upgrade their skills, but this remains a new area for remedial education research, and evidence on their impacts is still sparse.